Can You File ITR If Aadhaar And PAN Aren’t Linked? What IT Dept Says – News18

The last date to link Aadhaar and PAN card is over. A PAN card that has become inoperative is not the same as an inactive PAN. On July 18, the Income Tax (IT) Department clarified the confusion of taxpayers over filing the Income Tax Returns (ITR).

PAN cardholders need to pay a fine to make their card active again. Non-resident Indians (NRIs) can still use their PAN card to fill out the ITR form, the IT department said.

The Department clarified this through its official Twitter handle, stating, “Concerns have been raised by certain NRIs/ OCIs regarding their PANs becoming inoperative, although they are exempted from linking their PAN with Aadhaar. Furthermore, PAN holders whose PANs have become inoperative as a result of the non-linking of PAN with Aadhaar have expressed concern about certain ramifications of PAN becoming inoperative.”

https://twitter.com/IncomeTaxIndia/status/

NRIs and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), who fall under the category mentioned in the tweet, are requested to contact their respective Jurisdictional Assessing Officers (JAOs) along with the required documents to update their residential status in the database. The IT department has also shared the link to the JAO directory to help the individuals to locate the officers.

The Income Tax Department further clarified that an inoperative PAN card will not affect filling out income tax returns. Taxpayers can still file ITR with an inactive PAN card but may face a few consequences, like a higher rate of tax deduction and delay in refund processing.

NRIs and OCIs who have not updated their residential status, their cards have become inactive. PAN cards of OCIs or foreign nationals who have not filled out their ITR forms for the last three assessment years have been deactivated. NRIs and OCIs can maintain their tax fillings smoothly if they update their database on PAN cards, the Income Tax Department added.

Aadhaar and PAN linkage is not compulsory for those who are residing in the states of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya, non-residents as per the Income Tax Act 1961, people who are eighty years or more, and not a citizen of India.