PAN-Aadhaar Linking Website Crashes as Deadline Nears End; Govt Offers Extension till 30 June

The Government of India has made the linking of PAN (Permanent Account Number) with Aadhaar mandatory. The deadline for the same was March 31. But as the deadline came near, the website that allowed PAN-Aadhaar Linking crashed. Users weren't able to open the website all day long and faced a lot of difficulties. Owing to the circumstances, the government announced that it has extended the date to PAN-Aadhaar Linking.

“Keeping in view the difficulties faced by the taxpayers, the Central Government has issued a notification today extending the last date for the intimation of the Aadhaar number and linking thereof with PAN to 30th June 2021,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement. The decision has been taken keeping in the view disruption caused by COVID-19, said the Income Tax Department on Wednesday.

Further, for a new PAN Card, the government has made it mandatory to submit an Aadhar Card. This will allow automatic PAN-Aadhaar linking. In case, a person's PAN-Aadhar is not linked, the PAN card will become inoperative from July 1. It will also disallow users to carry out transactions in case of mandatory PAN. Such customers may also face a penalty of Rs 1,000 as per the Finance Bill, 2021.

How to link PAN and Aadhaar Card?

• Go to the Income Tax e-filing portal.
• Click on the Link Aadhaar button in the Menu bar.
• Enter required details like PAN number, Aadhaar cardholder name and Captcha.
• Verify the details and then click on the Link Aadhaar option.
• A pop-up message will appear informing you of your PAN-Aadhaar linking.

How to check if your PAN and Aadhaar Card are linked?

• Go to the Income Tax e-filing portal Link Status.
• Enter required details like PAN number, Aadhaar card number.
• Click on 'View Aadhar Link Status'.
• A pop-up message will appear informing you of your PAN-Aadhaar linking status.