Around 12 Lakh PAN Cards Deactivated; Is Yours Still Active? Check It Here
The move comes as a part of operation 'Clean Money' launched earier this year.
The Income Tax department has taken a major step by blocking around 12 lakh PAN cards to put a full-stop to the fake PAN Card racket across the country.
The Government and IT Department has deactivated over 11.5 lakh permanent account numbers (PANs), it was informed by minister of State for Finance, Santosh Kumar Gangwar in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha (RS).
Contents
Fake PAN Card Racket
The Government has noticed that there are several bogus PAN cards which are allotted to non-existent people.
To put a check on this massive number of fake PAN Cards across India, as many as 11.5 Lakh PAN Cards has been deactivated by July this year.
Aadhaar-PAN Link Revealed the Story
It is illegal in India for a person to keep more than one PAN number. But the Aadhaar-PAN linking revealed some shocking facts. As per a report by The Indian Express, the government noticed several bogus PAN cards which are allotted to people who don’t exist or individuals who have provided false information for acquiring PAN.
But all this news created a confusion among the PAN Card holders. In order to clear up any confusion, follow these steps to check if your PAN card is still valid.
Step 1.
Log on to the official IT filing website, www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in and then click on ‘Know your PAN’ tab. You will find it on the upper left column under the ‘Services’ section.
Step 2.
After clicking on ‘Know your PAN’ tab, you will be redirected to a following page where you need fill in all your details (which includes Name, Status, Date Of Birth and Contact Number).
Step 3.
Once you fill in all the details, click on ‘Submit’. Once you submit all the required details, it will redirect you to another page. Here you will have to fill in the OTP, which will have been sent to your registered mobile number.
Step 4.
Enter the OTP you have received on your registered mobile number and then click on ‘Validate’ option.
Step 5.
In case your details on the PAN card have not been replicated or been issued to some other person, the final page will show your PAN card details with the tag ‘Active’ below.
Step 6.
But in case if you details match with more than one PAN card, which indicates multiple PAN cards with same personal details, you will get a pop up message on the screen that will say, ‘There are multiple records for this query. Provide additional information’. In that case, you will have to additionally provide your father’s name and other identification details.
Operation ‘Clean Money’
Launched early this year, the I-T department has detected over 18 lakh people with multiple cash transactions which did not fall in line with their individual tax profiles. The IT department has approached them through emails, messages and phone.
Compulsory Linking of PAN-Aadhaar
It is compulsory for all PAN card holders to link their PAN cards to their Aadhaar identity to file their Income Tax returns electronically. If you fail to link your Aadhaar card with your PAN card, then your PAN card might be declared invalid by December 2017.
Great news, I have checked mine and my fathers PAN card status and status and both still active. According to my knowledge they have merged the data of bank, and other sources as well.