Govt extends deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linking till 30 September; quoting biometric ID while filing I-T returns mandatory from 1 April

New Delhi: The government Sunday extended the deadline for linking PAN with biometric ID Aadhaar by 6 months till 30 September, as per an official statement. However, quoting of Aadhaar will remain mandatory for filing income tax returns (ITRs), following the Supreme Court order. [caption id=“attachment_5276941” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. News18[/caption] This is the sixth time the government has extended the deadline for individuals to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar. In June last year, the government had said that PAN has to be linked with the biometric ID by 31 March. “Now the cut-off date for intimating the Aadhaar number and linking PAN with Aadhaar is 30 September, 2019, unless specifically exempted,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement. The CBDT said there were reports that those PANs which are not linked with Aadhaar number by 31 March may be invalidated, following which the matter was considered by the government and the date extended till 30 September. “Notwithstanding the last date of intimating/linking of Aadhaar Number with PAN being 30 September, 2019, it is also made clear that w.e.f. 1 April, 2019, it is mandatory to quote and link Aadhaar number while filing the return of income,” it added. The apex court, in September last year, had declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid and held that the biometric ID would remain mandatory for filing of I-T returns and allotment of PAN. A five-judge constitution bench had, however, said that it would not be mandatory to link Aadhaar to bank accounts and telecom service providers cannot seek its linking for mobile connections. Till September last year, of the 41 crore PANs issued, over 21 crore were linked to Aadhaar. The Supreme Court in its order upheld section 139AA of the Income Tax Act. Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having PAN as on 1 July, 2017, and eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar number to the tax authorities. The earlier deadlines for linking PAN with Aadhaar were 31 July, 31 August and 31 December, 2017, 31 March, 2018, 30 June, 2018 and 31 March, 2019.