Aadhaar-PAN card linking: Here's how to do it and list of benefits you'll get

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Aadhaar as constitutional. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, also comprising Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, had on May 10 reserved the verdict on the matter after a marathon hearing that went on for 38 days, spanning four-and-half months.

Among the judgments, the Supreme Court said that Aadhaar is not compulsory to link with bank accounts or your mobile number.

However, the Supreme Court also made it clear that Aadhaar is necessary for PAN card linking and for filing of IT returns. 

Below we have listed the various ways of linking Aadhaar with PAN card and the benefits of doing the same. 

How to do it from official website

1. If you are a registered user then just go to www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in and click on 'Link Aadhaar' option.

Once done, provide your PAN number and Aadhaar number and enter name exactly as given on Aadhaar card and submit. After verification from Unique Identification Authority of India the linking will be confirmed.

2. In case you have not registered then Log on to www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. If are not registered, then create an account. Then log in to the portal by entering your Login ID, password and date of birth,

After logging, a pop up window will appear prompting you to link your PAN card with Aadhaar card. If a pop up does not appear, click on a blue tab named ‘Profile Settings’ and click on ‘Link Aadhaar’.

All your details like name, date of birth and gender will already mentioned there, verify the details on screen with ones mentioned on your Aadhaar card.

If the details match, enter your Aadhaar card number and captcha code and click on the “Link now” button.

On completion of the process, a pop-up message will inform you about successful linkage.

3. A taxpayer can link Aadhar with PAN by sending an SMS to either 567678 or 56161.

4. According to the Ministry of Finance, in case of any minor mismatch in Aadhaar name provided by taxpayer when compared to the actual data in Aadhaar, One Time Password (Aadhaar OTP) will be sent to the mobile registered with Aadhaar.

Taxpayers need to ensure that the date of birth and gender in PAN and Aadhaar are exactly same.

In a rare case where Aadhaar name is completely different from name in PAN, then the linking will fail and taxpayer will be prompted to change the name in either Aadhaar or in PAN database.

Now, let's understand what are the benefits of linking the two. 

For the individual linking proffers a variety of benefits. Firstly, this linking is a must for filing your returns under your PAN card identification. Currently, when you file your returns you are required to authenticate your returns either with a physical signature or through a digital signature or through a mapped bank account. 

By mapping your PAN card and Aadhaar card, you can authenticate your return filing through your Aadhaar card itself, making the task quicker. In fact, even your refunds will be hastened if your Aadhaar card and PAN card are already mapped. Today, when you open a trading account, the know your client (e-KYC) can be very easily done online and authenticated using your Aadhaar Card. That is possible only if your Aadhaar Card and PAN card are linked. Thanks to your Aadhaar and PAN card linkage, you can also open your bank account electronically. In fact, the zero balance account just requires your Aadhaar card and PAN card mapped to each other and the rest is taken care of.

In a nutshell, by linking your PAN to your Aadhaar card, you are able to establish the uniqueness of your PAN card. So you get the assurance of a unique PAN card and the government gets a de-duplicated PAN card database.