PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline extended till December 31: How to link Aadhaar with PAN through SMS, income tax website

If you plan to link your Aadhaar number to your Permanent Account Number (PAN) but have not yet, then you still have some time on your hands. Government extended the deadline to link your Aadhaar and PAN details by four months today, reports said. The new deadline to link your Aadhaar and PAN cards is now December 31.

Government extends by four months the deadline for linking income tax #PAN with #Aadhaar to December 31.

- Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 31, 2017

The government had already extended the date once from July 31 to August 31 after several complaints of difficulties in linking Aadhaar to PAN on account of mismatching details.

Speculations have been doing the reounds that the deadline might be extended on account of the ongoing right to privacy debate. A nine-judge Supreme Court bench has ruled earlier this month that Right to Privacy is a fundamental right and an integral part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under the provisions of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Now a three-judge Supreme Court bench is now looking into the matter of whether the biometric identification scheme infringes upon this right.

The next hearing on the matter scheduled in November it was expected that the last date for Aadhaar-PAN linking will be extended. Government has already extended the last date to make Aadhaar mandatory for all welfare schemes from September 30 to December 31. The government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it will extend the deadline to furnish Aadhaar details to avail social benefits after several petitioners challenged the validity of Aadhaar and government's move to make it mandatory for welfare schemes.

Government initiated linking of Aadhaar and PAN details to check tax evasion under the guise of multiple PAN cards. Tax returns by taxpayers who have not linked their Aadhaar and PAN details were not processed at the end of this financial year.

If you are planning to link your Aadhaar and PAN later in the day, here's how you can go about it:

Through Income Tax website

Aadhaar and PAN could be linked in easy steps on the official website of Income Tax Department.

• Visit the link www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
• Enter your PAN card number, Aadhaar Number, your name on Aadhaar followed by the captcha code.
• Click on the Link Aadhaar button at the below and your Aadhaar and PAN will be linked.
• You will get an SMS telling you that Aadhaar has been linked.

Your Aadhaar and PAN can be linked bu=y through a SMS too.

• Type UIDPAN<12 digit Aadhaar><10 digit PAN> an
• Send it to 567678 or 56161.
• A confirmation that your Aadhaar has been linked with the PAN card will be sent to you via text message.