Aadhaar-Linking Deadlines: Don't Miss These Four Important Dates

The government has made it mandatory to link Aadhaar cards with bank accounts, permanent account numbers (PAN), income tax return (ITR), social security schemes and even mobile phones. If one does not have an the 12-digit Unique Identification Number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, he will have to now get it made in order to avail all these facilities. In fact, the government recently extended the deadline for obtaining Aadhaar for availing government schemes and subsidies by three months to December 31. The extension is, however, only for those who are yet to apply for Aadhaar, an order issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said. As many as 135 schemes (of 35 ministries) including the free cooking gas (LPG) to poor women, kerosene and fertiliser subsidy, targeted public distribution system and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will be covered by the extension.

Be it linking of Aadhaar card with PAN, mobile SIM cards or bank accounts, there are different deadlines specified in each case.
 

Here are four important deadlines that you should remember to link your Aadhaar with the various documents or products:

 

1. Deadline for linking Aadhaar card with PAN for tax returns - December 31, 2017

In August, the Central Board of Direct Taxes extended the last date for linking of Aadhaar with PAN to help taxpayers. The new deadline is December 31, 2017. Earlier, this deadline was August 31, 2017. Linking of Aadhaar with PAN is mandatory for processing of ITRs for assessment year 2017-18, the Income Tax Department has said. "If this linking (PAN-Aadhaar) is skipped, the return could be considered invalid and the person may have to file it again which shall be considered belated and may attract penalty, interest and other consequences like disallowances for losses," says Sandeep Sehgal, director of tax and regulatory at Ashok Maheshwary & Associates LLP.

(Also read: How to link PAN card with Aadhaar card)

 

2. Deadline for linking Aadhaar with mobile number (SIM) - February 6, 2018:

Telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have been sending alerts to customers about completing the Aadhaar-SIM (mobile number) linking process. "As per the government directive, linking Aadhaar to your mobile number is mandatory for all existing customers," Bharti Airtel, the country's largest telecom operator, said on its website. Bharti Airtel also prescribed its prepaid and postpaid subscribers ways to achieve Aadhaar-SIM linking.

(Read: Telecom operators share guidelines on Aadhaar linking)

Responding to a query in a series of posts on microblogging site Twitter, Vodafone India said: "Aadhaar based re-verification is to be done only once on a number. As per the instructions received from DoT (Department of Telecommunications), it is mandatory that the E-KYC (Aadhaar-based) re-verification needs to be completed before 6th Feb 2018 by all Telecom operators."

 

3. Deadline for submitting Aadhaar details to banks/financial institutions - December 31, 2017:

Existing bank account holders have been asked to furnish the Aadhaar number issued by the UIDAI by December 31, 2017, failing which the account will cease to be operational, according to a revenue department notification.

 

4. Last date to give Aadhaar details to avail social security schemes - December 31, 2017

Aadhaar number has to be provided for availing of all social security schemes by December 31, 2017. In order to avail pension, LPG cylinders or government scholarships, one must provide his or her Aadhaar card details.

Meanwhile, the government also plans to make linking of Aadhaar mandatory for driving licence. "It (Aadhaar-Licence linking) would be done soon to check the menace of multiple licensing," Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said. (With agency inputs)