NEW DELHI : Under the Income Tax Act, it is mandatory for all employees to submit their PAN (Permanent Account Number) to their office's HR or accounts department as the onus is on your office to make TDS (tax deduction at source) if the income is above taxable limit. While deducting tax at source, it is obligatory for your employer to quote your PAN or Aadhaar number. You can check the status of TDS through the income tax department's TRACES portal.
5 things to know about the PAN card rule:
1) If your income is below the taxable limit it is not required for you to submit either PAN or Aadhaar card as no TDS is meant to be deducted by your employer under Section 206AA of the Income Tax Act. For the financial year 2019-20, income upto ₹2.5 lakh is tax exempt.
2) If you fail to provide your PAN card details, your employer will deduct TDS at the rate of 20% or even higher. However, where the income of the employee computed for TDS under Section 192 is below taxable limit, no tax will be deducted.
3) Ever since PAN and Aadhaar have been made interchangeable from last year, you can quote the 12-digit identity number given by the UIDAI in lieu of the 10-digit alphanumeric number issued by the income tax department. But before doing that, ensure that the two identity documents are interlinked.
4) While quoting your Aadhaar number in lieu of PAN, you must be careful as giving an incorrect number will lead to a fine of ₹10,000 under Section 272B of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
5) In case you failed to provide PAN to your employer who deducted a higher rate of tax from salary, you can always claim a tax refund after filing of income tax returns (ITR).
