Among all the essential documents that are issued by the Government, the PAN card is one of them. The abbreviation PAN is expanded as Permanent Account Number. The Income Tax Department introduced this digitally linked document with a key purpose to hold track records of all tax information of a person by storing those records in a database where the primary key is the PAN number itself.
If we rewind and go back to the history, the tax collection system was not that strong as it is now, because the earlier version of PAN card was neither technology-enabled nor unique. It was basically a GIR number assigned manually to taxpayers which were not globally unique. Besides, carrying a PAN card was not an obligation at that time, which hindered the tax collection process.
The PAN Card was later upgraded by the Income Tax authorities of the Government and its better version was first introduced in 1972, under section 139A of the Income Tax Act 1961, which overcame many of the shortfalls that were faced earlier. However, to take the PAN card to its real form, more work was to be carried out. The number assigned to taxpayers was still a manual process, leading to the requirements of more manpower and time.
Later in the year 2017, PAN card was reintroduced with brand new upgrades in it, which included the latest digital technology and features i.e.
- New fields were added for containing card holder’s name, father’s name and date of birth.
- New spaces were maintained to hold the PAN number and signature of the cardholder.
- A Quick Response (QR) code, which is used for data verification by uniquely carrying the cardholder details, was embedded on the card.
Nowadays it has become an obligation for all the taxpayers to have PAN cards, not only the taxpayers but everyone needs a PAN card for some kind of verification of identity that is mandatory while applying for something. But in this busy schedule, it is very important to get a PAN card issued with less time. However, in early days, to get PAN cards were not simple and taking a lot of time because of its complicated processing phases. Taking this into account, applying for PAN card has been made simpler and faster i.e. not exceeding 24 & 48 hours.
Just follow the steps below:
- You can search for National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) official website on Google or directly to the website.
- Navigate to find the “Apply Online” tab and fill all the fields correctly.
- You need to upload the documents that are required. And then go for form submission.
- You will receive an acknowledgment containing the application number after you submit the application successfully.
- All the information and documents will undergo a verification phase by the Income Tax authorities.
- Keep tracking the status of your application using the application number received.
- Once the verification process is complete without any issue, your PAN card will be sent to you through registered post.
That’s it! You will be receiving your PAN card in not more than 48 hours. And keep in mind that you cannot possess multiple PAN cards, doing which, you will be charged a penalty of Rs. 10,000 which is as per the provision mentioned at Income Tax Act 1961, under Section 272B of the.
