PAN 2.0 Project: Taxpayers will be issued PAN card with QR code in the coming days. The PAN 2.0 project has been approved in the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday 25 November 2024. But many questions are arising in the minds of taxpayers regarding PAN. Those who already have a PAN card, will they have to get a new PAN card? Will any change be possible in the new PAN or not? The Finance Ministry has answered 11 frequently asked questions arising in the minds of taxpayers regarding the PAN 2.0 project.
Question – 1 – What is PAN 2.0 project?
Answer- PAN 2.0 Project is an e-governance project of the Income Tax Department to bring about a new change in the business process of taxpayers registration services. Its objective is to improve the quality of PAN services through latest technology. Through this project, the Income Tax Department will consolidate the process of PAN allotment, updation and correction. TAN Services has also been merged with this project. Through online PAN validation services, the facility of PAN authentication validation will be provided to financial institutions, banks, government agencies, central and state government departments.
Question-2 – Is PAN 2.0 different from the existing setup?
Answer – Integration of Platforms – Currently, PAN related services are hosted on three different portals (e-filing portal, UTITSL portal, Protean e-Gov portal) and PAN/TAN services are hosted on a unified platform of the Income Tax Department. Will now be hosted on the portal. Services like PAN and TAN allotment, updation, correction, online PAN validation, know your assessment officer, Aadhaar-PAN linking, verifying PAN, request for e-PAN and reprint of PAN card will be available on the new portal. And this entire process will be paperless through technology.
Taxpayers Facilitation – Allotment, updation, or correction of PAN will be done completely free of cost. E-PAN will be sent to the registered email ID. For physical PAN card, applicants will have to deposit Rs 50 (domestic) while applying. Apart from Rs 15, the charges levied by India Post for delivery of the card outside India will have to be deposited by the applicants.
Question – 3 – Will existing PAN cardholders have to apply for a new PAN under the upgraded system? And does the PAN number need to be changed?
Answer – Existing PAN card holders do not need to apply for a new PAN under the PAN 2.0 project.
Question – 4. Will it be possible to make corrections like change in name, spelling, address in PAN?
Answer – If PAN holders want to make changes in email, mobile number, address or name and date of birth in their existing PAN, then they can get the correction or updation done. And no charge will have to be paid for this. Till the PAN 2.0 project is rolled out, PAN holders can make changes in their email, mobile, address through Aadhaar based online services. These services are available for free on these URLs.
https://www.onlineservices.nsdl.com/paam/endUserAddressUpdate.html
https://www.pan.utiitsl.com/PAN_ONLINE/homeaddresschange
In case of any other case of updation or correction in PAN details, PAN holders can do so using the existing process either by visiting physical centers or by applying online on payment basis.
Question – 5 – Do I need to change my PAN card under PAN 2.0?
Answer – No, PAN card will not be changed unless the PAN holder wants any updation or correction. Existing valid PAN cards will continue to be valid under PAN 2.0.
Question – 6 – Many people have not changed their address and their old address remains intact. How will the new PAN card be delivered? And when will the new PAN card be delivered?
Question – No new PAN card will be delivered unless the PAN holders request for any update/correction in their existing PAN. PAN holders who wish to update their old address can do so for free using the Aadhaar based online facility by visiting the URL given below. The new address will be updated in the PAN database.
https://www.pan.utiitsl.com/PAN_ONLINE/homeaddresschange
https://www.onlineservices.nsdl.com/paam/endUserAddressUpdate.html
Question – 7 – If the new PAN cards are QR code enabled, will the old ones continue to work the same? How will QR code help us?
Question – QR code is not a new feature, and it has been included in PAN card since 2017-18. In the PAN 2.0 project, this dynamic QR code will display the latest data in the PAN database. PAN holders with old PAN cards without QR code have the option to apply for a new card with QR code in the existing PAN 1.0 eco-system as well as PAN 2.0. QR code helps in validation of PAN and PAN details. Currently, a specific QR reader application is available for verification of QR code details. On reading the reader application, complete details, i.e. photo, signature, name, father’s name/mother’s name and date of birth are displayed.
Question – 8 – What is Common Business Identifier in business related activity?
Answer – In the Union Budget 2023, it was announced that for business establishments for which PAN is required, PAN will be used as an identifier for all digital systems of designated government agencies.
Question – 9 – Will the Common Business Identifier replace the existing Unique Taxpayer Identification Number such as PAN?
Question – No. PAN will be used as a common business identifier.
Question – 10 – What is the meaning of Unified Portal?
Question – At present, PAN related services are hosted on three different portals. Under the PAN 2.0 project, all PAN/TAN related services will be hosted on a single unified portal of the Income Tax Department. All end-to-end services related to PAN and TAN will be available on this portal, such as allotment, updation, correction, Online PAN Verification (OPV), Know Your AO, Aadhaar-PAN linking, verifying your PAN, e- Request for PAN, including request for reprint of PAN card will further simplify the processes. And delay in delivery of PAN services, delay in redressal of complaints due to different modes of receiving applications (online eKYC/online paper mode/offline) will be avoided.
Question-11 – If a person has more than one PAN, how will they be identified and how will the extra PAN be removed?
Answer – According to the provisions of the Income Tax Act 1961, no person can hold more than one PAN. If a person holds more than one PAN, he has to bring it to the notice of the Assessing Officer of his area and get the extra PAN removed or deactivated. In PAN 2.0, improved systems to identify potential duplicate requests for PAN and centralized and improved mechanisms to resolve duplicates will reduce the possibility of an individual holding more than one PAN.
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PAN Update: New PAN card with QR code will be issued to taxpayers, cardholders will not have to pay any charge.
