The existing PAN card will remain valid under the PAN 2.0 initiative, and holders will automatically receive an electronic version via email, without needing to apply. However, those who want a physical card must apply and pay a fee of Rs 50 if they are residents of India, the tax department announced on Tuesday.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) announced in a set of FAQs released on Tuesday that existing PAN holders can update or correct their details, such as email, mobile number, address, name, or date of birth, free of charge once the PAN 2.0 project is launched. This comes after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Rs 1,400 crore project.
In the meantime, PAN holders can use the Aadhaar-based online facility to update their email, mobile, and address details for free.
The PAN 2.0 project will introduce QR codes for validating PAN and other details, a feature that has already been launched. It will also consolidate all PAN and TAN-related services, which are currently spread across three portals—e-filing, UTIITSL, and Protean e-Gov—into the Income Tax Department portal. This will streamline the entire process, from application to allotment, online validation, Aadhaar linking, and updates, all of which will be paperless, according to the CBDT. As announced in Budget 2023, PAN will now act as the “common business identifier” for all digital systems of specified government agencies.
The government aims for the PAN 2.0 initiative to tackle the issue of individuals and entities holding multiple PANs, which is currently illegal. The country’s database now contains 78 crore PANs and 73.3 lakh TANs.
The PAN 2.0 Project is an e-Governance initiative by the Income Tax Department (ITD) aimed at re-engineering the business processes of taxpayer registration services. The goal of the project is to improve the quality of PAN services by incorporating the latest technology. As part of this initiative, the ITD is consolidating all processes related to PAN allotment, updates, and corrections into a more streamlined and efficient system.
The PAN 2.0 project also merges TAN-related services into the same framework. Additionally, the project will provide online PAN authentication and validation services to user agencies such as financial institutions, banks, government agencies, and central and state government departments. Currently, PAN-related services are spread across three different portals (e-filing portal, UTIITSL portal, and Protean e-Gov Portal). With the PAN 2.0 initiative, all PAN/TAN-related services will be consolidated into a single unified portal hosted by the Income Tax Department (ITD).
This portal will offer end-to-end services for PAN and TAN, including allotment, updates, corrections, online PAN validation (OPV), Know Your AO, Aadhaar-PAN linking, PAN verification, requests for e-PAN, and reprints of PAN cards.