The Indian government has extended the deadline for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Aadhaar by three months to June 30, 2023. This decision was made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted many aspects of daily life, including financial and administrative activities.

The announcement was made by an official statement on Tuesday, which also warned taxpayers that the PAN of those who fail to intimate their Aadhaar as required will become inoperative from July 1, 2023. The previous deadline for linking PAN and Aadhaar was March 31, which has now been extended.

People can still link their Aadhaar to their PAN without facing any repercussions, provided they do so before June 30, 2023. Failure to link the two numbers will result in penalties under the Income-tax Act beginning from April 1, 2023.

As per the Income-tax Act, 1961, every individual who has a PAN as of July 1, 2017, and is eligible to obtain an Aadhaar number, is required to submit their Aadhaar to the appropriate authority on or before March 31, 2023, upon payment of a prescribed fee.

It is important to note that the PAN card is an essential document for financial transactions and income tax purposes, and the linking of Aadhaar with PAN aims to curb tax evasion and reduce duplicate PAN cards.

However, the government has recognized the difficulties faced by taxpayers during the pandemic and has extended the deadline to provide them with additional time to comply with the regulations.