Six Aadhaar linkage deadlines that you should be aware of

With UIDAI announcing that the deadlines for linking or verifying Aadhaar with bank accounts, PAN and mobile operators "valid and lawful", it becomes imperative to adhere to the Aadhaar linkage norms.

The deadlines Aadhaar linking are fast approaching and missing them may lead to termination or suspension of important services.

Aadhaar-Bank Account Linking Deadline — March 31, 2018

You have to link your bank account to Aadhaar in order to keep it active after March 31, 2018. If you fail to submit your Aadhaar details within the stipulated time-frame, the bank account will cease to be operational till you submit the data. Services like cash withdrawals, funds transfer or other financial instruments will not be available.

The government has directed all financial institutions and banks to make all customers KYC-compliant for which the biometric authentication and other Aadhaar data are required.

The linking can be done at a bank’s branch or through mobile and netbanking. For most of these authentication processes, which are OTP based, your mobile number should be registered with Aadhaar.

Aadhaar-PAN Linking Deadline — March 31, 2018

The Central Board of Direct Taxes on December 8 extended the deadline for linking Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar. The deadline has been postponed to March 31, 2018.

The Aadhaar-PAN linking can be done on the Income Tax website. The government is likely to cancel all PANs that have not been linked to the 12-digit biometric identity to eliminate duplicate or bogus PAN cards.

Aadhaar-Mobile Linking — February 6, 2018

Under the direction from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), all telecom operators need to re-verify the numbers of existing prepaid and postpaid mobile users through the Aadhaar-linked KYC. The deadline is February 6, 2018.

As per DoT directions, now to telecom service providers can verify subscribers' Aadhaar data without biometrics. An OTP service for the same has been started.

Mobile numbers not linked to Aadhaar by February 6, 2018 will not be deactivated immediately because the DoT is awaiting Supreme Court verdict. But if judgement goes to DoT’s favour, deactivation is likely to be on cards.

Aadhaar-Mutual Fund Linking — December 31, 2017

It is now mandatory to link Aadhaar to your mutual fund investments before December 31, 2017.

It is easy to link the both as such investments are necessarily connected with the investor’s PAN. Hence, you can easily do the linking by approaching Registrar and Transfer Agents.

Failure to link Aadhaar with mutual fund investments can stop you from transferring your fund folios.

Read more: How to link Aadhaar to your mutual fund investments

Social Security Schemes

To avail social security and welfare schemes provided by the government, you need to provide your Aadhaar details to concerned authorities by December 31, 2017.

Such schemes comprise the subsidy on LPG cylinders, educational scholarships and so on.

PPF, NSC & others

Updating Aadhaar details by December 31, 2017 is mandatory for users of Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), and Kisan Vikas Patra, etc. Those who do not have an Aadhaar card or Aadhaar number till now can submit the enrollment identity number of their Aadhaar application.

Also read: Prevent Aadhaar misuse: How to track its usage on UIDAI website