SEBI asks investors to link PAN with Aadhaar by March 31, 2023

The deadline of March 31, 2023, was issued by the CBDT in March last year through a circular which said that failing to comply would lead to the discontinuation of the PAN.

SEBI has directed all investors to link their PAN with their Aadhaar numbers by the end of the month for the continuation of seamless transactions in the securities market.

The deadline of March 31, 2023, was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in March last year through a circular which said that failing to comply would lead to the discontinuation of the PAN.

SEBI upheld the dictation on March 8, saying that such an event where a PAN is not linked to the respective investor’s Aadhar will be considered non-KYC compliant, which would then attract various consequences under the Income-tax Act, 1961, such as restrictions on securities and other transactions until the requisition is fulfilled.

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"Since PAN is the key identification number and part of KYC requirements for all transactions in the securities market, all SEBI registered entities and Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) are required to ensure valid KYC for all participants,” said the statement by SEBI.

"All existing investors are required to ensure linking of their PAN with Aadhaar number prior to March 31, 2023, for continual and smooth transactions in the securities market and to avoid consequences of non-compliance with the said CBDT circular," it added.