With two days to deadline, here's how to link your PAN and Aadhaar

The deadline for mandatory linking of PAN and Aadhaar card for filing of income tax returns is in two days - September 30, as per a Supreme Court ruling.

Failure to link the two documents might render your PAN card 'inoperative' from October 1 onwards. So here is a simple guide on how you can complete the process:

Visit the Income Tax (I-T) department website https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home - click on Aadhaar Linking - fill in your 12-digit Aadhaar number; 10-digit PAN; name and Captcha for the one-time password (OTP).

Read Here: A 3-step guide to PAN-Aadhaar linking ahead of deadline

According to a notification issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on August 30, a person who furnishes Aadhaar, as they do not have PAN, "shall be deemed" to have applied for allotment of PAN and they will not be required to apply or submit any more documents.

The I-T department will automatically issue PAN to a taxpayer using Aadhaar number for filing returns as part of a new arrangement to link the two databases.

Also Read: PAN will be generated automatically if a taxpayer uses Aadhaar for filing returns: CBDT

Linking of the two databases is now compulsory and backed by law, the CBDT chief had said. While Aadhaar is issued by UIDAI to a resident, PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number allotted by the tax department to a person, firm or entity.

The deadline for the linking process has already been extended several times in the past.