What is PAN Card?

PAN card is an identity number that is assigned to all Indian taxpayers. PAN (Permanent Account Number) is an electronic system that records all tax-related information for a person or corporation against a single PAN number. This serves as the primary key for information storage and is shared across the country. As a result, no two tax-paying entities can have the same PAN.

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Overview

Name Of Authority issuing PAN	Income Tax Department, Govt. of India
PAN Customer Care Number	020 – 27218080
Inception of PAN Card	1972
Validity Of PAN Card	Life Time
Cost of PAN Card	Rs. 110
Number Of Enrolments	25 crore (approximate)

Eligibility for PAN

PAN Card is issued to individuals, companies, non-resident Indians or anyone who pays taxes in India.

Types of PAN

1. Individual
2. HUF-Hindu undivided family
3. Company
4. Firms/Partnerships
5. Trusts
6. Society
7. Foreigners

Documents for PAN

PAN requires two types of documents. Proof of address (POA) and Proof of Identity (POI). Any two of the following documents should meet the criteria

Individual Applicant	POI/ POA- Aadhaar, Passport, Voter ID, Driving Licence
Hindu Undivided Family	An affidavit of the HUF issued by the head of HUF along with POI/POA details
Company registered in India	Certificate of Registration issued by Registrar of Companies
Firms/ Partnership (LLP)	Certificate of Registration issued by the Registrar of Firms/ Limited Liability Partnerships and Partnership Deed.
Trust	Copy of Trust Deed or a copy of the Certificate of Registration Number issued by a Charity Commissioner.
Society	Certificate of Registration Number from Registrar of Co-operative Society or Charity Commissioner
Foreigners	Passport PIO/ OCI card issued by the Indian Government Bank statement of the residential country Copy of NRE bank statement in India

The Cost of PAN Card

The cost of PAN card is Rs. 110 or Rs. 1,020 (approximately) if PAN card is to be dispatched outside India.

How to Enrol for PAN

Whether Online or Offline, you can enrol for PAN in 3 simple steps

• Visiting the official PAN – NSDL/UTIITSL website
• Fill the form with your details.
• Submit the required documents.
• Pay the processing fee.
• PAN will be dispatched within 15 days.

How to Update/Edit PAN Details?

PAN can be updated by the following steps:

• Go to the NSDL website and select the update PAN section
• Select option “Correction” in existing PAN data

A copy of (POI/POA) supporting documents is required.

What to Do and What Not to Do When Filling Out a PAN Update Form

• The form must be filled out entirely in capital characters.
• Complete all of the fields for updating.
• A mobile phone number is required for any updates to take place.
• Fill out the form in English and the local language of enrollment.
• Make certain that the form is solely filled out with current and relevant information.
• Salutations such as Mr/ Mrs/ Ms/ Dr are not permitted.
• Make certain that the full and complete address is entered in order for the PAN to be delivered to the address.
• When self-attesting supporting papers, enter your name clearly with your signature or thumbprint.
• Only attach papers that support the required upgrade.
• Incorrect information and a lack of supporting documentation will result in the application being rejected.

Structure of PAN Card

PAN card contains information such as an identity, and age proof and also complies with the Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines. PAN card details are as follows:

• Name of the cardholder – Individual/ Company
• Name of the father of the cardholder – Applicable for individual cardholders.
• Date of birth – the cardholder’s date of birth in case of an individual or date of registration is mentioned in the case of a company or firm.
• PAN Number – It is a 10-letter alpha-numeric number and each character represents distinct information of the cardholder.

• The first three letters – are purely alphabetical in nature and contain three-letter of the alphabet from A to Z.
• The fourth letter – represents the category of the taxpayer. The various entities and their respective characters are as follows:

1. A – Association of Persons
2. B – Body of Individuals
3. C – Company
4. F – Firms
5. G – Government
6. H – Hindu Undivided Family
7. L – Local Authority
8. J – Artificial Judicial Person
9. P – Individual
10. T – Association of Persons for a Trust

• The fifth letter – the fifth letter is the first letter of the individual’s surname
• The remaining letters – the remaining characters are random. The first 4 characters are numbers while the last one is an alphabet.
• Signature of the individual – PAN Card also acts as proof of the individual’s signature required for financial transactions.
• Photograph of the individual – PAN acts as a photo identity proof of the individual. In the case of companies and firms, no photograph is present on the card.

Why do you need PAN?

PAN is a unique identification number that enables each tax-paying entity of India with the following:

• Proof of Identity
• Proof of Address
• Mandatory for Filing Taxes
• Registration of Business
• Financial transactions
• Eligibility to open and operate Bank Accounts
• Phone Connection
• Gas Connection

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