The landlord’s Permanent Account Number (PAN) must be mentioned by employees claiming tax exemption under house rent allowance if the annual sum exceeds Rs 1 lakh.

“An employee claiming exemption from tax with respect to house rent allowance received is now required to report the PAN of the landlord to the employer, if the rent paid by the employee to the landlord exceeds Rs 1 lakh per annum, along with the rent receipt,” minister of state for finance J.D. Seelam said in a written statement to the Rajya Sabha today.

He quoted a circular by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on the matter of deduction of tax at source during payment of salaries.

“In case the landlord does not have a PAN, a declaration to this effect from the landlord along with the name and address of the landlord should be filed by the employees,” Seelam added.

In a separate response, the junior minister said the number of tax assesses had increased manifold over the years. In the past 15 years, the number of effective income tax assesses has increased by more than three times — from 1.16 crore as on March 1997 to 3.63 crore at the end of March 2012.

He added that 42,800 persons other than companies admitted to a taxable income exceeding Rs 1 crore.

“The cabinet had approved the cadre restructuring of the income-tax department in May 2013. The implementation of the same is under progress,” Seelam said. (PTI)