PAN numbers are supposed to be like fingerprints. No two people can have the same one.

Well, the Income Tax department seems have made an exception.

The I-T department issued the same Permanent Account Number (PAN) to two different persons with the same name. The aggrieved individuals, one a resident of Haridwar, and the other from Jaipur, realized the goof-up when one of them was intimated of a loan sanctioned in his name that he had never sought.

One of the things that may have caused the confusion can be the fact that Rajesh Singh of Haridwar shares his name with Rajesh Kumar Singh of Jaipur. The coincidence doesn't end here. The fathers of both men also bear the same name — Mohan Singh — and the two share the exact same date of birth — December 1, 1970. The I-T department then decided to give them one more thing in common, the PAN number (ADGPS2143H).

Rajesh Kumar Singh, assistant engineer with RIICO, said, "The person in Haridwar telephoned me after he was told by the bank that
a loan of Rs 5 lakh had been taken from HDFC bank in Jaipur on his pan card number."

Incidentally, the Rajesh in Haridwar too had gone to seek a loan. Considering that he had never visited Jaipur, news of a pre-existing bank loan came as a rude shock.

"He traced my number with the help of officials and sent me the copy of his pan card. So far, I haven't faced any problems due to this duplication. However, to avoid any problems in the future, I have sought cancellation of one card number," Kumar said. (Times of India)