Aadhaar PAN linking mandatory only for Resident individuals

The Supreme Court today upheld the linking of Aadhaar with PAN for filing income tax returns, thus upholding the Section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The government in 2017 has introduced the aforesaid  section in the income tax act making it mandatory for assesses to quote Aadhaar/Enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form, for filing of return of income and for making an application for allotment of Permanent Account Number with effect from 1 July, 2017.

The government had then clarified that such mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or Enrolment ID would apply only to a person who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number. As per the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, only a resident individual is entitled to obtain Aadhaar.

Resident as per the said Act means an individual who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to one hundred and eighty-two days or more in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment.

It also made it clear that the requirement to quote Aadhaar as per section 139AA of the Income-tax Act would not apply to an individual who is not a resident as per the Aadhaar Act, 2016.

Meanwhile, the apex court has said in its verdict today that linking of Aadhaar with the bank and mobile numbers should not be made mandatory. #casansaar (Source - Business Today)