PAN

Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a ten-digit alphanumeric identifier, issued by Income Tax Department. Each assessee (e.g. individual, firm, company etc.) is issued a unique PAN.

All existing assessees or taxpayers or persons who are required to file a return of income, even on behalf of others, must have a PAN. Any person, who intends to enter into economic or financial transactions where quoting PAN is mandatory, must also have a PAN.

Section 160 of IT Act, 1961 provides that a minor, lunatic, idiot, mentally retarded, deceased, wards of court and such other persons may be represented through a Representative Assessee.

In such cases,

• In the application for PAN, details of the a minor, lunatic, idiot, mentally retarded, deceased, wards of court, etc. should be provided.
• Details of representative assessee have to be provided in item 14 of the application for PAN.

Permanent Account Number (PAN), as the name suggests, is a permanent number and does not change.

Changing the address though, may change the Assessing Officer. Such changes must, therefore, be intimated to ITD so that the PAN database of ITD can be updated. One can intimate change in address by filling up the form for Request for New PAN Card or/and Changes or Correction in PAN data. This form can be submitted at any TIN-FC or online at Protean e-Gov - TIN website.

No. Obtaining/possessing more than one PAN is against the law and may attract a penalty up to 10,000. Therefore, it is advisable not to obtain/possess more than one PAN.

You may fill and submit PAN Change Request application form by mentioning the PAN which you are using currently on top of the form. All other PAN/s inadvertently allotted to you should be mentioned at item no. 11 of the form and the corresponding PAN card copy/s should be submitted for cancellation along with the form.

Yes. As per procedure prescribed by Income Tax Department, third party verification may be conducted to verify identity and address of PAN applicants along with genuineness of documents submitted by them during PAN application. If found fake, the Income Tax Department may take suitable action.

e-PAN is a digitally signed PAN card issued in electronic form and it is a valid proof of allotment of PAN.

Yes. It is mandatory to mention valid e-mail ID in PAN application form to receive e-PAN.

Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act states that every person who has PAN as on July 1, 2017 is required to link his/her PAN with his/her Aadhaar number. Section 139AA also requires mandatory quoting of Aadhaar while applying for new PAN and also while filing return.

Aadhaar-PAN linking deadline has been extended till March 31, 2022.

(A) You may visit e-filing website of Income Tax Department https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal or Protean e-Gov TIN website tinpan.proteantech.in and link your Aadhaar with PAN.

(B) Alternatively, you can link your Aadhaar with PAN by sending SMS in the following format to 567678 –

The format is: UIDPAN<SPACE><12 digit Aadhaar><SPACE><10 digit PAN>  

For example, if your Aadhaar number is 111122223333 and PAN is AAAPA9999Q, then you are required to send SMS to 567678 as UIDPAN 111122223333 AAAPA9999Q

This is a free service provided by Protean e-Gov. However, SMS charges as levied by the mobile operator will be applicable

You can link your Aadhaar with PAN using Biometric Aadhaar Authentication services. Click here to download Aadhaar Seeding Request Form and visit designated PAN centre for Biometric Aadhaar Authentication along with supporting documents i.e. copy of PAN card and Aadhaar card. Unlike abovementioned online services, linking of Aadhaar with PAN using Biometric Aadhaar Authentication is chargeable.

This facility allows you to securely link your DigiLocker account to your online PAN application. By doing so, you can directly fetch your verified digital documents (like your Driving Licence or Birth Certificate) as proof, eliminating the need to manually scan and upload them.

• Faster Processing: Because the documents are digitally verified and untampered, your application bypasses manual back-office human verification, moving straight to processing.
• Paperless & Secure: You do not need to print, sign, scan, or upload physical documents.
• Error-Free: Your details are securely pulled straight from government databases, reducing the risk of data rejection.

When you choose the Aadhaar-based online application mode:

• Your Proof of Identity (POI) and Proof of Address (POA) are automatically verified using your Aadhaar Card.
• Your Proof of Date of Birth (DOB) can be pulled securely from DigiLocker using an approved document of your choice.

You can select any of the following valid documents from the dropdown list on the application page to pull from DigiLocker:

• Birth Certificate issued by the Municipal Authority or any authorized office
• Driving Licence
• Matriculation Certificate
• Matriculation Marksheet of a Recognized Board
• Marriage Certificate issued by the Registrar of Marriages
• Domicile Certificate issued by the Government
• Other documents as specified under Rule 158 of Income Tax Rules, 2026

• If you choose to use a Passport, Voter ID, CGHS, or Ex-Servicemen Card, you will need to bypass the automated DigiLocker flow and manually upload a scanned copy of the document for verification.

The following documents are currently not supported by DigiLocker for instant DoB verification:

• Passport
• EPIC / Voter ID Card
• CGHS Card
• Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme Photo Card

As soon as you select the Aadhaar-based application mode, the system will give you a "Register Now" option. Clicking this will instantly redirect you to the official DigiLocker portal (https://www.digilocker.gov.in/) where you can create your account and issue your documents in a few minutes. Once done, you can return to complete your PAN application.

Simply select "Fetch via DigiLocker". You will fill out your PAN details normally, and when you reach the final document submission page, you will be prompted to log into DigiLocker to pull your chosen document.

Your DigiLocker document selection must exactly match the choice you made on the PAN application page. If your Passport is not available in your DigiLocker vault, you cannot switch it directly inside the DigiLocker interface. Instead, you must cancel the current fetch process, return to the Protean PAN application screen, select a different valid proof (such as your Driving Licence) from the dropdown list, and then click "Fetch via DigiLocker" again to log in and retrieve that specific document.

Yes, completely. DigiLocker is a secure cloud-based platform provided by the Government of India. The platform shares your document data in an encrypted, digitally signed XML format. Protean only accesses the specific document you explicitly give consent to share.

If there is a technical error, a network issue, or your document isn't supported, the application will smoothly fall back to the standard manual submission mode. You will be able to scan and upload your documents manually just as before, ensuring your application process isn't lost.

Yes. All standard communication protocols remain exactly the same. You will receive real-time updates, token generation emails, payment receipts, and acknowledgment numbers via your registered email and mobile number, just at a much faster processing speed.

Errors encountered while registering with DigiLocker or issues with pulling documents from DigiLocker are not handled by Protean. Applicants need to get in touch directly with the DigiLocker helpdesk to resolve such concerns.