Deadline for PAN-Aadhar linking extended for a fifth time, new date is 31 March 2019

• The deadline for PAN-Aadhar linking has been extended to 31 March 2019.
  
• It might have been done because the Supreme Court supported the activists’ argument to push back the deadlines.
  
• Despite the fact that the deadline has been extended for the fifth time, only about 16.65 crore out of the 33 crore existing PANs have been linked with Aadhaar up till March this year.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued an order under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act, stating that the deadline for PAN-Aadhar linking has been extended to 31 March 2019. The announcement was made this Saturday night, just a few hours before the end of the previous deadline. Despite the fact that the deadline has been extended for the fifth time, only about 16.65 crore out of the 33 crore existing PANs had been linked with Aadhaar, up till March this year.

The earlier deadlines for the PAN-Aadhar linking were 31 July, 31 August and 31 December 2017 followed by 31 March and 30 June of this year.

India had launched Aadhaar back in 2009 and it has now become the world's biggest biometric database. Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, which came into effect from 1 July 2017, mandated that all taxpayers having an Aadhaar card must link it with their PAN. The biometric card would also be required to file income tax returns and to get a new PAN card. The provision was incorporated to check tax evasion through the use of multiple PAN cards.

Activists have challenged the validity of the Aadhaar law, claiming that linking their Aadhar card for various purposes put their privacy at stake and thereby, violated their fundamental Right to Privacy. They also argue that Aadhar linking leaves room for misuse of their fingerprint and iris scans. The activists had filed petitions and moved court against this law.

The five judges hearing the petitions had concluded the case in May but have not yet delivered the ruling regarding whether Aadhaar should be made mandatory for welfare schemes and financial transactions, or not.

CBDT said that the announcement for extending the deadline has been made after "consideration of the matter". However, it seems that it was done because the Supreme Court, which has heard several petitions against the Aadhaar law, had supported arguments to push back the deadlines before the court gives a final verdict.

Photo by: Annie Spratt on Unsplash,