The deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar has only been extended to June 30, 2023.

Context

A screengrab of a supposed notification by the government of India is doing the rounds on social media with the claim that the deadline to link PAN (Permanent Account Number) card with Aadhaar ( a 12-digit unique identity number) has been extended to 2024. A Twitter user posted a screenshot of the reported notification and wrote in Kannada, "To link Aadhaar card to PAN card time has been given till next year March 2024." Users started sharing this screengrab shortly after an announcement by the Indian government on March 28, 2023, extending the deadline to link PAN with Aadhaar. However, these claims are incorrect.

In Fact

The viral screengrab is a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice on March 21, 2023. A part of the notification reads, "The Central Government hereby makes the following amendment in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Law and Justice (Legislative Department), number S.O. 2803(E), dated the 17th June, 2022, namely:- In the said notification, for the words and figures, “the 1st April, 2023”, the words and figures, “the 31st March, 2024” shall be substituted."

Hindustan Times and News18 have cited the same notification to report that the deadline for linking citizens’ Aadhaar numbers and their voter identification cards has been pushed from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the main reason for encouraging people to link their Aadhaar numbers with their Voter IDs was to establish voters' identities and validate entries on the electoral records, and the process is not mandatory. The steps for linking Voter ID to Aadhaar are also explained in the Hindustan Times, and News18 reports.

The Income Tax (I-T)Department tweeted on March 28, 2023, that the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar has been extended to June 30, 2023. Earlier, March 31, 2023, was the last day to link PAN and Aadhaar. The I-T Department has cited a press release issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The press release reads that the unlinked PAN shall become inoperative with effect as of July 1, 2023. After paying a cost of ₹1,000 and notifying the required authority, the PAN can be made operational once more within 30 days. Moreover, it does not apply to the exempted categories — residents of states of Meghalaya, Assam, and union territories of Jammu and Kashmir states, non-resident taxpayers under the 1961 Income-tax Act, people over the age of 80, and people who are not Indian citizens. Before March 31, 2022, linking Aadhaar to PAN was free. From April 1, 2022, a fee of ₹1,500 was imposed, and from July 1, 2022, the fee was raised to ₹1,000.

The Verdict

The government has extended the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar to June 30, 2023, and not March 31, 2024. A notification on Voter ID-Aadhaar linking is viral with false information. Therefore, we have marked this claim false.