Government makes Aadhaar mandatory to apply for PAN from July 1

The government has made it mandatory to quote Aadhaar number details or the enrollment ID while applying for PAN card starting July 1. This is also the date when the new tax regime goods and services tax (GST) is rolled out. The government order makes Aadhaar mandatory for PAN comes just a day after a vacation bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha refused to pass any interim order in to make Aadhaar mandatory to avail benefits from government schemes. The SC bench said that the interim order cannot be passed on the apprehension of petitioners that the government may deprive people from availing benefits of various welfare schemes due to the lack of Aadhaar details.

Currently, the 12-digit Aadhaar issued by the Central government has been made mandatory for many government services by the central government. The Aadhaar card does not replace existing identification documents, but it is used as a single identification document at healthcare institutions, various government bodies, financial institutions, according to an Indian Express report.

The government, according to PTI, has informed the Supreme Court that it has extended the June 30 deadline to September 30 to those availing benefits of government’s social welfare schemes but don’t have an Aadhaar card.

The government had recently made Aadhaar cards necessary for opening bank accounts. Those who do not have an Aadhaar card, have been asked to submit Aadhaar card details to the bank within six months of opening a bank account. Failure to deposit the details would lead to the bank blocking the account.