PAN Registration Steps

 

PAN Registration Steps

A Permanent Account Number (PAN) card is an important document by the Indian Government. It is useful for many processes related to financing, such as filing income tax returns, to make payments that are above Rs. 50,000 or even for opening a new bank account. It also counts as a valid identity proof in India, and it can be issued for every citizen – be Indian, Non-Resident of India (NRI) or even foreign Nationals – making it a nationalized identity card.

It is a document issued by the Income Tax Department of India and has a 10-digit alphanumeric code that is unique to every citizen of India – and no two people can have the same number. The code can be broken into the following (when read from left to right):

●        The first 5 digits of the code are Alphabets.

●        The next 4 digits are numeric characters.

●        The last digit of the code is an Alphabet.

This makes it a unique identifying number. Pan can be issued to either an individual (tax-paying person), company or HUF. We can either go to a government office that has been authorized for PAN application, or we can apply for the same online. We shall cover the steps for the individual issuing of PAN card, along with the online procedure in this article. There are 2 websites that are authorized by the Indian Government who can issue PAN cards - NSDL or UTIITSL. They both have sanctions by the Indian Government and Tax Department to issue or make changes in the PAN on their behalf.

The online procedure is easy to follow and simple to implement and saves the individual a lot of logistical problems. In this mode, you only need to fill in the online form given on these websites, pay the processing fee and then send required copies of other government issued documents that are used for verification by post to either NSDL or UTIITSL. The online processing Fee is as follows:

●        Rs. 93 (excluding GST) for Indian Residents

●        Rs. 864 (excluding GST) for foreigners, or NRIs.

We shall explore the process for filling through NSDL’s website.

1.    Choosing and filling your form

As mentioned earlier, PAN can be issued to any person. Hence, we must first choose the right form to fill in. These are the following forms that one can choose from:

●        New PAN – Indian Citizen (Form 49A)

●        New PAN – Foreign Citizen (Form 49AA)

●    Changes or Correction in existing PAN data/Reprint of PAN Card (No changes in existing PAN Data)

Also, you need to select your category of applicant. The categories that you can choose from are:

●        Individual

●        Association of Persons

●        Body of Individuals

●        Company

●        Trust

●        Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

●        Firm

●        Government

●        Hindu Undivided Family

●        Artificial Juridical Person

●        Local Authority

Figure 1: Source

Your first page should look like this. Select your applicant category and application type accordingly. For most people, this should be Individual. Fill up the details available to you on the form.

2.    Security and Captcha

After filling up all the details required, check the box (after thoroughly reading the rules and consents that you are agreeing to while you submit your PAN registration). Then enter the captcha and proceed further.

3.    Payment

As mentioned earlier, there is a processing fee that is required to be paid by the individual, with the charges mentioned above. You have the following methods of payment that you can use:

●        Debit Cards

●        Credit Cards

●        Demand Draft (DD)

●        Net-Banking

Once your payment is successful, you shall receive an acknowledging receipt or mail of the same. This acknowledgement number should be saved carefully by the individual.

4.    Sending Verification documents

We need to send documents for verification after your payment has been accepted by NSDL. You must send it via post or courier to NSDL. These documents include one each for:

●        Proof of Identity

●        Proof of Address

●        Proof of Date of Birth

Once paid, you’ll be asked to authenticate by entering your Aadhar card number and receiving an OTP, and then you’ll have the following options to submit documents for verification:

●        e-sign

●        physically send the documents to NSDL

You can find the entire list of documents here (taken from the website of the Income Tax Authority of India).

Thus, as you can see, applying for PAN is now much easier than it was 5-6 years ago. Now everything can be completed in a matter of minutes and with minimum hassle. Making changes/corrections to your PAN is also quite simple and follows the same procedures. The processing fee is also the same. The documents for change though are slightly different, and they focus mainly on proving that you are making changes from your old PAN to your new PAN. You can find the complete set of instructions needed to make changes to your PAN from this website.

I can help you more here though. Click on the services tab above, and there click on Income Tax – and voila! You have an amazing service at your hands where I can help you out with your registration! Check it out here and take a step towards making your payments and tax returns-filings a lot more easier!