A Permanent Account Number or PAN is a 10-digit unique identification alphanumeric number used to identify a taxpayer in India. All tax-related information of a person is regarded against this number, which acts as a primary key to store the information. No two people can have the same number.
A PAN card, a physical card which contains the taxpayer's name, date of birthday, and photograph, is also allotted by the Income Tax Department whenever a PAN is issued. Your PAN Card is valid for lifetime because it is unaffected by any change in address.
A PAN is unique to an individual and a duplicate copy can be applied for online via the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).
However, some people make different PANs for different tasks such as one for Demat account and a separate for the payment and return filing of income tax.
As per Section 139A of the Income Tax Act, a person can hold only one PAN. Under the Section 272B of the Income Tax Act, the income tax officer can levy a penalty of Rs 10,000 on a person for having more than one PAN.
Here is How to Surrender Your Extra PAN Online
- Visit NSDL Online: www.onlineservices.nsdl.com/paam/endUserRegisterContact.html
- Select PAN correction option from the application type dropdown, and fill out your personal details.
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