In India, having a PAN card is of utmost importance. From opening a bank account to filing your income tax, without a PAN card, none of that would be possible these days.

“Would applying for a PAN card be a lengthy process?”

The answer is a sounding No.

With recent digitization of the process, applying for a PAN card has gotten to be a swift process. So swift, that you can actually breeze by it in 10 minutes.

Yes, you heard that right. 10 minutes.

In a recent press conference, Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman launched the never-heard-before facility of Instant Permanent Account Number using the Aadhaar based e-KYC.

This unique facility is now available to all those Permanent Account Number (PAN) applicants who have a valid Aadhaar number and who have a mobile number registered in the UIDAI database.

The e-PAN application in 10 minutes.

The PAN issued would be in the PDF format to applicants and would be absolutely free of cost. The applicant would only have to type their valid Aadhaar number and submit the OTP generated on their registered mobile number. Once the process is complete, a 15-digit acknowledgement number is generated, which will allow the applicant to peruse through the application at a later date too.

Once the request is submitted, the applicant can check the status of the request by providing his/her valid Aadhaar number and on a successful allotment can even download the PAN. The applicant will also receive a copy of the PAN in their registered e-mail ID in their Aadhaar card.

How to apply for the PAN card?

  1. Visit the e-filing website of the Income tax department.
  2. Click the link that reads “Instant PAN through Aadhaar”.
  3. Click on the link that reads “Get new PAN”.
  4. Fill in your Aadhaar in the space that has been provided and enter the captcha and hit confirm.
  5. The applicant would receive an OTP on the registered Aadhaar mobile number. The applicant is expected to submit this OTP in the text box on the webpage.
  6. After submission, there will be an acknowledgement generated. The applicant is expected to keep this acknowledgement safe for future reference.

Who cannot avail of this facility?

  1. Those who do not have a valid Aadhaar card number registered on their name.
  2. Those who do not have their mobile number linked to their Aadhaar.
  3. Those who have their Date of Birth mentioned in an older format.
  4.  Those who are still under the age of 18.

In conclusion

Applying for a PAN card never got easier than this. With this fantastic facility, people can now get their PAN card swiftly and work towards their documentation in no time, as we all are aware that PAN card serves to be a precious identification document too.

PAN card procedures, once upon a time, may have been harder. But with changing times, PAN has changed, has evolved, and now is offering convenience to the people.