Permanent Account Number (PAN) Application

What is PAN?

PAN (Permanent Account Number) is an identification number assigned to all taxpayers in India. PAN is an electronic system through which, all tax related information for a person/company is recorded against a single PAN number. This acts as the primary key for storage of information and is shared across the country. Hence no two tax paying entities can have the same PAN. There are different categories for which different natures of PANs are given out. They are:

Individual
HUF-Hindu undivided family
Company
Firms/Partnerships
Trusts
Society
Foreigners

Why should I register for PAN?

Having a PAN provides each PAN Holder with a variety of benefits. These are –

Proof of Identity
Proof of Address
Mandatory for Filing Taxes
Registration of Business
Financial transactions
Eligibility to open and operate Bank Accounts
Phone Connection
Gas Connection

Mutual Fund – PAN is beneficial to complete e-KYC for mutual fund investments

How to register for PAN

There are ways one can apply for a PAN – online and offline.

The online procedure for PAN card application is as follows:

The first step for PAN application is to visit either the UTIISL website or TIN NSDL and then click on the option ‘New PAN’.
Then choose the Form 49A that is available for the Indian Citizens. This includes NRE, NRI and OCL individuals also.
After that, the applicant must fill in all the desired details that are asked from him in the form. These details are personal in nature and are full name of the applicant, address where the he is residing, his birth date, gender of the applicant, telephone number, details regarding the income of the individual etc.
Once the details are filled in the form, the applicant must submit the form and pay a small amount of money in the form of processing fees.
Then a proper print out of the form has to be taken along with an acknowledgement number. This number consists of 15 digits.
After that the applicant must put his signature in the space provided.

Then the applicant is supposed to attach certain documents on the 15 digit acknowledgement provided to him.

Documents required for online submission

Passport size photograph of the applicant himself.
Identity proof
Address proof of the applicant where he is presently residing.
Demand Draft if the applicant wishes to make payment through DD.

Once the PAN card application is submitted online, he must send the above mentioned documents to the office of the NSDL through post within the next 15 days. If every step has been followed properly, the applicant will receive the PAN card through post within the next 15 working days.

The offline method for PAN card application is as follows:

For offline application of PAN card, the applicant has two options:

Firstly, they can apply by downloading the PAN card application form available on the NSDL or UTIISL website.

Secondly, they can also acquire the application form from various available agents of UTIISL.

Then, the applicant must fill in all the desired details that he must provide along with a host of several supporting documents.

Documents required for offline application of PAN

Photograph of the PAN card applicant.
Identity proof of the applicant.
Address proof of the applicant where he is presently residing.

After that, the applicant must submit that filled out form along with the supporting documents to the office of NSDL. He is also supposed to make a nominal amount of payment upon form submission in the form of processing fee of the application process.

If all the procedures are properly verified and the application process is completed, the process of PAN card issuance takes place where the applicant will receive the PAN card within the next 15 working days to the address mentioned by the applicant in the application form.

There are different categories of individuals and organisations that can apply for PAN. The document requirements for each are different and can be found as under:

Individual Applicant: POI/ POA, Aadhaar, Passport, Voter ID, Driving Licence
Hindu Undivided Family: An affidavit of the HUF issued by the head of HUF along with POI/POA details
Company registered in India: Certificate of Registration issued by the Registrar of Companies
Firms/ Partnership (LLP): Certificate of Registration issued by the Registrar of Firms/ Limited Liability Partnerships and Partnership Deed.
Trust: Copy of Trust Deed or a copy of the Certificate of Registration Number issued by a Charity Commissioner.
Society: Certificate of Registration Number from Registrar of Co-operative Society or Charity Commissioner
Foreigners: Passport, PIO/OCI card issued by the Indian Government, Bank statement of the residential country, Copy of NRE bank statement in India