Former CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra, early this month with a conference, said that only 23 crore PAN card-holders -- over 1 / 2 of their entire PAN card-holders -- have linked their cards using biometric ID Aadhaar.

New Delhi: The CBDT has worried that Aadhaar-PAN linking is"mandatory" for people filing an Income Tax Return (ITR) and also this action needs to be"done" by March 31 this season.

Thus, in regard to Department 139AA of Income Tax Act, 1961 and arrangement dated June 30, 2018 of, this Central Board of Direct Legislation, Aadhaar-PAN linking is mandatory now that must be performed till March 31, 20-19 from PAN holders requiring filing of ITR," that the CBDT said in an advisory Thursday.

The Supreme Court on February 6 had affirmed that linkage of all PAN using eadhaar card is mandatory for the filing of ITRs.

This reiteration of the September arrangement of the apex court came in an appeal filed with the Centre against a Delhi High Court order allowing 2 men to document their ITRs for 2018 19 without linking their own Aadhaar and PAN amounts.

A bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer claimed the top court has recently decided the issue and maintained the department 139AA of their Income Tax Act.

The apex court on September 26 final year also had announced the Centre's flagship Aadhaar scheme as totally valid but struck some of its terms including its linking with a bank account, mobile phones, and faculty admissions.

Former CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra, early this month, with an event, had said just 2 3 crore PAN card holders-- over half of their whole PAN card holders -- have so far linked their cards using biometric ID Aadhaar.

He'd said the It Department has thus far issued 42 crore permanent account numbers (PAN), of which 23 crores have been linked with Aadhaar.

Chandra reported that once Aadhaar is linked with PAN and PAN is linked with bank accounts, the It department can find out spending blueprint and other specifics of the assessee. Also since most bureaus have been linked with Aadhaar, it will be easier to gauge whether the advantages of welfare approaches are availed by eligible persons, he said.

Section 139 AA (two ) of the Income Tax Act states that every man having PAN according to July 1, 2017, and eligible to obtain Aadhaar, needs to intimate his Aadhaar number to tax police.

While Aadhaar is issued by the special Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to a resident of India, PAN can be actually a 10-digit alphanumeric number allotted by the IT Department into an individual, firm or entity. The CBDT formulates policy for the tax department.