Adhar Pan Linking Last Date Extended To 31 December
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it will extend the deadline for mandatory Aadhaar to avail social benefits to December 31 from September 30, raising hopes of a possible extension in the deadline of linking the unique identity with PAN for tax filing.
The tax department on Tuesday had ruled out any extension beyond the August 31 date, cautioning tax filers that that returns would not be processed until the "linkage of Aadhaar with PAN is done".
There is a clamour for extending the as there were complaints that taxpayers were unable to link the Aadhaar number with PAN because of different names in the two databases.
Attorney General (AG) K K Venugopal, on the Centre's behalf, sought an extension for social schemes after last week's judgment by the Supreme Court declaring privacy a fundamental right.
The top court is likely to hear the Aadhaar case in the first week of November.
The Supreme Court verdict on privacy as a fundamental right has triggered speculation of a likely impact on Aadhaar's scope, including tax filing.
The government views the linking of PAN and Aadhaar as an "effective anti-evasion measure", terming it as a part of its strategy to fight black money.
