PAN card or permanent account number is a unique 10-digit alphanumeric given to people who are supposed to pay taxes as per the Income Tax Department of India under the supervision of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. The authorized agencies who accept and process the applications forms are The UTI Investors Services Ltd (UTIISL) and National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). Permanent Account Number or PAN Card is a national identity card. Without a PAN, you will not be able to carry out any financial transaction. The authority allocates the number to a tax-paying person, company or HUF. It has lifetime validity. It is one of the most important documents. It should be kept safe by the person as it helps the person to perform various financial transactions.
The process of application for PAN card is important for all the citizens of the country and it is comparatively an easy process. The filling of the application form can be done using both online as well as offline method. The online application is done at the official NSDL website, on the other hand, the offline application process takes place at any of the PAN agencies. The PAN card is given to the people who are Indian citizens and foreign nationals who carry any financial transaction in the country. It helps the government to differentiate the people who pay tax and who do not pay tax. If you wish to fill the form online then there is a special form, called a form 49A. It has to be compulsorily filled before applying for Pan card. This application form is available on the NSDL website. Only after submission of this form, one can get the PAN card.
The online procedure is as follows.
1) The first step for PAN application is to visit either the UTIISL website or TIN NSDL and then click on the option ‘New PAN’.
2) Then choose the Form 49A that is available for the Indian Citizens. This includes NRE, NRI, and OCL individuals also.
3) Fill that form. These details are personal in nature.
4) Once the details are filled in the form, the applicant must submit the form and pay a small amount of money as processing fee.
5) Then a proper print out of the form has to be taken along with an acknowledgment number. This number consists of 15 digits.
6) After that, the applicant must put his signature in the space provided.
7) Then the applicant is supposed to attach certain documents on the 15 digit acknowledgment provided to him. These documents are as follows:
- Passport size photograph of the applicant himself.
- Identity proof.
- Existing Address proof
- Demand Draft if the payment is through DD.
8) once you submit the application form, it is important to send the above-mentioned documents to the office of the NSDL through the post within the next 15 days.
9) Lastly, if every step is followed in correct order, the applicant will receive the PAN card through the post within the next 15 working days.
If the applicant wishes to apply for the PAN card offline then he may follow the following procedure.
1) For the offline application of PAN card, the applicant has two options. Firstly, the people who wish to apply offline can download to form to start the process. Application forms are available on the NSDL or UTIISL website. Secondly, they can also acquire the application form from various available agents of UTIISL in the local district.
2) Fill out the form and submit it along with the relevant documents to the office of NSDL. These documents are as follows:
- Photograph of the PAN card applicant.
- Identity proof of the applicant.
- Existing Address proof.
3) He is also supposed to make a nominal amount of payment upon form submission in the form of processing fee of the application process.
4) If the procedure is followed correctly the applicant will receive the PAN card within the next 15 working days to the address mentioned by the applicant in the application form.
