Aadhaar-Pan linking deadline extended till March 31 but clock is ticking for these 5 services

Aadhaar — the 12-digit random number — has already embarked upon to become the identity of over 1.17 billion Indians and their financial activities. The government has on Friday announced extending the deadline for linking PAN cards with Aadhaar, but the deadlines for linking of five other services remain same. Currently, the clock is ticking on five major linkings with Aadhaar: Bank account, Mobile Number, UAN, Insurance, and Ration Card, in the midst of privacy and security debates even as several PILs are pending in different courts.

What will happen if these accounts are not linked? Your accounts would be blocked, phone number deactivated, and income tax would not be processed.

“Not linking PAN with Aadhaar even after the grace period will render the PAN invalid,” a government official said.

As the case is pending in the Supreme Court, the government is not enforcing the provision, the official said. But if the Supreme Court rules in favour of mandatory linking, the government will be able to cancel the PANs not linked with Aadhaar.

On 3 November, the Supreme Court made it clear that banks and telecom service providers will have to indicate the last date of linking bank accounts and mobile numbers with Aadhaar in their communications with customers. On 30 October, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had said a constitution bench would be set up and Aadhaar-related matters would come up for hearing before it in November.

As many as 27 petitions have been filed in different courts to strike down the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with different documents. The Supreme Court may set up a constitution bench to hear these pleas.