NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitely moved a number of amendments to the Finance Bill for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, which included making Aadhar mandatory for bank accounts, PAN cards and filing of income tax returns. The moves appear to be aimed to further plug the loopholes in tracking the circulation of unaccounted money and black money through banking and stock and mutual fund investment routes.
The amendment in section 139 AA of the Finance Bill sates that “every person who is eligible to obtain Aadhar number shall, on or after the 1st day of July, 2017 quote the Aadhar number in the application form for allotment of permanent account number (PAN) and in the return of income”. It also clarified that those who do not yet have the Aadhar number could quote the enrolment ID of the Aadhar application form for applying for PAN and filing of the income tax return.
Furthermore, the amendment to the Finance Bill also states that “those who have already been allotted PAN should intimate his Aadhar number to such authority in form and manner as may be prescribed by the Central government in the official Gazette”. It also adds that in the case of failure to provide the Aadhar number the PAN number would be deemed to be invalid.
The Finance Bill is a Money Bill and therefore only the MPs in the Lok Sabha can vote during its passage. Finance Minister is likely to reply on Wednesday when the Bill would be taken into consideration for the passage.