NEW DELHI: The government on Monday cautioned e-commerce companies such as e-bay, Flipkart, Amazon among others to not to allow their merchants to collect Aadhaar information from general public for printing Aadhaar card.
The government in a notification said that collecting such information or unauthorised printing of Aadhaar card or aiding such persons in any manner may amount to a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
E-commerce player Flipkart refused to comment on the development, when contacted by Express.
The government also cautioned general public against sharing their personal information, who are being asked to pay anywhere between Rs 50 and Rs 200 for a plastic card in the name of smart card, the Ministry of Communications and IT said in a statement
The print out of the downloaded Aadhaar, even in black and white form, is as valid as the original Aadhaar letter sent by UIDAI. There is absolutely no need to print it on plastic card or get it laminated, said the statement.
“The Aadhaar card or the downloaded Aadhaar card printed on ordinary paper is perfectly valid for all uses,” said director general of UIDAI, Ajay Bhushan Pandey. “If a person has a paper Aadhaar card, there is absolutely no need to get his/her Aadhaar card laminated or obtain a plastic Aadhaar card or so called Smart Aadhaar card by paying money. There is no concept such as smart Aadhaar card,” he added.
In case a person wants to get his Aadhaar card laminated or printed on plastic card, he may do so only at authorised Common Service Centres or Aadhaar Permanent Enrolment Centres by paying no more than the prescribed rate, which is not more than Rs 30, the statement said.