The significance of a Permanent Account Number or PAN has increased over the years, and it is today an important part of our daily lives. The most significant purpose of assigning PAN to an entity is for the reason of verification and to check all the linked monetary detail of that entity. At first, the importance of PAN was for filing IT returns. After a while, PAN was employed in dealings with the stock markets, banks and buying real estate and vehicles. Nowadays, PAN has initiated getting its use in alternative regions as well, as follows:
• Bank FDs: If you open a fixed deposit account with your bank for an amount more than Rs. 50,000, a copy of PAN requires being given. In nonexistence of PAN, the bank will subtract TDS of 20% or at the current rate, whichever is advanced. Additionally, the bank will not give TDS credential. Form 15G/15H and other exclusion certificates will be unacceptable in this case.
• Payment in Restaurants and Hotels: You may be asked to put forward a copy of your PAN if you disburse cash in hotels or restaurants next to bills for an amount more than Rs. 25,000.
• Payment to Travel Managers: Cash payment exceeding Rs. 25,000 for travel to any overseas country in a single payment needs you to create your PAN copy.
• Rental Contracts: These days, landlords demand a PAN Copy of occupants, as the main ID proof, whereas letting out their possessions.
• Jewelery Shops: High-value purchasing of jewellery in cash should be come with a copy of the PAN of the purchaser, mostly as a means to restrain use of black money.
It is observed that quoting or making a copy of your PAN card is required practically in every cash transaction, and not limited to Income Tax dealings. The importance of PAN cannot be inquired as this has become the main document sought in all significant legitimate dealings.
Do NRIs need a PAN Card?
As PAN is needed for any monetary transaction in India, an NRI will require having a PAN if he has an income in India and has to file IT returns, if he wants to spend in India, when he performs banking transactions, if he buys real estate or for any transaction described above.
Be careful of PAN Frauds:
The growing significance of PAN has augmented the likeliness of PAN card individuality theft. The conservation PAN card’s physical copy no more reassures that your card is not being distorted. As a large number of transactions require a photocopy of your PAN card, or just quoting the PAN number, it is very simple for your data to be tainted for high ticket purchases. A copy of your PAN or just its number can be cited in transactions, which you are not still a part of.
Example of how your data can be abused: presently, a customer activist group exposed that the PAN copy employed in Railway ticket Tatkal bookings were abused by various jewelers. When a person produces his PAN to book the Tatkal tickets, this data is entered in the Indian Railways system and also shown on the ticket, corollary chart and train instructors. Unprincipled jewelers take this data from such public exhibitions and use it to hand over tax unruffled details whereas they sell jewellery of very high value to high-net value people who do not want to create their PAN.
Therefore, it is necessary to Know Your PAN and its significant uses.