It is mandatory to link your PAN with Aadhaar by the end of this year, the Income Tax Department said in a public message. “Building a better tomorrow! To reap seamless benefits of income tax services, complete the vital link before December 31, 2019,” the department said.

It is mandatory to link your PAN with Aadhaar, according to the public message issued a fortnight before the deadline ends. The deadline to link the permanent account number (PAN) with Aadhaar was extended till December 31 by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) through an order issued in September this year. Earlier, the deadline for this linkage was September 30.

Here’s how to link Aadhaar and PAN online or using SMS

The CBDT frames policy for the Income Tax Department. The SC, in September last year, had declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid and held the biometric ID would remain mandatory for the filing of I-T returns and allotment of PAN.

Steps to link Aadhaar number with PAN online

Steps to link Aadhaar number with PAN on SMS:

Send a message in this format: UIDPAN <12 Digit Aadhaar> <10 Digit PAN> to 567678 or 56161 from your registered mobile number

For example, if your Aadhaar number is 123456781234 and your PAN is ABCDE1234F, you have to type UIDPAN 123456781234 ABCDE1234F and send the message to 567678 or 56161.

How to check if PAN is linked with Aadhaar: