Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday announced that quoting one’s permanent account number will be mandatory when making cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh and above. The move comes to check generation of black money, and will be applied from January 1.

Quoting PAN numbers is already necessary for expenditure of Rs 50,000 and more in some transactions, like buying or selling shares of an unlisted company or immovable property.

The Rs 2 lakh limit was recommended by a special investigation team on black money. Currently, the limit is set at Rs 5 lakh and above. PAN cards will also be necessary to open all bank accounts, except Jan Dhan accounts.