I-T dept gives twins PAN cards with same no.

Anita Aikara

MUMBAI: If you thought computerisation of tax returns helped reduce mistakes, then here’s one that got away. The I-T department has issued two PAN cards with the same PAN card number to twin brothers in Jogeshwari, and they’re not even identical twins.

Monish Patel applied for his PAN card three months before his twin brother Monik Patel, but even the time gap didn’t help: they’re stuck with two Pan cards with identical numbers which they can’t use for fear of being hauled up for fraud. “I applied for a PAN card in January (this year). I was given the number within a month. Later in April, my brother applied for a PAN card, and his card has the same number.”

The brothers realised the mistake only when they applied for a joint account in a bank. Nikunsh Patel, their cousin who helped them apply for the PAN cards, said: “It was the bank that brought it to our notice. They thought one of the cards was fraudulent.”

Ever since then, the brothers have been trying to get the I-T department to rectify the mistake. “I informed the I-T department and they were shocked and apologised. But nothing has been done. There is also a complaint section on their website, where we lodged a complaint, apart from making calls to the head office in Delhi.”

Narendra Soneji, I-T official, says it is very unusual for two people to have the same PAN card number. “We have heard of one person having two numbers, which is illegal. But this is the first time that two people have come with the same PAN number,” he said. “It could be some problem at the application stage because they were twins with the same birthday and similar names.”