PAN-Aadhaar Linkage: List of people exempted from linking process, what to do if you still want to link documents

The government has made it compulsory for PAN card holders to link their Aadhaar to their Permanent Account Number (PAN card) before March 31, 2023. The PAN card will become inoperative if not done by the end of this month, as per the Income Tax advisory but there are some exemptions in the rule.

As per the notification released by the Finance Minister of India in May 2017, four groups are exempt from the PAN-Aadhaar linking rule. Those are listed below:

1. State of residence is Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir. 
2. A non-resident as per the Income-tax Act, 1961;
3. Of the age of 80 years or more at any time during the previous year;
4. Not a citizen of India.

NOTE: Those who fall under one of the aforementioned categories and willingly want to link their Aadhaar with their PAN must pay the requisite price. The e-Pay Tax feature on the e-filing Portal must be used to pay the charge for PAN-Aadhaar Linkage.

The provided exemptions, however, could change based on recent government announcements. All other people, outside the aforementioned excluded categories, are compelled to link their PAN with their Aadhaar.