Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a unique 10 digit alphanumeric number. It is issued by Income Tax department to all Indian taxpayers. It is used by the Income Tax department to track all transactions, inflow and outflow of money. PAN is issued to individuals, partnership firms, companies, Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), Association of Persons (AOP), Body of Individuals (BOI), government agencies, trusts, artificial juridical person and local authority.
It is a very critical document and is mandatorily required for financial activities like opening bank account, demat account, buy or sell a real estate property, buy or sell a car, apply for credit or debit cards, investing money in mutual funds and many more. In today’s article let us understand how we can apply for a PAN card online from the comfort of our house.
Apply for PAN online on NSDL (Protean) site
- Click on the NSDL site.
- Read the guidelines and instructions available on the site.
- Also go through the list of documents required to apply for PAN.
- Click on ‘Apply‘ in the Application for allotment of New PAN (Form 49A) – applicable for Citizens of India
- Pay the required fees. Upon successful payment, acknowledgment will be displayed through which you can check your application status. It will also be sent to your email ID.
- Send the required documents through courier/post to the NSDL office, Pune. PAN application would be processed by NSDL only after receipt of the documents. Once the NSDL verifies the application and documents, it will issue the PAN card in 15 days.
Apply online on UTIITSL site
- Go to the UTIITSL site.
- Fill form 49A.
- Pay the application fee. On successful payment, acknowledgment will be displayed. It will also be sent to your email ID.
- Send the documents to the UTIITSL office by courier within 15 days of online submission of Form 49A.
For individuals, the minimum age to obtain a PAN card is 18 years. So any individual who is 18 years or above can apply for a PAN. It is recommended that you apply for a PAN card as soon as you attain the required age. It is the first step in your journey towards financial independence.
