All those allotted permanent account number (PAN) as on July 1 will have to link it with their existing 12-digit biometric Aadhaar number, the government has said.

Those applying for a new PAN will have to also mandatorily quote their Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrolment ID. Both Aadhaar and PAN have already been made mandatory for filing tax returns, opening of bank accounts and financial transactions over Rs 50,000.

“Every person who has been allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July 2017, and who in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 139AA is required to intimate his Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to the Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or the person authorised by the said authorities,” a notification issued by the government said.

The Finance Act for 2017-18 had made Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and provided for linking of PAN with Aadhaar. Linking Aadhar with PAN is expected to help check tax evasion through use of multiple PAN cards.

The Supreme Court had earlier upheld the validity of an Income Tax Act provision making Aadhaar mandatory for allotment of PAN cards and ITR filing, but had put a partial stay on its implementation till a Constitution bench addressed the larger case related to the issue of privacy.

“Only a partial relief by the court has been given to those who do not have Aadhaar and who do not wish to obtain Aadhaar for the time being, that their PAN will not be cancelled, so that other consequences under the I-T Act for failing to quote PAN may not arise,” the CBDT had said after the Supreme Court ruling.