New Delhi: Individuals having PAN will have to link it to their existing 12-digit biometric Aadhaar number from July 1, a government notification said. Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrolment ID will also have to mandatorily quoted while applying for permanent account number (PAN), which is a must for filing tax returns, opening of bank accounts and financial transactions beyond a threshold.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley through an amendment to tax proposals in the Finance Bill for 2017-18 had made Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and provided for linking of PAN with Aadhaar to check tax evasion through use of multiple PAN cards.

The Supreme Court had earlier this month 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 issue of right to privacy.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, the Revenue Department has notified amendments to the income tax rules dealing in PAN application, which will come into effect from July 1, 2017.