Are you exempt from linking Aadhaar with PAN? Read here.

The government has made it mandatory for taxpayers to link their 12-digit unique identification number Aadhaar with PAN (permanent account number) from July 1. Amending income tax rules and notifying the same, the government has also made quoting of the biometric-linked Aadhaar or the enrolment ID a must at the time of application of PAN, for those who don't have the unique 10-digit alphanumeric identity that's key to filing income tax returns (ITR) and also acts as an identity proof.

(Read here how to link Aadhaar with PAN)

However, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has exempt certain sections from this mandatory linking. In a notification issued by the government, the details of which are available on the official website of CBDT, the following sections of people are exempted from linking Aadhaar with PAN:

1) An individual who is residing in the state of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya.

2) An individual who is a non-resident Indian or NRI as per the Income Tax Act, 1961.

3) An individual of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year.

4) An individual who is not a citizen of India.

However there is a catch. The above mentioned group of individuals are exempt from the mandatory linking only if they do not have Aadhaar. In fact, a similar partial relief applies to others across the country who do not have Aadhaar. "Only a partial relief by the (Supreme) 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 (Income Tax) Act for filing to quote PAN may not arise," the CBDT had said in a circular.

It's important to note though that the government has said that people having both Aadhaar and PAN have to link irrespective of whether they file I-T returns.

Last month, the Supreme Court had upheld the validity of an I-T (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.

Meanwhile, as many as 2.07 crore taxpayers have already linked their Aadhaar with PAN .

The government's rationale behind linking Aadhaar with PAN is to eliminate fake or multiple PANs held by the same person from the system.

There are over 25 crore PAN card holders in the country while Aadhaar has been issued to 111 crore people.