Lok Sabha Question No. 2673 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-11
Subject: Linking of Aadhaar Card with PAN and EPF
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Dr. Bachhav Shobha Dinesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2673

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2024

## LINKING OF AADHAAR CARD WITH PAN AND EPF

## 2673.       DR. BACHHAV SHOBHA DINESH:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether enrolment in Aadhaar is voluntary or mandatory, if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  linking  of  Aadhaar  is  voluntary  or  mandatory  with  PAN  and  Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether there is a provision to withdraw consent from linking of PAN, EPF and Aadhaar, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d)  the  number  of  court  cases  regarding  linking  of  PAN,  EPF  and  Aadhaar  including  their current status;
- (e) the purpose of linking of Aadhaar and PAN;
- (f) whether the QR code of an older Aadhaar card retain any validity in case a new Aadhaar card with updated information is generated;
- (g) if so, whether the QR code of older Aadhaar require online verification; and
- (h) whether there are measures in place to prevent misuse of creation of multiple valid QR codes of same Aadhaar ID through updating minor details and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) to (h):  The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services)  Act,  2016  entitles  every  resident  to  obtain  an  Aadhaar  number.  Enrolment  for obtaining an Aadhaar number is voluntary.

The  linking  of  Aadhaar  with  Permanent  Account  Number  (PAN)  is  mandatory  under  the provisions  of  the  Income  Tax  Act,  1961.There  are  exemptions  to  individuals  who  do  not possess the Aadhaar number or enrolment ID and are residing in Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya, a non-resident as per the Income-tax Act, 1961, of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year or not a citizen of India.

There  are  multiple  benefits  for  any  taxpayer  who  links  Aadhaar  with  PAN  as  it  enables  a taxpayer  to e-file  his/her  returns  and  file  other  communications  to  the  Income  Tax Department using Aadhaar. This also enables the department to weed out multiple PAN in the case of the same individual, which thereby prevents tax evasion and other misuse.

The linking of Aadhaar with Universal Account Number (UAN) assigned by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to an individual is mandatory for those availing benefits under Employees Provident Fund and Employee Pension Scheme schemes with exemptions for  certain  categories  of  individuals.  There  is  no  provision  to  withdraw  consent  under  the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 and schemes framed thereunder.

There are 10 court cases regarding linking of Aadhaar with EPF and no court cases pending relating to linking of Aadhaar with PAN. Aadhaar  QR  code  is  the  Quick  Response  code  digitally  signed  by  the  Unique  Identity Authority of India (UIDAI). The QR Code contains data like last 4 digits of Aadhaar number, demographic  data  like  name,  address,  gender,  and  date  of  birth,  and  photograph  of  the Aadhaar  number  holder.  An  Aadhaar  number  holder  may  present  Aadhaar  QR  code  to establish  his/her  identity  through  offline  verification.  It  is  present  in  various  forms  of Aadhaar, such as, e-Aadhaar, Aadhaar letter and Aadhaar PVC card. On scanning, Aadhaar QR code not only displays the information embedded at the time of QR code  generation,  but  also  displays  the  date  and  time  of  QR  code  generation,  thereby making clear  the  point  in  time  to  which  the  presented  information  relates.  In  case  current details in Aadhaar are to be presented for offline verification, QR code should be generated afresh and downloaded either as part of an e-Aadhaar generated from UIDAI's myAadhaar portal  or  mAadhaar  app.  Such  a  QR  code  on  scanning  would  display  the  current/updated information,  along  with  the  current  date  and  the  time  to  which  the  information  presented relates.

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