More than 10 lakh pan cards have been disabled by the India government due to the fraudulence. And also there are more than 1,500 PAN cards are marked as fake. It is mentioned in the Indian law that an individual cannot have more than one PAN card. If a person misuses or disobeys the law, he will get a penalty of Rs.10, 000 under Section 272B of the Income Tax Act of 1961. In addition to it, due to technology err certain individuals may have had more than one PAN. So it was very important for tax department to identify probable duplicate PANs. Being a Pan Cardholder it is also very important for you to verify your pan card active status.

Here are some basic steps through you can check whether your pan card is active or not:-

• Visit the Income Tax Department’s website (https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/e-Filing/Services/KnowYourPanLinkGS.html) and then click on the ‘Services’ tab on the homepage.
• Now you have to fill in the necessary details which include name, age, gender, date of birth, status, registered mobile number and then click on ‘submit’ button.
• Post submission, a user will receive an OTP or one-time password to your registered mobile number.
• Next, have to enter a mobile PIN in the place provided for and then click on the tab “Validate”.
• After this, the status of your PAN card will be displayed on the result page. The result page also displays your PAN number, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, the status of citizen, your jurisdiction etc.
• If you contain several PAN numbers registered with your details, a notice will pop up like “There are multiple records for this query. Please provide additional information.” It will further ask you some more details.
• You can also check Pan Card status by login into e-Filing portal -> Profile Settings -> My Profile -> PAN Details -> Jurisdiction Details -> Status.

What can you do if your PAN gets deactivated?

• When the PAN that you use for filing your tax returns gets disabled, you may go through many hurdles. So it is advisable that you should take the necessary steps as soon as possible in order to fix this issue.
• Very first things you need to do is draft and send a letter to your jurisdictional AO in the Income Tax Department appealing them to reactivate your PAN number.
• You will have to enclose important documents for stimulating your PAN. These relevant documents include a photocopy of PAN on which you normally file your Income Tax Returns, Indemnity Bond in favor of the Income Tax Department, and a photocopy of Income Tax Returns filed for the most recent three years on the PAN number that has been disabled.
• You need to note that it will take at least 10 to 15 days for the tax department to reactivate your PAN once your application letter is received by them.