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Income Tax

PAN (Permanent Account Number)

Unique 10-character alphanumeric identifier issued by the Income Tax Department to every taxpayer.

Full Definition

Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a unique 10-character identifier (e.g., ABCDE1234F) issued by the Income Tax Department under Section 139A of the Income Tax Act. Every individual, firm, company or entity with taxable income or financial transactions must have a PAN. It is required for: filing ITR, opening bank accounts, making investments above certain limits, property transactions, foreign remittances, and filing GST applications. Loss of PAN card can be addressed by applying for a duplicate using the NSDL/UTI portal.