Update on December 31, 2019:

ANI has reported that the finance ministry extended the PAN-Aadhaar linking date to March 31, 2020, giving people ample time to link the documents.

Original story...

If you've been reluctant to link your PAN card and Aadhaar card, you are almost out of time. The income tax department drew a final deadline on linking both the documents after extending the last date for the seventh time. Failing to link PAN-Aadhaar cards by December 31 invites unwanted inconvenience for all banking customers.

The IT department has mandated linking PAN and Aadhaar cards by the end of 2019. In a statement issued on Twitter, the official handle for Income Tax India stated that "not linking your PAN with Aadhaar on or before 31st December 2019 shall make your PAN inoperative."

This regulation comes into effect on January 1, 2020, which means your unlinked PAN card will be inoperative on Wednesday. The IT department hasn't revealed what it means by turning PAN card "inoperative," but it at large means all PAN-related functions could be impacted. That is if the income tax department doesn't extend the deadline again. Even if it doesn't, it is likely that the inoperative PAN can be operative again by linking it to Aadhaar.

aadhaar pan link
It might seem very difficult to connect Aadhaar card with your PAN card, on the contrary, it is very simple to do so.Twitter

Banking nightmare

Having to deal with banking issues is already a tiresome task, but if your PAN card is inoperative then be prepared for a banking nightmare. PAN card is mandatory for several banking purposes, including opening a bank account, making cash transactions of over Rs 50,000, and buying mutual funds or shares.

Besides a banking nightmare, an inoperative PAN card will make your exhausting IT filing even more tiresome.

A sample of PAN card
A sample of PAN cardCreative commons

How to link PAN-Aadhaar cards?

If the IT department's deadline to link PAN-Aadhaar is not extended, it's best to link the documents by Tuesday. You can check the status of your PAN-Aadhaar linking from the IT department's official website. Simply enter your PAN card and Aadhaar number to check the link status with a single tap.

If the e-Filing portal shows the PAN is linked to your Aadhaar, there's nothing more to do. If it isn't, go to "Link Aadhaar" option under Quick Links of the left of the IT department's official website. You can directly click here to link your PAN and Aadhaar cards.

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