The Government of India has launched a new and advanced PAN system, called PAN 2.0. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav announced the scheme on Monday and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given the green signal to the project. The scheme aims to establish PAN as a common business identity card for all government agencies. Now the question is how will the new PAN card be different from the old card? Let us know about this new scheme of the Income Tax Department.
New features of PAN 2.0
The Permanent Account Number or PAN was introduced in 1972, and has been used as a taxpayer identifier for decades. PAN 2.0 will be an upgrade of the old system from a technical point of view, which is in line with the government’s Digital India plan. The central government is planning to spend Rs 1,435 crore to upgrade this system. The new PAN card will have a QR code, making it easier to scan and do more online. Thus, the system will become completely digital, which will also increase security and effectiveness.
This new system aims to provide a faster and better experience to taxpayers, so that they can access services more easily and more efficiently. This system will act as a common identity card for business activities applicable in specific areas. The security system will also be strengthened, so that it can be more effective against the increasing threats. The entire system will be paper free, which will make this scheme very beneficial from the environmental point of view. This will also reduce the cost of the government.
What did the Union Minister say?
Announcing the plan, minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, “The old system will be upgraded and brought on a digital basis… We will try to make it a common business identity card. It will have an integrated portal, it will be completely paperless and emphasis will be laid on grievance redressal system.”
According to the cabinet briefing, old PAN cards will be upgraded without any additional cost. At present there are more than 78 crore PAN users in the country. It is an important document that helps in linking various documents related to tax payment, income tax returns and assessment. This also helps the government in detecting tax evasion and increasing the tax base.
