What do you do when you lose something from your wallet? Whether it’s a credit or debit card, you try to find it. But if you still can’t get it, you cancel your card and get a new one. But that’s not the case when you lose a PAN card. When you do so, you can’t get a new one but a duplicate PAN card with the same number.
However, you can easily apply for a duplicate PAN card if you have lost the original one. You may have a perception that the process of applying for duplicate PAN card may be tedious and time-consuming. However, It is a simple process. You can apply for a duplicate PAN card online without visiting any Income Tax Department office or premises.
Let’s look at this process in detail. But before we get there, let’s quickly understand the basic concepts related to your PAN card.
A Permanent Account Number or PAN is a ten-digit unique alphanumeric number issued by the Income Tax Department to taxable entities. Taxable entities may be a person like you, a company or a firm, a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) or a charitable trust.
PAN was introduced to identify each taxpayer and prevent tax evasion uniquely. To further authenticate the process, the mandatory linking of PAN to Aadhaar and of these documents to your bank account was introduced.
You need a PAN card for the following:
Now, when your PAN is linked to all these instruments related to your income and investments, it becomes easier for income tax officials to track your sources of income. By doing this in a comprehensive manner, they can calculate your income tax implications.
So, what can a person do if they get access to your PAN card? It’s not like losing your banking card where someone can withdraw money from your bank account. But there are a few ways your PAN card can be misused if found by someone.
Let’s look at these vulnerabilities in PAN connections here:
All your important personal information is linked to your PAN card. If someone misuses your PAN data, they can access your bank account, phone number and address. They can also get your income details, insurance coverage, investments as well as employer information which might lead to more serious fraud.
Your PAN card information can also be used by someone to borrow in your name and put your credit records and finances at risk. Even with hard enquiries and no borrowing, your credit score can go down. This can lead to hassles, financial losses and an impact on your borrowing ability.
PAN card details are also required for buying and redeeming investments like physical gold. As per the income tax rules, you must furnish PAN details for any transaction above ₹2 lakhs on physical gold. Further, you can also be a victim of identity theft and make fraud contacts on your behalf asking for money.
Therefore, to avoid this misuse, it is important to keep your PAN card safe and share your information with caution.
There are ways you can check if your PAN details are being misused. Let’s look at how:
With these steps, if you have found out that your PAN card is being misused, you must inform your bank branch and launch an FIR without delay. Further, to avoid your PAN card misuse, you can take the required actions to prevent its misuse.
Losing your PAN card can be as risky as losing your banking cards. Let’s look at the actions to follow if you have lost your PAN card.
Your PAN card contains important information about you like your PAN, your photograph, your signature, your father’s name and your year of birth. This information may be abused if it falls in the hands of another person. They may also use it to impersonate you while performing financial transactions. Hence, it is a good idea to file an FIR for losing your PAN card at the nearest police station.
If you lose, misplace or damage your PAN card and file an application for issuing a new PAN card with a new PAN, information about your previous financial transactions may be lost. Also, having two PANs for a single legal entity or person is not allowed. It attracts a fine of ten thousand rupees.
So, you should not apply for a new PAN card if you lose your existing one. Just as you would have asked for another SIM mapped to your mobile number if you had lost it, you should apply for the issuance of a duplicate PAN card for your pre-existing PAN. Here’s how you can get duplicate PAN card.
Follow these steps to complete your duplicate PAN card application:
If you have chosen the physical PAN card option, a duplicate PAN card will be mailed to your address.
Follow these steps to download the lost PAN card in an electronic format:
The fees for applying for a duplicate PAN card are ₹93 + GST for PAN card holders with a communication address within India and ₹864 + GST for PAN card holders with a communication address outside India. The fees can be paid through credit/debit card, demand draft or net banking.
If you have got your PAN card from the UTI portal, you should visit the UTIITSL website. Here, you need to apply for a PAN card reprint. The fee for reprinting the PAN card is ₹50, including taxes.
Feeling a bit hassled is natural if you have lost, misplaced or damaged your PAN card. However, you do not need to panic. File an FIR at the nearest police station for good measure. Then, apply for a duplicate PAN card or PAN card reprint online using the steps mentioned above. Your duplicate PAN card will soon reach you in either physical or electronic format as per your choice.
The first thing you should do if you lose your PAN card is file a police complaint and obtain a letter of acknowledgment or a copy of your complaint saying the same. This helps you ensure that the card isn't used fraudulently. Post this, you can apply for a duplicate copy of your PAN.
Yes, in order to track a lost card you can log on to the of TIN-Protean eGov /UTIITSL website and navigate to the Lost PAN section.
Yes, you can reprint a lost PAN card by logging into the UTIITSL website and applying on the "Reprint PAN' section.
