The Income Tax Department’s 10-digit alphanumeric Permanent Account Number (PAN) is about to undergo an upgrade that will include a data vault system for cybersecurity and data protection, a fully online application process, a QR code to be added to all new and old cards, and a merger of all existing identification numbers to make PAN the common identifier for businesses.
On Monday, November 25, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to the PAN 2.0 Project, which aims to establish PAN as the “single source of truth and data consistency” and “the common identifier for businesses.” Since PAN is already connected to the other Aadhaar identification number, it is anticipated that the upgrade will make it a powerful source of identification and information for the authorities.
Upgrading their PAN cards is an option for the approximately 78 crore current PAN holders. Existing users’ PANs will not change, but they will need to upgrade their cards, which the government claims will be free of charge.
The PAN 2.0 Project: What is it?
On Monday, the Union Cabinet authorised the Income Tax Department’s PAN 2.0 Project, which has a Rs 1,435 crore financial impact. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated during Monday’s Cabinet briefing that the project will fully upgrade the current PAN system, redesign the IT backbone, and establish PAN as a common business identifier for all digital systems of designated government agencies.
“The sector has often called for a common business identifier. They once said that a single identifying number would be helpful and that they didn’t want many numbers. The goal of the project is to establish PAN as the standard business identity. This technique will combine all PAN, TAN, and TIN, Vaishnaw stated.