It is important to surrender your PAN card if you have more than one because:
- It is illegal to have more than one PAN card. Section 139A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 states that no person can apply for, obtain, or possess more than one PAN card.
- If you are caught with more than one PAN card, you may be penalized. Section 272B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 states that the Income Tax Officer can levy a penalty of up to Rs. 10,000 on any person who is found to have more than one PAN card.
- Having more than one PAN card can lead to complications in your financial transactions. For example, if you have two PAN cards and you use both of them to open bank accounts, the banks may flag your accounts as suspicious. This can make it difficult for you to carry out financial transactions.
- Having more than one PAN card can make it difficult for the Income Tax Department to track your income and tax liability. This can lead to problems with your tax filing and assessment.
Here are some common reasons why people may end up with more than one PAN card:
- Applying for a new PAN card when they already have one. This can happen if a person forgets that they already have a PAN card, or if they make a mistake when applying for a new one.
- Applying for a new PAN card to make corrections to their existing PAN card. This is not necessary, as taxpayers can simply apply for a PAN correction form to make changes to their existing PAN card.
- Receiving more than one PAN card due to administrative errors. This is rare, but it can happen.
If you find yourself with more than one PAN card, you should surrender the additional PAN cards as soon as possible. You can do this online or offline.
To surrender your PAN card online, you need to visit the Protean eGov Technologies Limited TIN website and fill out Form 49A.
To surrender your PAN card offline, you need to visit your nearest Income Tax Assessing Officer (AO) and submit a letter requesting the cancellation of your additional PAN cards. You will also need to submit copies of your PAN cards along with the letter.
Once you have surrendered your additional PAN cards, the Income Tax Department will deactivate them. You will then only be able to use your primary PAN CARD
