"The notification to make PAN mandatory for all bank and insurance customers will come before December 31 this year," said a finance ministry official, requesting anonymity. India has about 500 million bank accounts and roughly 54 million PANs have been issued. As recently as July 2 this year, the government made PAN disclosure mandatory for all security market participants, including mutual fund investors, of any size. Quoting this alpha-numeric number is already mandatory for a host of transactions, including on return of income and all correspondence with any income tax authority.

Hie Uma, - PAN number needs to be quoted for transactions, such as, account opening, transactions above Rs.50,000 (whether in cash or non-cash), etc. - A full list of transaction where PAN number needs to be quoted can be accessed from website of Income Tax Department at the following URL: http://law.incometaxindia.gov.in/DIT/File_opener.aspx?page=ITRU&schT=rul&csId=21533008-bbb4-4f86-b609-9296e8b5223e&rNo=114B&sch=&title=Taxmann%20-%20Direct%20Tax%20Laws

Every person shall quote his Permanent Account Number (PAN) in all documents pertaining to the transactions specified below and subject to the provisions thereunder a) Sale or purchase of any immovable property valued at Five lakh rupees or more; b) Sale or purchase of motor vehicles or vehicle, as defined in clause (28) of section 2 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988), which requires registration by a registering authority under Chapter IV of the Act. c) a time deposit, exceeding fifty thousand rupees made in cash with a banking company to which Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) applies (including any bank or banking institution referred to in section 51 of that act); d) A deposit, exceeding fifty thousand rupees, in any account with Post Office Saving Bank; e) A contract of a value exceeding ten lakh rupees for sale or purchase of securities as defined in clause (h) of section 7 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956); f) Opening an account ("not being a time deposit referred to in clause (c) ") with a banking company to which the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) applies (including any bank or banking institution referred to in section 51 of that Act); g) Making an application for installing of a telephone connection (including a cellular telephone connection); h) payment to hotels and restaurants against their bills for an amount exceeding twenty five thousand rupees at any one time.

Currently, quoting the PAN is not mandatory for opening a bank account or buying an insurance policy. Cash deposits of below Rs 50,000 at banks do not require the PAN to be quoted either. This threshold limit will also be done away with once the government implements the new measures. In addition, existing bank account-holders will need to quote PANs. "The notification to make PAN mandatory for all bank and insurance customers will come before December 31 this year," said a finance ministry official, requesting anonymity. India has about 500 million bank accounts and roughly 54 million PANs have been issued. As recently as July 2 this year, the government made PAN disclosure mandatory for all security market participants, including mutual fund investors, of any size. Quoting this alpha-numeric number is already mandatory for a host of transactions, including on return of income and all correspondence with any income tax authority. It is also compulsory to quote PAN in all documents pertaining to financial transactions, including sale and purchase of immovable property (Rs 5 lakh and above) or payments in cash of amounts exceeding Rs 25,000 to hotels and restaurants. Likewise, PAN has to be mentioned for making a time deposit exceeding Rs 50,000 with a bank or post office. Anyone who pays an insurance premium of Rs 50,000 needs to quote the PAN. The new measures will also remove any bias people may have towards a financial product by making PAN mandatory for nearly all major financial transactions. Even as the scope of PAN requirement is being extended, the Association of Mutual Funds in India has been lobbying the government to scrap the PAN requirement imposed on mutual fund transactions, saying the industry is suffering as a result.

AN number needs to be quoted for transactions, such as, account opening, transactions above Rs.50,000 (whether in cash or non-cash), etc. A full list of transaction where PAN number needs to be quoted can be accessed from website of Income Tax Department at the following URL: http://law.incometaxindia.gov.in/DIT/File_opener.aspx?page=ITRU&schT=rul&csId=21533008-bbb4-4f86-b609-9296e8b5223e&rNo=114B&sch=&title=Taxmann%20-%20Direct%20Tax%20Laws Thanks