The Centre today informed the Supreme Court that it was willing to extend until March 31 next year the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar for availing various services and welfare schemes.

The Supreme Court now will be setting up a five-judge Constitution Bench next week to hear several pleas seeking an interim stay on the Centre&#39;s decision of mandatory linking of Aadhaar.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was informed by Attorney General KK Venugopal that the Centre was willing to extend the deadline of December 31 to March 31 next year for linking of Aadhaar with various services and schemes.

The Attorney General, however, made clear that February 6 next year would remain the deadline for linking Aadhaar for availing uninterrupted mobile services as it had been mandated by the apex court.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for those who are opposed to Aadhaar scheme told the bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, that the central government should give an undertaking that no coercive steps would be taken against those fail to link their Aadhaar with various services.

The apex court on October 30 had said that a Constitution Bench would commence hearing on the clutch of petitions against Aadhaar scheme from the last week of November.

Recently, a nine-judge constitution bench of the apex court had held that Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right under the Constitution. Several petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar had claimed it violated privacy rights.

The Centre had on October 25 told the top court that the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to receive benefits of government schemes has been extended till March 31, 2018 for those who do not have the 12-digit unique biometric identification number and were willing to enrol for it.

The Attorney General had told the court that no coercive action would be taken against those who do not have the Aadhaar card but are willing to enrol for the biometric card. He had said such people would not be denied the benefits of social welfare schemes till March 31.

Some petitioners in the top court have termed the linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as &quot;illegal and unconstitutional&quot;.

They had also objected to the CBSE&#39;s alleged move to make Aadhaar card mandatory for students appearing for examinations, a contention denied by the Centre.

One of the counsels representing the petitioners had earlier said that final hearing in the main Aadhaar matter, which is pending before the apex court, was necessary as the government &quot;cannot compel&quot; citizens to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or cell phone numbers.

 
&nbsp;

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the setting up of a Constitution Bench next week to hear petitions seeking a stay on the Centre's move to link Aadhaar with various schemes and services

The Centre today informed the Supreme Court that it was willing to extend until March 31 next year the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar for availing various services and welfare schemes. The Supreme Court now will be setting up a five-judge Constitution Bench next week to hear several pleas seeking an interim stay on the Centre's decision of mandatory linking of Aadhaar. A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was informed by Attorney General KK Venugopal that the Centre was willing to extend the deadline of December 31 to March 31 next year for linking of Aadhaar with various services and schemes. The Attorney General, however, made clear that February 6 next year would remain the deadline for linking Aadhaar for availing uninterrupted mobile services as it had been mandated by the apex court. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for those who are opposed to Aadhaar scheme told the bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, that the central government should give an undertaking that no coercive steps would be taken against those fail to link their Aadhaar with various services. The apex court on October 30 had said that a Constitution Bench would commence hearing on the clutch of petitions against Aadhaar scheme from the last week of November. Recently, a nine-judge constitution bench of the apex court had held that Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right under the Constitution. Several petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar had claimed it violated privacy rights. The Centre had on October 25 told the top court that the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to receive benefits of government schemes has been extended till March 31, 2018 for those who do not have the 12-digit unique biometric identification number and were willing to enrol for it. The Attorney General had told the court that no coercive action would be taken against those who do not have the Aadhaar card but are willing to enrol for the biometric card. He had said such people would not be denied the benefits of social welfare schemes till March 31. Some petitioners in the top court have termed the linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as "illegal and unconstitutional". They had also objected to the CBSE's alleged move to make Aadhaar card mandatory for students appearing for examinations, a contention denied by the Centre. One of the counsels representing the petitioners had earlier said that final hearing in the main Aadhaar matter, which is pending before the apex court, was necessary as the government "cannot compel" citizens to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or cell phone numbers.

Ready to extend Aadhaar linking deadline to March 31, 2018: Centre to Supreme Court

UIDAI, the authority which issues Aadhaar, has come up to reject all speculations revolving around the extension of this month&#39;s deadline. &quot;That Aadhaar Act being in force, all notifications for requiring Aadhaar for various welfare programmes, verifying bank account, PAN card and SIM card with Aadhaar stand valid and lawful,&quot; it said in a statement.

While <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/aadhar-card-central-government-willing-to-extend-linking-of-aadhaar-till-march-31-2018-26128" target="_blank">the last date for linking the unique identification number</a> with bank accounts, insurance policies, PAN, ration card and UAN remains December 31, 2017, petitioners will have to link their mobile numbers to their 12-digit Aadhaar number by February 2018.&nbsp;

&quot;Today&#39;s legal position is that there is no stay as on December 7, 2017, from the Supreme Court on Aadhaar and its linking to various services,&quot; it added. The UIDAI has also asked people not to get misled by an outdated video doing rounds in the social media and Whatsapp, &quot;people should instead verify their banks accounts, investment accounts, SIM cards, etc as per the current laws and deadlines as early as possible to avoid any inconvenience,&quot; the official statement clarified.&nbsp;

In March 2017, the Income Tax Act was amended to make Aadhaar mandatory for PAN cards. PML Rules were also amended this year in June to make Aadhaar mandatory for linking all insurance policies, bank accounts, pension, mutual funds and DMAT accounts among others.

Speculations and rumours around the extension of Aadhaar-linking got stronger when media reported Thursday on the fact that the central government informed the Supreme Court about its willingness to extend this year&#39;s deadline to March 31, 2018.

(With inputs from PTI)

Petitioners will have to link their mobile numbers to their 12-digit Aadhaar number by February 2018

UIDAI, the authority which issues Aadhaar, has come up to reject all speculations revolving around the extension of this month's deadline. "That Aadhaar Act being in force, all notifications for requiring Aadhaar for various welfare programmes, verifying bank account, PAN card and SIM card with Aadhaar stand valid and lawful," it said in a statement. While the last date for linking the unique identification number with bank accounts, insurance policies, PAN, ration card and UAN remains December 31, 2017, petitioners will have to link their mobile numbers to their 12-digit Aadhaar number by February 2018. "Today's legal position is that there is no stay as on December 7, 2017, from the Supreme Court on Aadhaar and its linking to various services," it added. The UIDAI has also asked people not to get misled by an outdated video doing rounds in the social media and Whatsapp, "people should instead verify their banks accounts, investment accounts, SIM cards, etc as per the current laws and deadlines as early as possible to avoid any inconvenience," the official statement clarified. In March 2017, the Income Tax Act was amended to make Aadhaar mandatory for PAN cards. PML Rules were also amended this year in June to make Aadhaar mandatory for linking all insurance policies, bank accounts, pension, mutual funds and DMAT accounts among others. Speculations and rumours around the extension of Aadhaar-linking got stronger when media reported Thursday on the fact that the central government informed the Supreme Court about its willingness to extend this year's deadline to March 31, 2018. (With inputs from PTI)

Last date for linking Aadhaar number stays, UIDAI clarifies

The Supreme Court has questioned the West Bengal government for filing plea against Centre&rsquo;s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of welfare schemes.&nbsp;

&quot;In a federal structure, how can a state file plea challenging Parliament&#39;s mandate,&quot; the Supreme Court bench said.

We know it is a matter which needs consideration but you satisfy us how state can challenge it, the bench added.

After the court&#39;s rap, the Bengal government has agreed to amend the plea and will file it again.&nbsp;

&quot;If the court has said on Aadhaar matter that I need to approach individually, then I respect it. They have not rejected my petition,&quot; Mamata Banerjee said.

The West Bengal government&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/mamata-banerjee-challenges-aadhaar-in-supreme-court-hearing-on-october-30-23047">filed the plea last week</a> after Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee opposed the linking of her mobile phone number with Aadhaar. &quot;Aadhaar number should not be linked with one&#39;s mobile phone. I will not link my Aadhaar number with my mobile even if my connection is snapped,&quot; she said at a party meeting.

However, the Aadhaar-mobile issue is not part of the state government&#39;s plea, senior advocate and Member of Parliament Kalyan Banerjee said.

The Centre had, on October 25, told the top court that the deadline for mandatory Aadhaar linking to avail benefits of various government schemes has been extended till March 31 next year. The extension concerned those who do not have the 12-digit biometric identification number.

Attorney General KK Venugopal told a bench headed Chief Justice Dipak Misra that deadline extension would apply only to those who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it. Earlier, the deadline for linking of Aadhaar was December end this year.&nbsp;

Venugopal had also told the bench that he would take instructions on certain issues on Aadhaar after which the court had asked him to mention the matter again on October 30.

Several petitions are pending in the top court which challenge the centre&#39;s move to make Aadhaar linkage with mobile number and bank accounts mandatory for welfare schemes and notifications.

The court today&nbsp;issued notice to Centre on separate plea challenging&nbsp;linking of mobile phone numbers with Aadhaar and sought reply within four weeks.

We know it is a matter which needs consideration but you satisfy us how state can challenge it, the bench added.

The Supreme Court has questioned the West Bengal government for filing plea against Centre’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits of welfare schemes. "In a federal structure, how can a state file plea challenging Parliament's mandate," the Supreme Court bench said. We know it is a matter which needs consideration but you satisfy us how state can challenge it, the bench added. After the court's rap, the Bengal government has agreed to amend the plea and will file it again. "If the court has said on Aadhaar matter that I need to approach individually, then I respect it. They have not rejected my petition," Mamata Banerjee said. The West Bengal government filed the plea last week after Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee opposed the linking of her mobile phone number with Aadhaar. "Aadhaar number should not be linked with one's mobile phone. I will not link my Aadhaar number with my mobile even if my connection is snapped," she said at a party meeting. However, the Aadhaar-mobile issue is not part of the state government's plea, senior advocate and Member of Parliament Kalyan Banerjee said. The Centre had, on October 25, told the top court that the deadline for mandatory Aadhaar linking to avail benefits of various government schemes has been extended till March 31 next year. The extension concerned those who do not have the 12-digit biometric identification number. Attorney General KK Venugopal told a bench headed Chief Justice Dipak Misra that deadline extension would apply only to those who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it. Earlier, the deadline for linking of Aadhaar was December end this year. Venugopal had also told the bench that he would take instructions on certain issues on Aadhaar after which the court had asked him to mention the matter again on October 30. Several petitions are pending in the top court which challenge the centre's move to make Aadhaar linkage with mobile number and bank accounts mandatory for welfare schemes and notifications. The court today issued notice to Centre on separate plea challenging linking of mobile phone numbers with Aadhaar and sought reply within four weeks.

How can state challenge Parliament's mandate: Supreme Court on Mamata govt's plea against Aadhaar

The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail the benefits of various government schemes has been extended till March 31 next year for those who do not have the 12-digit biometric identification number, the Centre today told the Supreme Court.

It told a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that extension of the deadline from December end this year till March 31, 2018, would apply only to those persons who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it.

&quot;We (Centre) have decided to extend it till March 31, 2018,&quot; Attorney General K K Venugopal told the bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud.

The petitioners challenging the Centre&#39;s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for welfare schemes termed the linking of the identity number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as illegal and unconstitutional, while one of their lawyers strongly objected to the CBSE&#39;s move to make it mandatory for students to appear for exams.

Venugopal told the court that no coercive action would be taken against those who do not have Aadhaar but were willing to enrol for it and added that they would not be denied the benefits of social welfare schemes till March 31 next.

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<h5>This case is crying for final hearing since long,&#39; senior advocate Shyam Divan said, adding that now even CBSE has asked students for their Aadhaar cards before appearing for the Board examinations</h5>
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In a note given to the court, the government has said that &quot;those who have Aadhaar are required to seed/link their Aadhaar with SIM card, with bank account, PAN card and other schemes where section 7 notifications have been issued&quot;.

&quot;The government will be open for the deadline for linking Aadhaar to various programmes being extended for another three months till March 31, 2018 for those who do not have Aadhaar,&quot; the note said.

It said that persons, who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it, &quot;will be facilitated to enroll for Aadhaar and will be provided benefits and services through alternate means of identification untill such enrollment.&quot;

The counsel for the petitioners, who have challenged the Centre&#39;s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for these schemes, raised the issue of the mandatory linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for some of the petitioners, contended that final hearing in the main Aadhaar matter which is pending before the apex court was necessary as the government &quot;cannot compel&quot; citizens to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or mobile numbers.

&quot;This case is crying for final hearing since long,&quot; he said, adding that now even Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked students to give their Aadhaar for appearing in board examinations.

&quot;What are they (government) doing? A school children can not go to school and give his exams without giving his Aadhaar. Is this the civil liberty we are talking about in the country,&quot; Divan said while repeatedly urging the bench that a full-fledged hearing was necessary in the main matter.

Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for some other petitioners, argued that the move to link Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile numbers was illegal and unconstitutional.

Divan told the bench that complaints have started coming in that after linking bank accounts with Aadhaar, the accounts were being &quot;wiped out&quot; and there were people who have UIDAI number, but do not want to link it.

&quot;They say extension till March next year will be only for those who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it. They cannot compel us to link Aadhaar,&quot; he said, adding &quot;they can make a statement that they will not take coercive action against those who don&#39;t want to link Aadhaar&quot;.

Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for petitioners, claimed that not linking Aadhaar with bank accounts would make citizens liable to be prosecuted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

When the petitioners said earlier the court had said that the main Aadhaar matter would be heard in the first week of November, the Attorney General said &quot;we are ready for hearing&quot;.

However, Venugopal told the bench that he would take instructions on certain issues related to Aadhaar and come back to the court.

The court asked him to mention the matter on October 30.

During the hearing, the Attorney General referred to the apex court&#39;s judgement declaring right to privacy as a fundamental right and said in that verdict, Justice Chandrachud had emphasised that a robust regime for protection of data should be put in place.

Regarding the issue of data protection regulation, the bench observed, &quot;there are large number of working rules and if they will rush, we might have a poor data protection regulation. Countries across the world are struggling to have a data protection mechanism&quot;.

Venugopal said the Justice Sri Krishna committee which has initiated the process of reviewing the entire issue of data protection, had in its October 16 meeting recommended certain issues after detailed deliberations.

In a note handed over to the bench, the Centre has said the committee has recommended that &quot;each working group shall provide specific comments/amendements on clauses of the draft data protection bill circulated by MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology).

&quot;They should also suggest changes that may be required, if any, to other allied legislation such as the Aadhaar Act 2016 or the Information Technology Act 2000,&quot; the note said, adding that the next meeting of this expert committee would be held on November 7. PTI&nbsp;

The new deadline applies only to people who do not have Aadhar cards

The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail the benefits of various government schemes has been extended till March 31 next year for those who do not have the 12-digit biometric identification number, the Centre today told the Supreme Court. It told a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that extension of the deadline from December end this year till March 31, 2018, would apply only to those persons who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it. "We (Centre) have decided to extend it till March 31, 2018," Attorney General K K Venugopal told the bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud. The petitioners challenging the Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for welfare schemes termed the linking of the identity number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as illegal and unconstitutional, while one of their lawyers strongly objected to the CBSE's move to make it mandatory for students to appear for exams. Venugopal told the court that no coercive action would be taken against those who do not have Aadhaar but were willing to enrol for it and added that they would not be denied the benefits of social welfare schemes till March 31 next. This case is crying for final hearing since long,' senior advocate Shyam Divan said, adding that now even CBSE has asked students for their Aadhaar cards before appearing for the Board examinations × In a note given to the court, the government has said that "those who have Aadhaar are required to seed/link their Aadhaar with SIM card, with bank account, PAN card and other schemes where section 7 notifications have been issued". "The government will be open for the deadline for linking Aadhaar to various programmes being extended for another three months till March 31, 2018 for those who do not have Aadhaar," the note said. It said that persons, who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it, "will be facilitated to enroll for Aadhaar and will be provided benefits and services through alternate means of identification untill such enrollment." The counsel for the petitioners, who have challenged the Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for these schemes, raised the issue of the mandatory linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for some of the petitioners, contended that final hearing in the main Aadhaar matter which is pending before the apex court was necessary as the government "cannot compel" citizens to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or mobile numbers. "This case is crying for final hearing since long," he said, adding that now even Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked students to give their Aadhaar for appearing in board examinations. "What are they (government) doing? A school children can not go to school and give his exams without giving his Aadhaar. Is this the civil liberty we are talking about in the country," Divan said while repeatedly urging the bench that a full-fledged hearing was necessary in the main matter. Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for some other petitioners, argued that the move to link Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile numbers was illegal and unconstitutional. Divan told the bench that complaints have started coming in that after linking bank accounts with Aadhaar, the accounts were being "wiped out" and there were people who have UIDAI number, but do not want to link it. "They say extension till March next year will be only for those who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it. They cannot compel us to link Aadhaar," he said, adding "they can make a statement that they will not take coercive action against those who don't want to link Aadhaar". Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for petitioners, claimed that not linking Aadhaar with bank accounts would make citizens liable to be prosecuted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. When the petitioners said earlier the court had said that the main Aadhaar matter would be heard in the first week of November, the Attorney General said "we are ready for hearing". However, Venugopal told the bench that he would take instructions on certain issues related to Aadhaar and come back to the court. The court asked him to mention the matter on October 30. During the hearing, the Attorney General referred to the apex court's judgement declaring right to privacy as a fundamental right and said in that verdict, Justice Chandrachud had emphasised that a robust regime for protection of data should be put in place. Regarding the issue of data protection regulation, the bench observed, "there are large number of working rules and if they will rush, we might have a poor data protection regulation. Countries across the world are struggling to have a data protection mechanism". Venugopal said the Justice Sri Krishna committee which has initiated the process of reviewing the entire issue of data protection, had in its October 16 meeting recommended certain issues after detailed deliberations. In a note handed over to the bench, the Centre has said the committee has recommended that "each working group shall provide specific comments/amendements on clauses of the draft data protection bill circulated by MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology). "They should also suggest changes that may be required, if any, to other allied legislation such as the Aadhaar Act 2016 or the Information Technology Act 2000," the note said, adding that the next meeting of this expert committee would be held on November 7. PTI

New deadline to link Aadhaar with govt schemes is March 31, Centre tells SC

The government has made Aadhaar compulsory for holders of all post office saving schemes.&nbsp;

This will now expand the Aadhaar requirement for all post office saving schemes like the Postal Savings Bank, National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra and Public Provident Fund.

The Department of Economic Affairs has issued official Gazette notifications.&nbsp;

The notifications states for providing of Aadhaar details by existing account holders to the post office by December 31.&nbsp;

Holders not having Aadhaar number are required to submit proof of enrolment application for Aadhaar.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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This will now expand the Aadhaar requirement for all post office saving schemes like the Postal Savings Bank, National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra and Public Provident Fund

The government has made Aadhaar compulsory for holders of all post office saving schemes. This will now expand the Aadhaar requirement for all post office saving schemes like the Postal Savings Bank, National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra and Public Provident Fund. The Department of Economic Affairs has issued official Gazette notifications. The notifications states for providing of Aadhaar details by existing account holders to the post office by December 31. Holders not having Aadhaar number are required to submit proof of enrolment application for Aadhaar.

Aadhaar made compulsory for post office savings

The Indian government today made it clear that Aadhaar will be a &quot;must&quot; for filing of Income Tax Returns or for obtaining a new PAN from July 1.

The policy-making body of the Income Tax Department issued a statement stating that the Supreme Court yesterday had only given a &quot;partial relief&quot; to those who do not have an Aadhaar or an Aadhaar enrolment ID, and the taxman, hence, will not &quot;cancel&quot; their Permanent Account Number (PAN).

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a three-point &quot;effect of the judgement&quot; of the apex court statement saying:

From July 1, 2017 onwards every person eligible to obtain Aadhaar must quote their Aadhaar number or their Aadhaar enrolment ID number for filing of income tax returns as well as for applications for PAN.

&quot;Everyone who has been allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who has aadhaar number or is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to income tax authorities for the purpose of linking PAN with Aadhaar,&quot; it said.

It explained what will happen in a case of &quot;non- compliance&quot; or where a person does not possess Aadhaar.

&quot;Only a partial relief by the Court (SC) has been given to those who do not have Aadhaar and who do not wish to obtain Aadhaar for the time being, that their PAN will not be cancelled so that other consequences under the Income Tax Act for failing to quote PAN may not arise,&quot; the CBDT said.

If the PAN is cancelled, then a person cannot do his normal banking and financial operations and hence this relief is given. But, it has been made clear that for filing of ITR or to obtain a new PAN, Aadhaar will be mandatory from July 1, a senior I-T official explained.

Senior officials said the apex court&#39;s order given yesterday was &quot;studied&quot; by a high-level team of authorities from the Law Ministry, Finance Ministry, CBDT and the Income Tax Department after which this clarification has been issued.

The government has staunchly defended its &quot;Aadhaar&quot; program, which stores the fingerprints and iris scans of more than one billion Indians on a national database, and has accused those who have raised concerns of illegal hacking.

Following is the notification released by the Indian government:

Government of India 

Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue 

Central Board of Direct Taxes 

PRESS RELEASE 

New Delhi,10th June, 2017. SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT ON AADHAR-PAN LINKAGE 

1. Honourable Supreme Court in its landmark judgement has upheld Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act as constitutionally valid which required quoting of the Aadhaar number in applying for PAN as well as for filing of income tax returns. 

2. The Court also held that the &ldquo;Parliament was fully competent to enact Section 139AA of the Act and its authority to make this law was not diluted by the orders of this Court.&rdquo; Therefore, no violation of the earlier Supreme Court orders were found in enacting the provision. 

3. The Court has also held that Section 139AA of the Act is not discriminatory nor it offends equality clause enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution. 

4. Section 139AA is also not violative of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution in so far as it mandates giving of Aadhaar number for applying PAN and in the income tax returns and linking PAN with Aadhaar number 

5. Section 139AA(1) of the Income Tax Act as introduced by the Finance Act, 2017 provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar/Enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form, for filing of return of income and for making an application for allotment of PAN with effect from 1st July, 2017. 

6. Section 139AA(2) of the Income Tax Act provides that every person who has been allotted PAN as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar, shall intimate his Aadhaar on or before a date to be notified by the Central Government. The proviso to section 139AA (2) provides that in case of non-intimation of Aadhaar, the PAN allotted to the person shall be deemed to be invalid from a date to be notified by the Central Government. 

7. The Supreme Court has upheld Section 139AA(1) which mandatorily requires quoting of Aadhaar for new PAN applications as well as for filing of returns. 

8. The Supreme Court has also upheld Section 139AA(2) which requires that the Aadhaar number must be intimated to the prescribed authority for the purpose of linking with PAN. 

9. It is only the proviso to Section 139AA(2) where the Supreme Court has granted a partial stay for the time being pending resolution of the other cases before the larger bench of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has unequivocally stated as follows: 

&ldquo;125. Having said so, it becomes clear from the aforesaid discussion that those who are not PAN holders, while applying for PAN, they are required to give Aadhaar number. This is the stipulation of subsection (1) of Section 139AA, which we have already upheld. At the same time, as far as existing PAN holders are concerned, since the impugned provisions are yet to be considered on the touchstone of Article 21 of the Constitution, including on the debate around Right to Privacy and human dignity, etc. as limbs of Article 21, we are of the opinion that till the aforesaid aspect of Article 21 is decided by the Constitution Bench a partial stay of the aforesaid proviso is necessary. Those who have already enrolled themselves under Aadhaar scheme would comply with the requirement of sub-section (2) of Section 139AA of the Act. Those who still want to enrol are free to do so. However, those assessees who are not Aadhaar card holders and do not comply with the provision of Section 139(2), their PAN cards be not treated as invalid for the time being. It is only to facilitate other transactions which are mentioned in Rule 114B of the Rules. We are adopting this course of action for more than one reason. We are saying so because of very severe consequences that entail in not adhering to the requirement of sub-section (2) of Section 139AA of the Act. A person who is holder of PAN and if his PAN is invalidated, he is bound to suffer immensely in his day to day dealings, which situation should be avoided till the Constitution Bench authoritatively determines the argument of Article 21 of the Constitution. Since we are adopting this course of action, in the interregnum, it would be permissible for the Parliament to consider as to whether there is a need to tone down the effect of the said proviso by limiting the consequences.&rdquo; 

10. Finally the effect of the judgement is as following

(i) From July 1, 2017 onwards every person eligible to obtain Aadhaar must quote their Aadhaar number or their Aadhaar Enrolment ID number for filing of income tax returns as well as for applications for PAN; 

(ii) Everyone who has been allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who has aadhaar number or is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to income tax authorities for the purpose of linking PAN with Aadhaar; (iii) However, for non-compliance of the above point No.

(iii), only a partial relief by the Court has been given to those who do not have Aadhaar and who do not wish to obtain Aadhaar for the time being, that their PAN will not be cancelled so that other consequences under the Income Tax Act for failing to quote PAN may not arise. 

(Meenakshi J Goswami) 

Commissioner of Income-tax (Media &amp; Technical Policy) 

Official Spokesperson, CBDT

(PTI)

the Supreme Court yesterday had only given a 'partial relief' to those who do not have an Aadhaar or an Aadhaar enrolment ID

The Indian government today made it clear that Aadhaar will be a "must" for filing of Income Tax Returns or for obtaining a new PAN from July 1. The policy-making body of the Income Tax Department issued a statement stating that the Supreme Court yesterday had only given a "partial relief" to those who do not have an Aadhaar or an Aadhaar enrolment ID, and the taxman, hence, will not "cancel" their Permanent Account Number (PAN). The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued a three-point "effect of the judgement" of the apex court statement saying: From July 1, 2017 onwards every person eligible to obtain Aadhaar must quote their Aadhaar number or their Aadhaar enrolment ID number for filing of income tax returns as well as for applications for PAN. "Everyone who has been allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who has aadhaar number or is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to income tax authorities for the purpose of linking PAN with Aadhaar," it said. It explained what will happen in a case of "non- compliance" or where a person does not possess Aadhaar. "Only a partial relief by the Court (SC) has been given to those who do not have Aadhaar and who do not wish to obtain Aadhaar for the time being, that their PAN will not be cancelled so that other consequences under the Income Tax Act for failing to quote PAN may not arise," the CBDT said. If the PAN is cancelled, then a person cannot do his normal banking and financial operations and hence this relief is given. But, it has been made clear that for filing of ITR or to obtain a new PAN, Aadhaar will be mandatory from July 1, a senior I-T official explained. Senior officials said the apex court's order given yesterday was "studied" by a high-level team of authorities from the Law Ministry, Finance Ministry, CBDT and the Income Tax Department after which this clarification has been issued. The government has staunchly defended its "Aadhaar" program, which stores the fingerprints and iris scans of more than one billion Indians on a national database, and has accused those who have raised concerns of illegal hacking. Following is the notification released by the Indian government: Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes PRESS RELEASE New Delhi,10th June, 2017. SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT ON AADHAR-PAN LINKAGE 1. Honourable Supreme Court in its landmark judgement has upheld Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act as constitutionally valid which required quoting of the Aadhaar number in applying for PAN as well as for filing of income tax returns. 2. The Court also held that the “Parliament was fully competent to enact Section 139AA of the Act and its authority to make this law was not diluted by the orders of this Court.” Therefore, no violation of the earlier Supreme Court orders were found in enacting the provision. 3. The Court has also held that Section 139AA of the Act is not discriminatory nor it offends equality clause enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution. 4. Section 139AA is also not violative of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution in so far as it mandates giving of Aadhaar number for applying PAN and in the income tax returns and linking PAN with Aadhaar number 5. Section 139AA(1) of the Income Tax Act as introduced by the Finance Act, 2017 provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar/Enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form, for filing of return of income and for making an application for allotment of PAN with effect from 1st July, 2017. 6. Section 139AA(2) of the Income Tax Act provides that every person who has been allotted PAN as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar, shall intimate his Aadhaar on or before a date to be notified by the Central Government. The proviso to section 139AA (2) provides that in case of non-intimation of Aadhaar, the PAN allotted to the person shall be deemed to be invalid from a date to be notified by the Central Government. 7. The Supreme Court has upheld Section 139AA(1) which mandatorily requires quoting of Aadhaar for new PAN applications as well as for filing of returns. 8. The Supreme Court has also upheld Section 139AA(2) which requires that the Aadhaar number must be intimated to the prescribed authority for the purpose of linking with PAN. 9. It is only the proviso to Section 139AA(2) where the Supreme Court has granted a partial stay for the time being pending resolution of the other cases before the larger bench of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has unequivocally stated as follows: “125. Having said so, it becomes clear from the aforesaid discussion that those who are not PAN holders, while applying for PAN, they are required to give Aadhaar number. This is the stipulation of subsection (1) of Section 139AA, which we have already upheld. At the same time, as far as existing PAN holders are concerned, since the impugned provisions are yet to be considered on the touchstone of Article 21 of the Constitution, including on the debate around Right to Privacy and human dignity, etc. as limbs of Article 21, we are of the opinion that till the aforesaid aspect of Article 21 is decided by the Constitution Bench a partial stay of the aforesaid proviso is necessary. Those who have already enrolled themselves under Aadhaar scheme would comply with the requirement of sub-section (2) of Section 139AA of the Act. Those who still want to enrol are free to do so. However, those assessees who are not Aadhaar card holders and do not comply with the provision of Section 139(2), their PAN cards be not treated as invalid for the time being. It is only to facilitate other transactions which are mentioned in Rule 114B of the Rules. We are adopting this course of action for more than one reason. We are saying so because of very severe consequences that entail in not adhering to the requirement of sub-section (2) of Section 139AA of the Act. A person who is holder of PAN and if his PAN is invalidated, he is bound to suffer immensely in his day to day dealings, which situation should be avoided till the Constitution Bench authoritatively determines the argument of Article 21 of the Constitution. Since we are adopting this course of action, in the interregnum, it would be permissible for the Parliament to consider as to whether there is a need to tone down the effect of the said proviso by limiting the consequences.” 10. Finally the effect of the judgement is as following (i) From July 1, 2017 onwards every person eligible to obtain Aadhaar must quote their Aadhaar number or their Aadhaar Enrolment ID number for filing of income tax returns as well as for applications for PAN; (ii) Everyone who has been allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who has aadhaar number or is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to income tax authorities for the purpose of linking PAN with Aadhaar; (iii) However, for non-compliance of the above point No. (iii), only a partial relief by the Court has been given to those who do not have Aadhaar and who do not wish to obtain Aadhaar for the time being, that their PAN will not be cancelled so that other consequences under the Income Tax Act for failing to quote PAN may not arise. (Meenakshi J Goswami) Commissioner of Income-tax (Media & Technical Policy) Official Spokesperson, CBDT (PTI)

Aadhaar card 'must' for filing tax returns

India&rsquo;s Supreme Court on Friday upheld the government&#39;s decision to link Aadhaar to one&rsquo;s PAN card for filing Income Tax returns. But, it refused to make it compulsory for those who don&rsquo;t have an Aadhaar card or have not yet applied for one,&nbsp;till a Constitution bench addressed the issue of right to privacy.

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The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the validity of linking Aadhaar with PAN or Permanent Account Number. WION brings you more on this (WION)
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Those who have enrolled but have not yet received&nbsp;their Aadhaar card are also exempted.

The tax provision, pushed by the Centre, said that those who file I-T returns without an Aadhaar-linked PAN card would have their PAN declared invalid.&nbsp;

A bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan asked the government to take appropriate steps to ensure there was no leakage of data from the Aadhaar scheme. 
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&quot;The government to take proper and appropriate steps and the scheme in this regard has to be devised at the earliest till confidence among the citizens that the data would not be leaked,&quot; the bench said. 
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The bench, however, clarified that it had not touched upon the issue of the right to privacy and concerns that the Aadhaar scheme affected the human dignity, which, it said, had to be decided by the Constitution bench. 
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The bench made it clear that there was no conflict between the impugned provisions of the Income Tax Act and the Aadhaar Act. 
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It also said that PAN cards without Aadhaar number would not be treated invalid till the Constitution bench decided the larger issue of right to privacy. 
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The Supreme Court said it is compulsory to link Aadhaar to one's PAN card for filing taxes, but only if you already have an Aadhaar card

India’s Supreme Court on Friday upheld the government's decision to link Aadhaar to one’s PAN card for filing Income Tax returns. But, it refused to make it compulsory for those who don’t have an Aadhaar card or have not yet applied for one, till a Constitution bench addressed the issue of right to privacy. The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the validity of linking Aadhaar with PAN or Permanent Account Number. WION brings you more on this (WION) × Those who have enrolled but have not yet received their Aadhaar card are also exempted. The tax provision, pushed by the Centre, said that those who file I-T returns without an Aadhaar-linked PAN card would have their PAN declared invalid. A bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan asked the government to take appropriate steps to ensure there was no leakage of data from the Aadhaar scheme. "The government to take proper and appropriate steps and the scheme in this regard has to be devised at the earliest till confidence among the citizens that the data would not be leaked," the bench said. The bench, however, clarified that it had not touched upon the issue of the right to privacy and concerns that the Aadhaar scheme affected the human dignity, which, it said, had to be decided by the Constitution bench. The bench made it clear that there was no conflict between the impugned provisions of the Income Tax Act and the Aadhaar Act. It also said that PAN cards without Aadhaar number would not be treated invalid till the Constitution bench decided the larger issue of right to privacy.

Is it compulsory to link Aadhaar with PAN card?

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