Double Pan Issues

PAN (Permanent Account Number) is a 10-digit alphanumeric identity allotted by the Income Tax Department to all judicial entities identifiable under the Income Tax Act, 1961. It is unique to each individual and can be used by them as proof of identity. As per the law, one assessee is allowed to possess only one PAN Card; having more than one PAN Card in your name is illegal.

Yet, a number of individuals possess more than one PAN card without giving much attention to the consequences it may lead to. The Income Tax Department is authorized to take legal action or impose a financial penalty on the individuals/entities that possess more than one PAN.

Reasons that might lead to multiple PANs

While some try to get multiple PANs to commit fraud, in the majority of the cases, multiple PAN allotments are done by mistake. There can be a number of circumstances under which an individual is allotted two PAN Cards, such as:

Multiple Applications- When an applicant applies for a PAN Card and it doesn’t arrive within the scheduled time-period and then he/she applies for the PAN card again, a multiple application case occurs. Now if the previous PAN

New Application instead of Correction- When an applicant wants to make corrections in his/her PAN card but instead applies for a new one, then in such cases, he/she might obtain two PAN Cards allotted in his/her name.

New Application Post Marriage- If a woman changes her surname after marriage, she may apply for a new PAN instead of requesting a correction in her existing PAN which again leads to double PAN against a single individual.

NRI applicants: Non-Resident Indians when arriving in India to do business or perform a commercial transaction requiring PAN, they apply for a PAN card and complete their desired transaction. However, when they return back to the country after many years, they tend to apply for a new PAN altogether to re-conduct business in India, thus, creating multiple PANs against their name.
Whatever may be the reason, an individual (more accurately an entity) is not allowed to have more than one PAN. It is a punishable offence and can attract PAN penalty or legal action.

How possessing multiple PANs affect your credit profile?
Possessing multiple PANs has an adverse impact on your credit profile.

When you apply for a loan, a key credential which the bank verifies is your PAN card details. Any discrepancy in your PAN history will result in an outright disapproval of your application. Alongside your loan, your credit card application can also get rejected if you have two PANs.

Owning multiple PAN Cards is seen as a potential fraud and both the ability and intention of such an applicant to repay the loan is questioned by the banks. Most of the banks blacklist such applicants. Even if you have a good CIBIL score, such blacklisting will cause huge credit problems for you.