PAN Migration: Do You Need It? And How To Do It

PAN or Permanent Account Number is issued by the Income Tax department with details including date of birth, name and PAN number of the individual. A PAN number allotted to a person is a 10-digit alphanumeric number used in to link all of his or her financial transactions with the unique ID such as tax payments, income tax return and wealth tax return. PAN, thus, acts as a financial identifier for the person with the tax department. However, when an individual shifts his or her permanent address from one state to another, it is important to get the PAN migrated to the new Assessing Officer (AO). This enables the new AO  to process the return filed by the assessee as per the new address.

The taxman has addressed some common doubts about PAN migration on its website:

Who do I approach to initiate the process?

The application for PAN migration has to be made to the AO who currently holds jurisdiction of your PAN and the process entails PAN transfer request that has to be entered by the destination AO (your new AO as per change in residence).

How can I know the jurisdiction of my new AO?

Jurisdiction of the new AO can be viewed on the official website www.incometaxindia.gov.in in the column 'Field Offices' of various states wherein Designation and contact numbers of the officers are mentioned. For people serving in the Armed Forces, the PAN is usually allotted as per their office address or the current place of posting. However, after retirement, the PAN should be transferred to the jurisdiction.

What happens after I file an application for PAN migration?

If the transfer request is allowed by the source AO, the PAN transfer request then reaches source Commissioner of Income Tax for his or her confirmation. Unless the source officer accepts the transfer request, the PAN remains stuck in the transfer process. Unless the PAN gets migrated, the destination AO cannot do anything with any tax return filed by you.

How will I come to know that my PAN has migrated to the new AO?

Current status of the jurisdictional AO of the PAN can be verified from the website www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in from the column "KNOW YOUR JURISDICTIONAL AO".

Is there a mobile app for easy PAN migration?

A PAN migration option is available on the I-T department's newly-launched mobile app Aaykar Setu. To migrate your PAN using the app, you have to click on the ‘Got a problem' option on the front page. On clicking, you will see the PAN migration option. Here you will find all the details about PAN migration.