The pains involved with getting a permanent account number issued from authorities and the confusing number of procedures that make the exercise of paying taxes seem insurmountable even for an ordinary citizen may soon be a thing of the past.
In a move that seeks to make life much easier for taxpayers, the government is considering a slew of friendly measures that will make the entire process of getting a PAN and paying your taxes much more convenient.
According to reports, the Central Board of Direct Taxes is working on a procedure that will allow taxpayers to get a permanent account number in a matter of minutes. Also part of the government’s drive is to enable payment of income taxes through your smartphone.
According to a Times Of India report, the CBDT is working on issuing PAN on a real-time basis using Aadhaar's e-KYC facility, which allows an individual to verify his or her details such as address using biometric identification features like thumb impressions.
"If a SIM can be issued through e- KYC, then the same can be done for PAN," the report quotes said an officer as saying. The official claims that the process, that usually takes several weeks, could well be trimmed to a matter of five-six minutes.
While the number will be issued, the card will be delivered later.
The CBDT and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs have already joined hands to make the process easy for new companies through a combined form in four hours. The idea, again, is to move to real-time issuing of PAN, which will also become the business identification number for companies.
The tax department, the report says, is also developing an app that will help in the online payment of taxes. The app will also have facilities to allow a host of other services such as apply for PAN or track your returns.
While the department is offering several services online through its portal, the app is expected to make life simpler for seniors as well as young taxpayers.
The two projects are being done in-house with the directorate of systems coordinating with CBDT, said sources.
