The government of India has deactivated over 11 lakh PAN cards by July 27 this year to put a check on the soaring number of bogus PAN cards.
A move aimed at weeding out illegal financial dealings, was taken after detecting fake PAN cards which were allotted to non-existing individuals or to people.
According to rules, a person can not be registered with more than one PAN number.
PAN cards are mandatory for any transaction above Rs 2 lakh and for a lot of other activities like opening of a bank account and as identity proof.
Here’s how to check if your PAN card still works
1) Log on to http://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in and click on ‘Know Your PAN’ option available on the left side of the home page of the website under ‘Services’ section.
2) Enter your registered mobile number on the page.
3) Fill up details such as name, status, date of birth and contact number.
4) You will be asked to enter OTP or one-time password received on your registered mobile number. Enter OTP and click on ‘Validate’.
5) If you have more than one PAN card, a pop-up message will appear — “There are multiple records for this query. Provide additional information.”
6) Enter more information such as your father’s name.
7) If your PAN card is active, it will be indicated as ‘Active’ under the ‘Remarks’ column.