Pankaj Choudhary: 9.25 Crore Pan Inactive Due To Lack Of Pan-Aadhaar Link, Rs 2,338 Crore Late Fee Recovery:

Pankaj Choudhary: 9.25 Crore Pan Inactive Due To Lack Of Pan-Aadhaar Link, Rs 2,338 Crore Late Fee Recovery New Delhi, March 30, 2026, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary gave a reply on the issue related to PAN-Aadhaar linking in the Lok Sabha. This answer was given in response to the questions of Karti P. Chidambaram, Amar Singh and Benny Behanan. The minister said that  9,25,50,668 individual category PANs became inactive due to not being linked to Aadhaar till January 1, 2026. He also said that due to the delay in PAN and Aadhaar linking, late fees of Rs 2,338.31 crore have been collected till March 23, 2026. He clarified that in cases where PAN is inoperative, income tax returns are processed, and a credit of prepaid tax is also given. However, in such cases, the refund is withheld as per the provisions of Section 139AA and Rule 114AAA of the Income Tax Act. 130,638 refund cases related to inactive PAN have been put on hold, the total amount of which was reported to be Rs 340.30 crore. Apart from this, details of PAN deactivation, refund halts and portal-related complaints were also given on the e-filing portal. 1,114 complaints were registered in the year 2024-25, and 1,156 complaints were registered in 2025-26, taking the total number to 2,270. This information was presented in writing in the Lok Sabha on 30 March 2026.