If you submitted Form 60 instead of PAN earlier, Income Tax Dept now wants you to get a PAN
Aug 28, 2023
Synopsis
Form 60 is required to be submitted in lieu of PAN if an individual does not have one but is conducting certain specific transactions like purchasing a car, etc. However income tax department will send an individual an SMS and email about updating one's PAN number to the reporting entity where Form 60 was given or apply for a PAN.
“The Income Tax Department has received information about certain transactions reported by you in Form 60/61 relating to F.Y. 2021-22. It is requested that if you are not in occupation of a PAN number, the same may be applied in Form 49A immediately or else, the PAN Number should be submitted to the Reporting Entity within 15 days from the campaign execution date. -Income Tax Department.”
This is an SMS many taxpayers have received recently from the Income Tax department.
The income tax department’s official Twitter handle confirmed the sending of the SMS by tweeting:
“This is a genuine SMS/Email from the Income Tax Department. Recipients of this SMS/Email may pl note: In case you do not possess a PAN, you are requested to obtain PAN and report PAN to the Reporting Entity(RE).....”
— IncomeTaxIndia (@IncomeTaxIndia)
Read on to find out what is Form 60 and why the tax department has been sending this SMS to taxpayers.
What is Form 60?
A person is often required to quote/submit his/her Permanent Account Number (PAN) for various financial transactions. However, in case the person does not possess a PAN, then Form 60 has to be submitted.
Why are people receiving this SMS?
According to Gopal Bohra, Partner, Direct Taxation, N.A. Shah Associates, a Mumbai-based Chartered Accountancy firm, “Any individual who does not have PAN and entered into certain specified transactions in a financial year will receive this SMS.”
Specified transactions, in this case, means transactions where PAN is mandatorily required to be quoted.
“Rule 114B requires taxpayers without PAN to furnish declaration in Form 60 to the appropriate reporting entity while undertaking any of the 18 specified financial transactions mentioned in the rule, such as sale or purchase of motor vehicle, sale or purchase of immovable property, sale or purchase of shares not listed in a recognized stock exchange, etc,” says Chartered Accountant Divakar Vijayasarathy, Founder and CEO, DVS Advisors, a Chennai based tax advisory firm.
One example of this would be if an individual submits Form 60 in lieu of PAN while purchasing a new car then the person could get such an SMS.
Another instance can be where an individual has purchased gold of value more than Rs 2 lakh but submitted Form 60 instead of quoting his/her PAN. Then the individual may receive such an SMS.
Here’s what happens when an individual gives a declaration in Form 60 to the reporting entity (for example financial institutions such as a bank) due to his/her not having a PAN.
“The reporting entity will submit Form 61 to the income tax department, giving details mentioned in the Form 60. The Income Tax Department, on receipt of the information in Form 61, sends SMS to the person who has entered into such a transaction and has not provided their PAN,” says Bohra.
A reporting entity is any organisation/person who has to mandatorily record an individual’s PAN when conducting specified type of financial transactions with him/her. Examples of reporting entities include banks, post offices, etc.
How to respond to this SMS?
Tax experts say that there could be two reasons for a person receiving such an SMS from the income tax department. First, the receiver of the SMS actually submitted Form 60 for making one or more specified transactions. Second, someone has fraudulently filled in the SMS-receiver’s details in Form 60 and submitted it in lieu of the PAN.
According to Bohra, “If one already possesses a PAN, they are advised to submit it to the counterparty (reporting entity) with whom transaction has been done as specified under Rule 114B within 15 days from the transaction date. The purpose of this SMS is to ensure that taxpayers’ transactions are aligned with proper tax documentation.”
“Identifying the reporting entity can be a bit challenging, especially if one has conducted multiple transactions without a PAN. Further, this SMS should be taken seriously, especially by those who have not furnished Form 60 and have still received this SMS. It is likely that someone has fraudulently submitted their details, and in such cases. It is important to identify such sources to avoid misuse of identity,” said Ankit Jain, partner, Ved Jain and Associates, a Delhi-based C.A. firm.
Hence, if an individual thinks that they have been the victim of the above kind of fraud, then they should send an email to
Who are reporting entities (RE)?
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has prescribed various entities as reporting entities (R.E.s).
According to the Vijayasarathy, “Reporting entity in this case is defined in section 285BA and includes various institutions such as banks, post offices, and registrars or sub-registrars of properties and vehicles, etc depending upon the transaction undertaken by the person. For example, in case of sale or purchase of foreign exchange, the reporting entity shall be the authorised dealer or money changer.”
[The Economic Times]
