What is PAN Card?

The Income Tax Department issues a PAN card containing a unique 10-digit PAN (Permanent Account Number). The PAN acts as an identity proof of an individual or entity for various purposes. All tax-related information of a person is recorded against that person’s PAN.

PAN is a unique 10-digit alphanumeric character, while the PAN card is a physical or digital card containing the PAN and other important information about the person.

As per the new format of PAN cards introduced by the Income Tax Department on 1 January 2017, all PAN cards will contain a Quick Response (QR) code carrying the cardholder’s details. This code can also be used for data verification. It will also contain the cardholder’s name, father’s name, date of birth, and signature.

PAN Card Contents

PAN card contains various information, which are as follows:

• Name of the cardholder– Name of the individual, partnership firm, LLP or company.
• Name of the father of the cardholder– Applicable for only individual cardholders. The father’s or mother’s name (in case of single parent) will be printed.
• Date of birth– The cardholder’s date of birth in the case of an individual or the date of registration in the case of a company or firm.
• PAN Number– It is a 10-digit alpha-numeric number. Each character represents information about the cardholder.
• Signature – Applicable for only individual cardholders. PAN card also acts as proof of the individual’s signature required for financial transactions.
• Photograph of the individual –PAN acts as a photo identity proof of the individual. In the case of companies and firms, no photograph is present on the card.

Structure of Permanent Account Number (PAN)

It is a 10-digit alphanumeric number and each character represents distinct information of the cardholder.

• The first 3 letters– These are purely alphabetical in nature and contain three-letter of the alphabet from A to Z.
• The 4 letter –The fourth letter is an alphabet that represents the category of the taxpayer. The various entities and their respective characters are as follows:
  • A – Association of Persons
  • B – Body of Individuals
  • C – Company
  • F – Firms
  • G – Government
  • H – Hindu Undivided Family
  • L – Local Authority
  • J – Artificial Judicial Person
  • P – Individual
  • T – Association of Persons for a Trust
• The 5 letter– The fifth letter is the first letter of the individual’s surname
• The next 4 letters– The next 4 characters are purely numerical in nature and are numbers between 0-9. 
• The last letter – The last one letter is an alphabet.

Types of PAN

These are the different types of PAN card issued to tax-paying entities in India:

• Individual, including minorsand students
• Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)
• Company
• Partnership Firms
• Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
• Trusts
• Society
• Association Of Person (AOP)
• Body Of Individuals (BOI)
• Foreigners

 PAN Card Forms

There are 3 types of PAN card applications, which are as follows:

• Form 49A– Indian citizens, including minors, NRIs, citizens located outside India, Indian companies, Indian firms and Indian BOI/ AOP who do not have a PAN card must fill out this form to get a PAN.
• Form 49AA– All foreign citizens who require a PAN must file this form.
• Changes or Corrections in existing PAN/ Reprint of PAN card– People who already have a existing PAN but need to make changes or corrections in their PAN card data must apply this form. However, people who want to reprint the existing PAN card without any changes can apply for reprint of PAN card application.