Issue/Justification
The misuse of PAN details of assesees is prevalent since long. There is a need to provide new age chip enabled PAN cards so as to prove the identity of the concerned person rather than using the photo copy of the card.
Recently, a number of cases have come to the notice where the PAN of the assessees used at Photo ID was publically available at places like railway stations (in charts) are found to be misused and quoted in the TDS/TCS returns.
eg The Finance Act, 2012 through an amendment in section 206C made it mandatory to collect tax at specified rate in case of any person selling jewellery or bullion. The seller in this case has to file TCS returns quarterly where currently PAN of all the buyers need to be reported. In order to hide / accommodate the information w.r.t the high net worth individuals not quoting their PAN at the time of purchase in order to evade tax, fake PANs are being mentioned in the TCS returns. Such sellers are able to get the PAN numbers by various means as mentioned above. In such cases, the asseessee whose PAN has been quoted faces severe hardship as he may not have that much income to substantiate the expenditure quoted against his PAN. It will also be difficult for him to prove his innocence.
Thus, there is a need to curb such practice and new age PAN cards be issued in order to prove the identity of the person carrying the transaction.
Suggestion
In order to curb the misuse of PAN to carry out benami transactions and the like, it is suggested that the PAN be made chip enabled and be required swiping in the machines specifically designed for it so that the transactions carried on by him are recorded in the same and the assessee is able to prove the transactions entered into by him.
Idea is good but I feel NOT practicable always. Example : I am a disabled (Double Amputee). I have agri income. When I sell my produce, some days, the cash total is more than 50,000. If I send my servant to deposit the cash, I have to part with my PAN Card. Wherever PAN is required, he may misuse it.
Aadhaar Biometric is only the sure fire way.
So the rule may me amended to quote and authenticate by Biometric. After all PAn is linked to Aadhaar