New Delhi: Transgenders in India are being recognized by the Government as the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) recently amended its rules recognizing this independent category of applicants for obtaining a Permanent Account Number (PAN).
CBDT which frames the policy for the tax department on Monday issued a notification under sections 139A and 295 which now provides a new tick box for the transgenders to apply for a PAN along with new application process for other individuals, Hindu reported.
According to a senior official, the amendment in the process was brought after the body received several representations.
So far the application form only had male and female gender categories.
“Individuals from the transgender community were facing hassles in obtaining a PAN card and this problem was further magnified as Aadhaar had the third gender category but not PAN. “Hence, they were notable to link their PAN with their Aadhaar due to this anomaly,” said the official.
The new amendment will be included in Form 49A (PAN application form for Indian citizens) and Form 49AA (PAN application form for individuals not a citizen of India).
PAN is a 10-digit unique alphanumeric number allotted by the I-T department.
The government has now made Adhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns (ITRs) as well as obtaining a new PAN under section 139 AA(2) of the Income Tax Act.
As many as 16.65 crore PANs out of 33 crores have already linked their Adhaar numbers with their PANs.
The deadline to link remaining PANs was recently extended until June 30.