The last date for linking of Aadhaar Card with PAN(Permanent Account Number) was extended to March 31, 2020, from December 31,2019, the Income Tax department said on Monday. The Central Board of Direct Taxation made the announcement under sub-section 2 of Section 139 AA of the Income-tax Act,1961.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Income Tax India tweeted, "The due date for linking of PAN with Aadhaar as specified under sub-section 2 of Section 139AA of the Income-tax Act,1961 has been extended from 31st December 2019 to 31st March 2020. Notification no.107 of 2019 dated 30/12/2019 issued by CBDT."

This is the second time that the deadline has been extended.Earlier, the last date was extended from September 30, 2019, to December 31,2019. In a notification dated September 28, 2019, the Ministry of Finance had announced the decision of extension.

If the PAN is not linked with Aadhaar by the extended deadline, then as per current laws, PAN card will become inoperative. The rule regarding the consequences of not linking PAN with Aadhaar was revised in the 2019 Budget.

However, Indian expats will have to link their Aadhaar Cardby December 31, 2019, or else it will be treated as inoperative. A public noticewas issued on December 28 asking for linking an Indian resident`s PAN withhis/her Aadhaar card before December 31. While a non-resident Indian (NRI) isnot required to have an Aadhaar card or a PAN, it is mandatory to link them byDecember 31 if one has them.

An NRI with financial dealings back home is advised to haveboth a PAN card and an Aadhaar. The deadline for the linkage was extended tillDecember 31, 2019 from an earlier deadline of September 30, 2019. As per Indiangovernment rules, a PAN card is mandatory for NRIs if they have a taxableincome in India or want to make investments in the country.