False info will land non-PAN holders in jail

New Delhi : A false declaration by an individual not possessing PAN card for certain value of transactions can land him upto a seven-year jail term and a hefty fine as part of Income Tax regulations. The regulation will come into force from Friday.

As part of the directives issued by the government for implementation of the Permanent Account Number (PAN) regime from January 1, any person not having a PAN but undertaking a transaction which requires a mandatory quoting of it, will have to fill up 'Form No. 60'. The one-page form seeks personal details of the person undertaking the transaction along with a valid proof of identity and address, like Aadhaar and Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) among others.

"There are people who may not have a PAN and still make a large transaction for which quoting of PAN is now essential. In such cases, such people have to fill Form 60 and making a false declaration of information in this will make them liable for punishment which could be a maximum of seven years of Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) with fine or a minimum of three months RI with fine under IT laws," a senior tax department official said.

The said Act stipulates that in a case where tax sought to be evaded exceeds Rs 25 lakh (by way of false declaration in Form 60), the punishment is RI between 6 months-7 years with fine and in cases below this monetary limit, the punishment will be RI between 3 months-2 years with fine.