NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 22:59 ET
- India set a Dec. 31 deadline for some PAN holders to intimate their Aadhaar number, a government notification said.
- Dec. 31 is also the cut-off for filing belated or revised income tax returns for the 2025–26 assessment year, the tax department’s calendar shows.
- Tax professionals say revised returns replace the original filing and can be used to fix errors before the window closes.
India has set a Dec. 31 deadline for a subset of Permanent Account Number (PAN) holders to provide their Aadhaar number to tax authorities, according to a government notification. (Notification No. 26/2025)
The cut-off matters because PAN is the tax identity number used for filing income tax returns and is commonly required for many financial activities. A PAN that becomes inoperative can create friction for taxpayers when they file returns or complete transactions.
The date also lands at the end of India’s year-end compliance window. The Income Tax Department’s tax calendar lists Dec. 31 as the deadline for filing belated or revised returns of income for the assessment year 2025–26, subject to assessment status. (Income Tax Department tax calendar)
The Central Board of Direct Taxes said the Aadhaar requirement applies to people “allotted” a PAN on the basis of the enrolment ID of an Aadhaar application form filed before Oct. 1, 2024, and asked them to intimate their Aadhaar number by Dec. 31, 2025, or a later date if specified.
Aadhaar is India’s 12-digit biometric identity number. PAN is the tax identifier used by the Income Tax Department to track filings and payments.
Local media have highlighted a pre-login tool on the income tax e-filing portal that lets users check whether Aadhaar is linked with PAN and take steps to update the status. (Times of India guide)
For many taxpayers, the bigger time pressure is correcting mistakes in already-filed returns. A revised income tax return allows changes to income details, deductions and other entries before the statutory window closes.
CA (Dr) Suresh Surana said, “A taxpayer may revise their Income Tax Return if an error or omission is discovered after submission.” (India Today)
Surana said a revised return replaces the original return for that assessment year. He said filing within the permitted timeline does not, by itself, attract a penalty, though taxpayers may need to pay additional tax and interest if the revision increases the liability.
Taxpayers who miss the Dec. 31 deadline may still have other options in certain cases, including filing an “updated return” — a later correction route under the tax law — but it comes with extra tax costs and conditions.
Some taxpayers and tax professionals have pushed online for more time, citing portal load and last-minute notices. India Today reported there had been no official announcement of an extension for this year’s Dec. 31 cut-off.
A separate year-end checklist circulating in the Indian press has urged taxpayers to treat Dec. 31 as a hard stop for key compliance actions, including Aadhaar–PAN updates and return corrections. (NewsBytes)
