Aadhar not mandatory for Assam, M’laya tax payers

AADHAR EXEMPTION

*    An individual who is residing in the state of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya.

*    An individual who is a non-resident as per the Income-tax Act, 1961.

*    An individual of the age of eighty years or more at any time during the previous year.

*    An individual who is not a citizen of India.

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, May 12: A development that could bring respite to tax payers in Assam, the Centre has exempted residents of the State from mandatory quoting of Aadhaar to obtain PAN cards and file income tax returns.

Sources told The Sentinel on Friday that the Union Ministry of Fince through a Gazette Notification issued on Thursday (May 11) exempted residents of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, and citizens above 80 years from mandatory quoting of Aadhaar to obtain PAN cards and file income tax returns, under Section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

The Centre recently under the Fince Act, 2017, Section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 made it mandatory for the quoting of Aadhaar / Enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of return of income and for making an application for allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN) with effect from July 1 this year.

Mandatory quoting of Aadhaar had put lakhs of tax payers in Assam in a fix as the process of enrollment for Aadhaar is yet to start formally in the State. Assam is lagging far behind in Aadhaar enrollment as several influential organizations including All Assam Students’ Union has been demanding that such enrollment be started after completion of update of the NRC in Assam. The AASU has expressed apprehension that if the Aadhaar enrollment process is started before the NRC update, there are chances that some illegal migrants might also be able to acquire Aadhaar card in the State. 

Sources said a pilot project on Aadhaar enrollment was started in gaon, Sonitpur and Golaghat district but later it was suspended. Aadhar cards have, however, been issued to few State government employees posted in the State Secretariat and some senior officers. The Central Government employees posted in Assam also received the Aadhar cards.

Sources said around 6.6 per cent of the total population of the State based on projected population figure of 2015 now have Aadhar cards.

Assam Parliamentary affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on Thursday told the Assembly that the government would soon start the process of Aadhaar enrollment in the State.  The General Administration Department (GAD) will undertake the exercise while the State home department will monitor the process.

Patowary on Thursday said there was no need to wait for completion of NRC update to start Aadhaar enrolment as the Centre had made it clear that Aadhaar neither confers citizenship nor is a proof of citizenship.

The Aadhaar process is also slow in Meghalaya till the end of March this year, only around nine per cent of the projected population of 2015 of the State received Aadhar cards.