Govt extends Aadhaar linking deadline till March 31

New Delhi, December 13

The government on Wednesday extended by three months till March 31 the deadline for mandatory quoting of national biometric identifier Aadhaar and Permanent Account Number (PAN) for bank accounts and certain financial transactions.

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The deadline for existing bank account holders to furnish the 12-digit biometric identifier was initially December 31, 2017.

The extension has been granted "after considering various representations received and inputs received from banks," an official statement said here.

The government had last week extended the deadline for linking of PAN with Aadhaar till March 31, 2018.

Now, the deadline for bank accounts has been extended, but there is no word on extending the February 6, 2018 deadline for linking mobile SIM cards with Aadhaar.

"...It has been decided to notify March 31, 2018 or six months from the date of commencement of account based relationship by the client, whichever is later, as the date of submission of the Aadhaar number, and Permanent Account Number or Form 60 by the clients to the reporting entity," an official statement said.

Last evening, the government had issued a Gazette notification amending rules under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 (PMLA) by replacing the requirement of submitting "the Aadhaar number and Permanent Account Number by December 31, 2017" with a provision saying "submit the Aadhaar number, and Permanent Account Number or Form No. 60, by such date as may be notified by the Central Government".

Following this, March 31, 2018 was today notified as the fresh deadline.

While the Aadhaar is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), PAN is allotted by the Income Tax Department.

Form 60 is a declaration filed by an individual or a person (not being a company or firm) who does not have a PAN and who enters into any specified transaction.

Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Aadhaar, PAN and other official documents are required to be obtained by banks and financial institutions from anyone opening a bank account as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.

The government had earlier said failure to submit Aadhaar number and PAN within the stipulated timelines would mean that the account "will cease to be operational till the time the Aadhaar number and Permanent Account Number is submitted by the client".

The PMLA forms the core of the legal framework put in place by India to combat money laundering and generation of black money.

The PMLA and its rules impose an obligation on "reporting entities" like banks, financial institutions and intermediaries to verify the identity of clients, maintain records and furnish information to the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU-IND).

As per Rule 9, every reporting entity shall at the time of commencement of an account-based relationship identify its clients, verify their identity and obtain information on the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship.

Intermediaries like stock broker, chit fund company, cooperative bank, housing finance institution and non-banking finance companies are also classified as reporting entities.

Aadhaar and other official documents are required to be obtained by the reporting entities from anyone opening a bank account as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.

The rule also applies to all cash dealing of more than Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency, cash transactions where forged or counterfeit currency notes have been used and all suspicious dealings.

All cross-border wire transfers of more than Rs 5 lakh in foreign currency and purchase and sale of immovable property valued at Rs 50 lakh or more also fall under this category, according to the reporting rules.

The extension of deadline announced today is in line with the Centre last week informing the Supreme Court that it is willing to extend till March 31 the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes. — PTI