The government on Sunday extended the deadline for linking PAN with biometric ID Aadhaar by 6 months till September 30, as per an official statement.

However, quoting of Aadhaar will remain mandatory for filing income tax returns (ITRs), following the Supreme Court order.

This is the sixth time the government has extended the deadline for individuals to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) with Aadhaar. In June last year, the government had said that PAN has to be linked with the biometric ID by March 31.

“….now the cut-off date for intimating the Aadhaar number and linking PAN with Aadhaar is September 30, 2019, unless specifically exempted,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement.

The CBDT said there were reports that those PANs which are not linked with Aadhaar number by March 31 may be invalidated, following which the matter was considered by the government and the date extended till September 30.

“Notwithstanding the last date of intimating/linking of Aadhaar Number with PAN being September 30, 2019, it is also made clear that w.e.f. April 1, 2019, it is mandatory to quote and link Aadhaar number while filing the return of income,” it added.

The apex court, in September last year, had declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid and held that the biometric ID would remain mandatory for filing of I-T returns and allotment of PAN.

A five-judge constitution bench had, however, said that it would not be mandatory to link Aadhaar to bank accounts and telecom service providers cannot seek its linking for mobile connections.

Till September last year, of the 41 crore PANs issued, over 21 crore were linked to Aadhaar.

The Supreme Court in its order upheld section 139AA of the Income Tax Act.

Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having PAN as on July 1, 2017, and eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar number to the tax authorities.

The earlier deadlines for linking PAN with Aadhaar were July 31, August 31 and December 31, 2017, March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018, and March 31, 2019.