What is a PAN card number?

PAN card is issued by the Income Tax Department of India in order to keep track of everyone’s taxes. They have made it a requirement to state your PAN card number on any forms, applications, or inquiries dealing with finances in India. Because PAN stands for Permanent Account Number, it does not expire. This will be your unique number for a lifetime. You will never have to renew it unless you wish to update your card or photo.

Because of India’s raising economy, more and more NRI’s are investing in India everyday. In order to do that, a PAN card number is required. Compared to most European countries and the United States, India’s interest rates are higher.

You can get a PAN card if you are an NRI, OCI, PIO card holder, and foreign passport holder. That means that you do not have to be a citizen of India in order to get a PAN card from India. The fees for PAN card are more expensive for someone living abroad than for Indian citizens. When you go to fill out an application for a PAN card, all you need to provide is ID proof, address proof, and 2 passport size photos. You may have to have a couple of these documents apostilled by the Secretary of State in your area.

Uses of a PAN?

As per the IT department of India it is now compulsory to quote a permanent account number on all kinds of financial and investment related transactions in India and on an applicant's tax forms (tax filing applications, etc). One can also think of it as an Indian ID proof and it is required to mention a PAN if you need to open a Demat Account, do stock investment, convert stocks into dmat form, purchase real estate, open a bank account, get any kind of loan, apply for visas and passport, enjoy your rental income, get foreign remittance from abroad, etc.

Is it Necessary for NRIs to have a PAN No.?

PAN Number is compulsory as per the Income Tax department of India, and also now the SEBI made it mandatory for the investors to mention their permanenet account number in all their investing activities in India.