Stiff rule delays PAN migration

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Hyderabad: Filing tax returns has become even more of a headache because of delays in PAN migration. Some assessees have been waiting for a year for the process of PAN migration to be completed when they shift location.
The income-tax department has made the migration process very stringent and that is adding to the delay. Income-tax officials say that checking has to be strict because of the huge number of online frauds. It is mandatory to quote PAN for filing of I-T returns, as PAN acts as an identifier of the person or ‘assessee.’
Taxpayers and persons who need to file I-T return  have to furnish a PAN number. Businessmen, whose total sales or turnover exceeds Rs 5 lakh a year, or any person who intends to do a  financial transaction where quoting PAN is mandatory, need to get their PAN migrated, in case of a shift of location.
The delay, therefore, is causing a huge inconvenience to the assessees. Sources in the income tax department say a delay of around six months is normal.
“Many times, the process of transfer of PAN fails due to validation errors or wrong filling of the forms. Also many people file from different jurisdictions which may cause an error. The department is now very cautious with PAN migrations as a number of refund scams have come to light in the recent past,” said an I-T official.