Don't reveal PAN on social media, Income Tax department warns

NEW DELHI : The Income Tax department is warning all holders of Permanent Account Number to not share their ten-digit alphanumeric PAN publicly on social media. The tax department says sharing of such personal data can lead to its misuse.

A lot of taxpayers have been asking questions and raising concerns relating to processing of income tax returns, ITR refunds, etc on Twitter. The I-T department's social media team keeps on warning all such taxpayers or assesses who mention their PAN in the tweets.

"...May we also request you not to share personal details like PAN on social media to avoid it being misused!" -- is the standard response of the Income Tax department on Twitter in a reply to all taxpayers who reveal their PAN on the social media site. 

Sharing of personal data, including PAN, can lead to cases of identity theft where miscreants can make transactions in your name without your knowledge.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has also similarly asked Aadhaar card holders to not share their 12-digit identity number in public as it is personally sensitive information. Aadhaar is also linked not only to your PAN card but also with bank accounts and even passport.

To all those who want to ask tax-related questions, the income tax department has come out with an online query form where one can ask questions and get it answered directly from the I-T department officials.

In the form, you need to provide your name, PAN, assessment year for which the issue is reported, mobile number, email id, your detailed query and social media user id.

The form is primarily meant to answer queries related to e-filing of ITR, processing and claiming tax refund. Once you fill up the form the income tax department will soon answer your queries or address your concerns.