Aadhaar number mandatory for PAN application and filing IT returns, only for those eligible for Aadhaar

The Finance Act 2017 has introduced section 139AA in the Income Tax Act, 1961, which makes it mandatory for quoting of Aadhaar number for filing income tax returns, or for allotment of a Permanent Account Number. Citizens who are in the process of getting an Aadhaar card, can quote the Enrollment ID on the Aadhaar application form. The new rules will be effective from 1 July, 2017.

The quoting of Aadhaar or Enrollment ID is mandatory for only those who are eligible to get an Aadhaar number. Only a resident individual as defined by the Aadhaar Act of 2016 is eligible to get an Aadhaar number.

The act defines “an individual who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to one hundred and eighty-two days or more in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of application for enrollment.” The requirement of quoting an Aadhaar number for filing income tax returns will not be necessary for those who are not defined as a resident.

NRIs are not entitled to apply for Aadhaar. Acc. to Sec 3.1 of the Aadhaar Act'16 only a resident shall be entitled to obtain Aadhaar no. pic.twitter.com/eKcNqTlEoq

— Aadhaar (@UIDAI) April 5, 2017

The FAQ section on the UIDAI web site smartly dodges the question of whether Aadhaar will be made compulsory, with an indirect answer that does not explicitly say that Aadhaar is not mandatory. The response is, “Any person can choose to apply for Aadhaar. Similarly, agencies providing benefits and services may choose to use Aadhaar in their systems and may require that their beneficiaries or customers provide their Aadhaar for these services.”

The problem here is that the government is forcing citizens to hand over biometric data. It does not matter what laws are in place for the protection of the data, or how secure the Aadhaar database is, the problem here is the lack of control over one’s own privacy. Those who do not want to hand over their personal biometric data to the government, have fewer and fewer options to avoid getting an Aadhaar card, and continuing to live their everyday lives.

Communist Party of India leader Binoy Viswam has filed a petition in the Supreme court through advocate Sriram Parakkat challenging the decision to make it mandatory for Aadhaar to be quoted during the filing of income tax returns, according to reports in the Hindustan Times and One India.

“Due to the introduction of Section 139 AA in the Income Tax Act, I have been coerced into obtaining an Aadhaar card in complete violation of my right to privacy as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution,” Viswam said.

The petitioner had not obtained an Aadhaar card under the expectation that Aadhaar is not mandatory. Viswam contended that the Aadhaar scheme was voluntary, recalling an earlier order by the Supreme Court that forbade the Government from making an Aadhaar card voluntary for welfare schemes. The order however, only pertained to the distribution of benefits, and directed that no one should be deprived of benefits for lack of an Aadhaar card.

The order did not mention Aadhaar being made mandatory for any other procedures other than welfare schemes. The order, in fact, explicitly noted that the Government cannot be stopped from using Aadhaar for documentation purposes, such as for the filing of Income Tax returns.

Aadhaar enrollment has effectively become a Hobson’s choice, with a worrying amount of privacy concerns surrounding the Aadhaar program. The issues are compounded by the lack of dedicated privacy and data protection laws in the country.

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