Govt collected ₹2,336 crore as fee for delay in linking Aadhaar with PAN: MoS Finance tells Lok Sabha

The Income Tax Department has collected ₹2,336 crore from taxpayers as fees for the delay in linking Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN) over the last three financial years, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday, February 2.

The information was shared by the Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha.

Clarifying the issue, the Minister said that no fine or penalty was imposed on taxpayers for delayed Aadhaar-PAN linking. Instead, the amount was collected in the form of a prescribed fee.

According to the data provided, the government collected ₹570.49 crore in 2022-23, ₹1,237.94 crore in 2023-24, and ₹527.32 crore in 2024-25, taking the total fee collection to ₹2,335.75 crore, which rounds off to ₹2,336 crore.

The reply was given in response to a question regarding revenue earned by the government from delays in Aadhaar-PAN linking and other penalties.

PAN-Aadhaar linking

Replying to another part of the question, the Minister stated that no penalty is imposed for the late filing of GST returns either. However, the government collects late fees under the GST law. Data shared in Parliament showed that the total GST late fees collected stood at ₹1,960.38 crore in 2021-22, ₹1,968.10 crore in 2022-23, ₹1,987.72 crore in 2023-24, and ₹1,748.74 crore in 2024-25, across various return categories.

On charges levied by public sector banks, the government informed the House that banks offer zero-balance savings accounts, including those under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which do not attract penalties for non-maintenance of minimum balance. For regular savings accounts, minimum balance charges and SMS alert fees are governed by board-approved policies and RBI guidelines.

The Minister added that several banks have waived or rationalised such charges, and State Bank of India has waived SMS alert charges since January 1, 2020.