tNew Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved for the PAN 2.0 Project of the Income Tax Department under which it will roll out a free-of-cost upgrade to the PAN Card with a QR Code. The project expected to make the permanent account number a ‘common business identifier’ for all digital systems of government agencies, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The PAN 2.0 Project is expected to cost Rs 1,435 crore.
“The existing system will be upgraded and the digital backbone will be brought in a new way… We will try to make it a common business identifier. There will be a unified portal, it will be completely paperless and online. The emphasis will be on the grievance redressal system," said Union Minister Vaishnaw during a Cabinet briefing, according to a media report.
The PAN 2.0 Project enables technology-driven transformation of taxpayer registration services and has significan benefits including ease of access and speedy service delivery with improved quality.
Single source of truth and data consistency; eco-friendly processes and cost optimization; and security and optimisation of infrastructure for greater agility, are the other benefits of the project.
"The PAN 2.0 Project resonates with the vision of the Government enshrined in Digital India by enabling the use of PAN as Common Identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies," an official release said.
PAN 2.0 Project is an e-Governance project for re-engineering the business processes of taxpayer registration services through technology-driven transformation of PAN/TAN services for enhanced digital experience of the taxpayers.
"This will be an upgrade of the current PAN/TAN 1.0 eco-system consolidating the core and non-core PAN/TAN activities as well as PAN validation service," the release said.
Currently, about 78 crore PANs have been issued, of which 98 per cent are to individuals.