Due date was 30 June 2023

An unlinked PAN is inoperative

The general date to link PAN with Aadhaar was 30 June 2023. It was not 31 March 2027. If you had to link and did not, the PAN stays inoperative until you do. Some people are exempt. While it is inoperative, a payer can deduct tax at a higher rate under Section 206AA, and a refund is held back. The rules, the fee, and who is exempt are on the PAN-Aadhaar consequences page. The steps are on How to Link Aadhaar.

Official sources

How to Link Aadhaar: the e-filing steps, where to pay the fee, and where to check status. A PAN that had to be linked, and was not linked by 30 June 2023, is inoperative until you link it.
e-Filing portal (incometax.gov.in). Link Aadhaar sits under Quick Links and does not need a login. Status after you log in is under the profile.
Form 26AS: open it from the e-filing site. A 20% TDS line, where the usual rate is lower, is a reason to check the link.
AIS: salary credits, bank interest, dividends, and property purchases reported against your PAN.
Income-tax Act, 2025 (CBDT hub). Section numbers on this page, including 206AA, 234H, 194I, and 194J, are the familiar 1961 Act ones. The consequences page has the ₹1,000 fee and who does not have to link.

Higher TDS (Section 206AA)

Section 206AA applies when PAN is not furnished. An inoperative PAN is treated as not furnished for this. The deductor then withholds at the highest of three figures: the rate in the section that covers that payment, the rate in force, or 20%.

That is not a flat 20% on every payment. If your salary slab is already 30%, Section 206AA does not cut the deduction to 20%. The extra shows up where the normal rate is under 20%.

Income Source	Normal TDS Rate	Inoperative PAN	Annual Impact*
Salary	Slab rate (0% to 30%)	Higher of slab or 20%	Only extra if the normal rate is below 20%
Bank interest	10%	20%	₹10,000 extra per ₹1L interest income
Rent (Section 194I)	10%	20%	₹12,000 extra per ₹1.2L annual rent
Professional fees (194J)	10%	20%	₹10,000 extra per ₹1L fees received
Commission/brokerage	5%	20%	₹15,000 extra per ₹1L commission

*Approximate additional deduction compared to normal rate. Exact impact depends on slab and income level.

Bank interest, rent, and professional fees usually sit under 20%, so an inoperative PAN means 20% is withheld instead. The extra is tax already taken. You adjust it when you file, after the PAN is operative. A refund is still held until then. Who does not have to link (NRI, age 80+, specified states, non-citizens) is on the consequences page.

Filing and refunds

CBDT has said refunds will not be issued while the PAN is inoperative. The e-filing portal can also refuse a return until the PAN is operative. Read the message on the portal. Do not treat one rejected upload as a permanent ban on filing. People who are exempt should not be forced to link. The official linking manual is the place to start.

Returns and refunds

✗ The FY 2026-27 return can be refused
✗ A TDS refund is not paid
✗ A revised or updated return can be refused

Open proceedings

✗ A pending assessment is not completed
✗ A reply to a notice under Section 143(2) or Section 148 may not go through
✗ Check the exact line on the portal before you rely on it

If the portal refuses the upload, the message is usually that PAN is not linked with Aadhaar. Link first, wait until the status says the PAN is operative, then file.

Refunds withheld

A refund stays on hold until the PAN is linked, even when TDS was taken at the right rate and the refund is otherwise due. The department pays refunds only on an operative PAN. The system can show the refund and still not release it.

Say the employer deducted ₹50,000 extra because the PAN was inoperative. You cannot file to claim that amount until the PAN works again. The ₹50,000 stays with the department for that assessment year. You are not paid interest on it while it sits there.

A 20% line on Form 26AS

If Form 26AS shows TDS at 20% where the usual rate is 10% (interest, rent, or fees), or where your salary slab is under 20%, the PAN is often inoperative. Salary already taxed above 20% will not show this. Check the link status. Each month the PAN stays inoperative, payers can keep using the higher rate, and the refund does not move.

How to link

The form is short. Submitting it does not make the PAN operative the same minute. Status can take hours, and it can take up to 48 hours. Use the official steps:

Open the e-filing portal

Go to incometax.gov.in. Click "Link Aadhaar" under Quick Links. That path does not need a login.

Enter PAN and Aadhaar

Enter the 10-character PAN and the 12-digit Aadhaar. Click "Validate." The site checks whether the two are already linked, or whether the details do not match.

Pay the fee if the form asks

Intimating Aadhaar after the due date attracts ₹1,000 under Section 234H. The fee is not limited to people who received a notice. Pay on the portal if the form asks for it.

Confirm with the OTP

An OTP goes to the mobile number on the Aadhaar. Enter it. That submits the linking request.

Check the status

It can update quickly, and it can take up to 48 hours. Once the status shows linked, the PAN is operative. Do not treat "submitted" as "operative."

The fee already applies

The general due date has passed (30 June 2023). Linking now is the fee case. For as long as the PAN stays inoperative, a payer can apply the Section 206AA rate on payments whose normal rate is under 20%.

How to check status

Do not assume the PAN is linked. Check it.

On the income tax portal

Log in to incometax.gov.in
Go to Profile Settings
Click "PAN-Aadhaar Link Status"
Status shows: Linked / Not Linked / In Process

On Form 26AS

Log in to incometax.gov.in
Go to e-File, then Income Tax Returns, then View Form 26AS
Read the TDS rate on each entry
20%, where the usual rate is lower, means check the link

Form 26AS lists every TDS entry on your PAN. Interest is often deducted at 10%. Salary follows the slab. If an entry is at 20% and the usual rate for that payment is lower, check whether the PAN is inoperative. A 20% line is a clue. It is not proof on its own. Opening 26AS needs a login. A status check that does not need a login is Link Aadhaar Status under Quick Links on the portal home page.

AIS

Open the Annual Information Statement next to Form 26AS. AIS lists salary credits, bank interest, dividends, and property purchases. If AIS shows income and you could not file because the PAN was inoperative, that gap can draw a notice later. Link the PAN so you can file.

If a case is already open

You cannot collect a refund by filing while the PAN is inoperative. Linking is a separate step on the portal. If a proceeding is already open, linking does not close it.

The date that applies

There is no 31 March 2027 linking deadline in the official manual. The general due date was 30 June 2023. After that, the PAN is inoperative until it is linked, unless you are exempt. Submit the request on the portal, then wait for the status. Do not treat "submitted" as "operative."

The department has sent notices in batches since 2023, including under Section 206AA and as PAN-Aadhaar reminders. A notice does not open a free period before the ₹1,000 fee. Section 234H already applies because the due date has passed.

What to do: check status on the e-filing portal. If you are not exempt and the PAN is not linked, link it and pay the Section 234H fee if the form asks. If an assessment is pending, a chartered accountant is the right next step. This page cannot answer that notice for you.