----- Original Message -----
Sent: August 21, 2012 10:15 AM
Subject: Circular - Don't give PAN numbers for Tatkal
bookings
Do not quote PAN for Tatkal bookings. Indian
Railways display PAN as identity proof for Tatkal
bookings.
The Railways have collect PAN for Tatkal
bookings and display the PAN + name, sex and age of passengers on reservation
charts pasted on railway compartments.
This is a boon for benami transactions. It is
mandatory for traders like jewellers to collect tax (TCS) from customers on
purchase of jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh & bullion worth Rs 2 lakh. While
complying with TCS rules for collection, payment and uploading of TCS
information (e-filing of TDS returns) jewellers have to furnish PAN of
customers. For certain customers it is not convenient to provide PAN. To
accommodate high net worth customers, traders have a easy source of benami PAN
numbers, name, sex and age from reserved railway compartments. A traveller
recently noticed a chap copying PAN particulars along with name, age and sex
pasted on reserved compartments, and when confronted with the help of railway
police, he admitted that he gets Rs 10 per PAN particulars from jewellers. These
persons are copying PAN information of senior citizens, women etc from sleeper
class with the intention that passengers in sleeper class are not serious tax
payers and generally salaried class.
This wrong usage of a PAN number is known only
to the regular tax payers, who regularly check their tax credit on form 26 AS
provided by the Income Tax department on their website. This form 26 AS is
updated only on filing of e-TDS returns by the traders. There is almost 6-12
months time delay for the PAN holder to know that a transaction of above nature
has taken place on his name and that too only if he goes through form 26 AS. On
noticing the tax credit of above nature while reconciling form 26 AS for tax
credits for filing the return during subsequent financial year i.e. July /
September, the tax payer has an option to exclude the same and go ahead in
filing the return. In that case the department will first initiate action from
the tax payer’s side asking him to explain the sources of money for the above
transaction done in his name and also to prove that he has not carried on the
above transaction. The onus lies on the genuine tax payer for the fault
committed by the traders. This dispute may even take more than 2 years to be
settled.
In conclusion, the only way to protect yourself
from these fraudulent transactions, is to avoid quoting PAN details for identity
proof.