« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  ITR Filing: 6 Ways to Get Exemption on Income Tax  Income Tax Return Filing: 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Filing ITR For AY 2024-25  Old vs New Tax Regime: Who should move to the New Tax Regime from the old one?  Income Tax Calculator FY 2023-24: How To Know Your Tax Liability Online On IT Dept's Portal?  BackBack Income Tax Act amendment on cards on tax treatment of MSME dues  ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4 forms for FY 2023-24 available for e-filing. Check details here  Income tax slabs FY 2024-25: Experts share these 8 benefits for taxpayers in new income tax regime  How To File ITR Online - Step by Step Guide to Efile Income Tax Return, FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25)  Old or new tax regime for TDS on salary? This post-election 2024 event will impact your tax planning  What Are 5 Heads Of Income Tax?  Income Tax Dept releases interim action plan for FY25 on tax collection, refund approvals «  ICFAI to start pvt varsities across India... Morgan Stanley takes on I-T in SC... » Taxman may scan your eyes for PAN August, 17th 2006 Taking a leaf from a Hollywood film, the Income Tax department is looking at the iris scan technology for Permanent Account Number cards to overcome the menace of duplicate cards. The iris recognition technology maps an individuals retina for identification and is widely used the world over as a safety measure. The department was asked by finance minister P Chidambaram to use biometrics fields for PAN cards to overcome the menace of duplicate cards. The eye-recognition technique is one such method. The department has used finger prints earlier with PAN cards, but as finger-prints of an individual undergo changes in few years, it is now not very keen on it. However, the iris-technology card comes with a hefty price tag. With the use of biometrics field, the cost of a PAN card which at present costs around Rs 70 could go up to Rs 200-300. It is examining loading identification information about a person on its own servers, sources said. The finance ministry has set December 06 as the deadline for getting rid of duplicate cards. The search engine which has been developed by the department to track data from the Annual Information Returns will also be used to fish out duplicate pan cards. Those found with duplicate cards would be asked to surrender them voluntarily for which the department will launch a media campaign. After giving ample time for returning the duplicate cards, after penal actions could also be taken. As per the department estimates, the number of duplicate cards is at present about 2.6m. With quoting of PAN becoming mandatory in a large number of transactions, there is a rush for obtaining PAN card. The department has received 18 lakh applications for issue of new PAN cards, within last 11 weeks.