« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Mock Test Papers Series - I & II for Students appearing in CA Foundation January 2027 Examination.  Income Tax Rules 2026: CBDT Introduces Revised Form 161 for Penalty Waiver, Clarifies Misreporting Categories and Taxpayer Relief  ITR Filing and Income Tax Audit Deadline Extended: 5 Critical Things Taxpayers Must Know  Filing Belated ITR for AY 2026-27? Know Which Losses You Can Carry Forward and Which You May Lose  CBDT Extends Tax Audit Report Deadline to October 21, ITR Filing Last Date to November 21 for AY 2026-27  CBDT Extends AY 2026-27 ITR Filing Deadline for Tax-Audit Cases: New Dates and Key Compliance Details  Foreign Assets Missing From Your ITR? Income Tax Department Opens One-Time Disclosure Window  Tax Audit Deadline September 30: Why AIS, TDS and GST Figures May Not Match Your ITR and What Taxpayers Should Do  Tax audit deadline September 30: Common mistakes taxpayers should avoid  Your ITR says ‘verified’, but the refund hasn’t arrived? 5 reasons why your money could be stuck  Missed the ITR Deadline but TDS Refund Is Due? Here’s How You Can Still Claim Your Money «  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.