« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Delhi HC Rules GST Registration Cannot Be Cancelled Retrospectively Without a Clear Show Cause Notice (SCN)  Belated income tax return AY 2026-27: How to file, late filing charges and what you may lose  Major Financial Changes from August 1, 2026: ITR Deadline, RBI MPC Meeting, Tatkal Ticket Rules & More  Government proposes to ease tax relief conditions for offshore funds  TallyPrime Connected Banking: Automating Banking and Accounting  ITR Filing Deadline 2026: Is July 31 the Last Date to File Your Income Tax Return? Latest Official Update  ITR filing deadline nears: How to file income tax return online on e-filing portal - quick 15-step guide  Will the ITR Filing Deadline Be Extended Beyond July 31 for FY 2025-26? Here's the Latest Update for Taxpayers  Income Tax Refund Delayed for AY 2026-27? 5 Common Reasons Your Refund May Be Stuck and How to Fix It  ITR Filing 2026: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Asks Tax Officials to Let Honest Taxpayers Correct Genuine Mistakes  Will Your FCNR Deposit Stay Tax-Free After Returning to India? Tax Rules Explained for NRIs «  ICAI inks pact with UAE firm for international curriculum... I-T raid at BCCI VP Lalit Modi's residence... » Own a fake PAN card? Pay a fine of Rs 10,000 September, 02nd 2006 The government has asked all holders of duplicate permanent account number to surrender the extra cards or face legal notice and pay a penalty of Rs 10,000. But it has not set any deadline for this. Currently, there are approximately 13 lakh duplicate PAN card holders in the country. To date, a total of 4.7 crore PAN cards have been allotted and over 5 lakh applications are being received every month for new cards. The government has, however, denied allegations of fraud or any wrongdoing in the card allotment process. Earlier, finance minister P Chidambaram had said that duplicate PAN cards would be wiped out by December 31. The duplicate cards were issued in 1990s when there was no centralised system of computers to cross-cheque the issueing of cards. According to central board of direct taxes (CBDT) spokesperson A K Sinha, the department is exploring the possibilities of issuing biometric PAN cards, which will detect physical identities of a card holder. Most duplicate PAN card holders have them as the authorities, and in the process of expediting the issuance of cards, would have erroneously issued two similar cards with the same PAN number to the same person. But the governments real concern is about those fake card holders who have someone elses PAN number. Sinha said such cases amounted to fraudulent activity. Besides, the law also considers intentional possession of more than one PAN card as an offence. He said between April and July, about 1.26 crore people filed tax returns and, of this, 4 lakh filed them through the newly introduced postal system. Bad news for REC, NHAI bond investors For those planning to get capital gains tax benefits by investing in REC and NHAI bonds, there is bad news. Addressing a press conference, CBDT spokesperson A K Sinha said the government was not planning to increase the limit of these bonds, though they had been oversubscribed. This is because the notification regarding this came late and, according to the law, one has to invest in these bonds within six months of earning the capital gains. Under Section 54C of the Income Tax Act, those investing in these bonds are eligible for tax benefits. Double taxation avoidance treaty Sinha also said the Mauritius government had agreed to discuss the nodalities to review the 23-year-old double taxation avoidance treaty. India has been keen on the review to include provisions in the treaty to prevent firms escaping the capital gains tax payment by misusing the clauses in the treaty.