Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a unique 10-character alphanumeric identifier issued by the Income Tax Department to all taxpayers in India.
Structure of PAN: AAAPL1234C
- First 3 characters: Alphabets (AAA to ZZZ)
- 4th character: Status of taxpayer (P=Individual, C=Company, F=Firm, etc.)
- 5th character: First letter of surname/name
- Next 4 characters: Random numbers
- Last character: Alphabet check digit
PAN is mandatory for:
- Filing income tax returns
- Opening bank accounts
- Large financial transactions
- GST registration