Blitz Bureau
AIMING to introduce a technology-driven overhaul of taxpayer registration services, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on November 25 approved the IncomeTax Department’s PAN 2.0 project with an allocation of ₹1,435 crore. The project aims to offer several key benefits, including improved accessibility, faster service delivery, enhanced data accuracy, ecofriendly processes, cost efficiency, and upgraded infrastructure security for greater agility.
According to a Cabinet communique, the project is an e-governance initiative designed to re-engineer the business processes of taxpayer registration services. It will enable a more seamless digital experience for taxpayers through a revamped PAN/TAN ecosystem.
The project will consolidate core and non-core PAN/TAN activities and upgrade the PAN validation service, thereby replacing the existing PAN/TAN 1.0 system.
The CCEA noted that the PAN 2.0 project aligns with the Government’s Digital India vision by establishing PAN as a universal identifier across digital systems for specified Government agencies. Meanwhile, the Income- Tax Department has expressed confidence in surpassing the direct tax collection target of ₹22.07 lakh crore set in the Union Budget for the current fiscal year.
Between April 1 and November 10 of the current financial year, India’s net direct tax collections—comprising corporate tax and personal income tax—rose by 15.4 per cent to ₹12.1 lakh crore, according to the latest data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The ₹22.07 lakh crore collection target for FY24 includes ₹10.20 lakh crore from corporate tax and ₹11.87 lakh crore from personal income tax, non-corporate tax, and other categories.
