Govt begins issuing personal PAN cards

KATHMANDU, Aug 24: The government on Monday launched the personal Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards handing over cards to the President, Vice President and all the ministers. From Monday, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) opened the registration of individual taxpayers of the country.[break]



President Dr Ram Baran Yadav received personal tax identification card with a code 100000001 while Vice President Parmananda Jha and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal received cards with codes 100000002 and 100000003 respectively.


The government decided to make head of the state and head of the government the first ones of receive the individual taxpayer numbers to send a message that none of the taxpaying citizens are out of the tax net, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey said at a press conference on Monday.



The government is planning to issue PAN cards to 150,000 Nepalis by the end of this fiscal year, Minister Pandey said.



The cards were issued as a part of the government’s program that has made PAN registration mandatory for all individuals earning more than Rs 160,000 per year.



To secure the tax identification number, individuals will need to submit a copy of citizenship, proof of employment and a passport size photo. These documents can be submitted at one of the IRD offices or via internet.