KATHMANDU, July 21: Almost 100,000 PAN cards have been issued by Inland Revenue Department (IRD) after the government made Permanent Account Number (PAN) card mandatory for all salaried workers from the current Fiscal Year 2019/20.

A total of 96,000 PAN cards have been issued after the budget presentation on May 29, a time interval of 45 days, according to the IRD. “Of which, 83,000 are Personal PAN (PPAN) and 13,000 are business PAN cards,” said Yagya Prasad Dhungel, information officer at the department.

With the decision implemented from July 17, all salaried employees should have PPAN for their tax deducted at source (TDS) to be recorded in their respective accounts. “Similarly, if a company makes payment amounting to Rs 1,000 or more, they will have to issue a PAN bill for which they need to have PAN card for their businesses,” he added. 

The government does not validate any company’s payment of salaries or wages to its employees or workers not having PAN.

PAN is mandatory for employees or workers earning any amount in the form of salary, wage, leave pay, commission, prize, bonus, or other facilities from any organization from the current fiscal year.

Employers have already started directing their employees to get PAN card to get their pay from the beginning of the current fiscal year.

Anil KC, 29, a marketing manager at a Kathmandu-based corporate house, said: “I recently made the PAN card after the administration told me it was compulsory to get pay from this month.”

All income earners should pay 1% income tax and for earnings higher than Rs 400,000, individuals should pay an additional 10% for every extra Rs 100,000 and married couple earning Rs 450,000 or less can jointly pay 1%, while they should pay additional 10% for every extra Rs 100,000.

Application for PAN can be lodged online as the IRD has made online forms available in their website. The IRD issues PAN collectively if online forms of the employees of government offices, public entities, schools, universities, hospitals, non-governmental organizations, and industrial and business firms are collectively submitted. Companies and organizations can also request the department for PAN of their staff on-site, for which the department will dispatch a team to provide the service.

The IRD is also positive toward coordinating with the Federation of Contractors’ Association of Nepal (FCAN) to provide PAN to Indian laborers working in Nepal. The construction sector is one of the major employers of Indian laborers in Nepal among other sectors including factories, hotels, and trade.

The government had introduced ‘One Person One PAN’ policy for the FY 2019/20. It has allotted a total of 1.371 million PAN - 191,000 PPAN and 1,180,000 business PAN till now. The IRD has been providing its services through 59 field offices including 38 Inland Revenue Offices, 19 Taxpayer Service Office, one Medium Level Tax Office, and one Large Taxpayer Office.

 
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