Transgender people can file PAN under 'Independent' Gender Category

In a move aiming to benefit the transgender community, the government has amended Income Tax rules.  According to the new rules, transgender people will be recognised as an independent category of applicants for obtaining a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for their tax-related transactions.

Till now, only male and female gender categories were the available options on the PAN application form.

PAN is a 10-digit unique alphanumeric number. It is allotted by the Income Tax department to individuals and entities.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes or CBDT that frames policies for the department issued a notification yesterday. According to it, there will be a new tick box for the transgenders to apply for the PAN.

Till now, only male and female gender categories were the available options on the PAN application form.

The notification has been issued under sections 139A and 295 of the Income Tax Act. It specifies the new application process for obtaining a PAN number by an individual.

A senior official said the notification amending the tax rules was brought out in view of some representations received by the CBDT.

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What led to this development?

"Individuals from the transgender community were facing hassles in obtaining a PAN card. This problem was further magnified as Aadhaar had the third gender category but not PAN. Hence, the transgenders were not able to link their PAN with their Aadhaar due to this anomaly," the official said, as reported by NDTV.

The amendment will now be reflected in Form 49A (PAN application form for Indian citizens) and 49AA (PAN application form for individuals not a citizen of India), the official added.

It is good to see people from transgender community finally getting their due.

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