New Delhi: From December 5, it will not be mandatory to mention one’s father’s name in the application for a Permanent Account Number, especially. The income tax department has changed rules for those applying for a new PAN card, allowing individual taxpayers the flexibility to furnish their mother’s name instead of that of their father’s.

The new PAN card application form, which will be made available from December 5, asks the applicant whether his or her mother is a single parent and if he or she wishes to apply for PAN by furnishing the mother’s name.

According to a new notification issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the father’s name is mandatory except where a mother is a single parent and PAN is applied for by furnishing the name of only the mother. The amendment to Income Tax Rules, 1962, will come into effect from December 5.

Nangia Advisors LLP Partner Suraj Nangia said that through the notification, the tax department has addressed the concerns of those persons whose mother is a single parent and, hence, would want to get their mother's name printed on PAN cards instead of the estranged/ deceased father.

The notification has also made it mandatory for entities that have made financial transactions worth Rs 2.5 lakh or more in a financial year to apply for a PAN card. The application has to be filed on or before May 31 of the assessment year for which such income is assessable.

Nangia said that now, the resident entities shall have to obtain PAN even if the total sales/ turnover/ gross receipts are not or are not likely to exceed Rs 5 lakh in a financial year.

This will help the income tax department track financial transaction, broaden its tax base and prevent tax evasion," Nangia added.