So you are here to know What is actually PAN Card. Lets start with the Full form of it. PAN stands for Permanent Account Number.
PAN is a 10 digit alphanumeric number. It is issued by the Indian Income Tax Department. Any Indian Individual or Financial entities like Company, Trust, Partnership Firm, Society and HUF can apply for PAN Card. Foreign nationals such as investors can also apply for PAN Card.
An example of a PAN code number would be in the form of ABCDE1234F.
It looks somewhat like as below image. However, IT department keeps changing look of PAN Card from time to time.
PAN Card is mandatory in majority of financial transactions like opening bank account, receiving salary, receiving payments, or sale / purchase of products above certain limits. It is compulsory for high value transactions.
This PAN number is unique to each person and is also valid through out life of holder. Once issued, PAN number doesn’t change. However, we can change details in PAN Card by submitting PAN Correction Application.