Pay income tax, apply for PAN using mobile app soon

New Delhi:In step with government's digital India drive, the Income Tax department is developing an app that will soon allow assessees to pay taxes or apply for PAN using smartphones.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

The department is also working on a project to issue PAN to assessees within minutes by way of e-KYC authentication using Aadhaar, a move that will help bring more people under the tax net by making it easier for people to get Permanent Account Numbers.

"The app concept is at a preliminary stage. The app will enable assessees to pay taxes online, apply for PAN or track tax returns. Pilot project will be undertaken after getting approval from the Finance Ministry," an official said.

Aadhaar-based e-KYC facility would allow individuals or entities wanting to apply for PAN to verify details such as date of birth or address by way of biometric identification using thumb impressions.

So far, more than 111 crore Aadhar numbers have been issued. The unique identification number is being used for getting a new SIM card, for opening bank accounts, transfer of subsidies and also for biometric based digital payments under Aadhaar Enabled Payment System.

As per the government estimate, every year 2.5 crore people across the country apply for PAN cards. There are currently more than 25 crore PAN cardholders in the country.

Government has made PAN quoting mandatory for cash withdrawals of Rs 50,000 and cash purchase of above Rs 2 lakh.

Beginning January 1, the tax department has started issuing newly designed PAN cards that have added security features to make them tamper-proof and with contents written in both Hindi and English.

PTI

Access driving licence, RC on your mobile

New Delhi: You can now access digital copies of your driving licence, vehicle registration certificate and insurance papers on the mobile phone using the DigiLocker app, which Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said would arrest corruption and bring in transparency.

Launching the Digital Locker with Driving Licence and vehicle registration system service, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said,"There will be a few, who will be unhappy as they will no more have 'Lakshmi Darshan' (bribe money)."

Road transport and IT ministries jointly launched on Wednesday integration of DigiLocker with driving licences (DLs) and vehicle registration certificates (RCs), which enables the user to download these digitally verified documents. Under this arrangement, the transport ministry's National Register has been integrated with DigiLocker.

Once the data from the remaining RTOs is updated in the National Register, the digital copies of those driving licences and vehicle registration certificates will also be available via DigiLocker.

This is seen as the largest integration under DigiLocker system so far as the national registry of the transport ministry has 19.6 crore RCs and 9.2 crore DLs.

"All such downloaded documents will have the QR code to authenticate them and as per the IT Act all digitally signed documents will be treated at par with the physical issued documents," said an IT ministry official. He said they will soon start campaigns to make personnel of all enforcement agencies aware of this provision.

Launching the service, Gadkari said,"There will be a few, who will be unhappy as they will no more have 'Lakshmi Darshan' (bribe money)."

In order to access the digital RC and DL, one needs to first sign up for a DigiLocker. He then needs to download the DigiLocker app. In the mobile app he will have to select the issued documents section. The enforcement personnel such as traffic police can verify the soft copies offline using the QR code.

Inputs with TNN

How can your bank account with internet banking facility can be hacked?

How can your bank account with internet banking facility can be hacked?  1. Hacker accesses your name and date of birth from Facebook. 2. With these details he goes to the Income Tax site and updates them. From there he obtains the Pan card and mobile numbers. 3. Then he gets a duplicate Pan card made. 4. After this he lodges a mobile theft complaint in a police station.  5. With the duplicate Pan card he gets another Sim card from the mobile company. 6. Through internet banking he is now ready to access your account.  7. He goes to the site and uses the forgot my password option. 8. Now he easily gets past other options and gets the Internet banking pin on his Sim card. This information was issued by the Cyber Cell Police recently. All those who use Net Banking are requested to edit Facebook profile and delete the birth date and mobile number as a safety measure.  Forwarded as received.  Posted by: BHARAT BHUSHAN GHAI <BBGHAI@GMAIL.COM>

Mobile internet services suspended in Jammu

Jammu: The mobile internet services in Jammu were suspended on Wednesday after violence erupted in the region following the alleged desecration of Aap Shambu temple in Janipura area.

"The protesters intended to attack the police station, so we resorted to mild lathicharge and tear gas to disperse them," DM Jammu, Simrandeep Singh told the media.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested a youth for alleged desecration of Aap Shambu temple in Janipura area.

As per reports, a youth entered Aap Shambu temple in Janipura area and broke the protective glass in front of the idols.

He also allegedly misbehaved with women performing aarti.

"Although we have arrested him, we are unable to carry out a probe into the matter as we are busy managing aggressive crowd. Many of them (protestors) were under influence of alcohol and even tried to gherao the police station," District Magistrate, Jammu, Simrandeep Singh told the media here.

"They intended to attack the police station, so we resorted to mild lathicharge and tear gas to disperse them," he added.

He further said Section 144 is not needed in the area, as the situation is under control.

The protesters were demanding immediate arrest of the accused and suspension of two police officers who allegedly backed the accused and abused the complainants.

Reinforcements were rushed to Janipura to prevent protesters from heading towards the old city. Senior civil and police officers were camping at the police control room to monitor the situation.

ANI