Permanent Account Number i.e. PAN number is an important document issued by the Income Tax Department. PAN card can be presented as many types of proof. Many details related to the cardholder are printed on the PAN card. In this, the meaning of PAN number is very special. Have you ever wondered what your PAN number means or why a particular letter is written in it? If not, let’s understand here.
Cardholder Name
The most noticeable detail on the PAN card is the name of the cardholder. In case of an individual, it is the name of the individual, in case of a company, the registered name of the company and in case of a partnership firm, it is the name of the firm as appearing on the PAN card.
Cardholder’s father’s or mother’s name
This is applicable in case of individual cardholders. The cardholder’s father’s name is mentioned below the individual’s name. Mother’s name can also be here instead of father’s.
date of birth
In case of an individual’s PAN card, the date of birth of the cardholder is printed below the father’s name. This detail serves as proof of date of birth of the cardholder. In case of companies and partnership firms, their date of registration is mentioned in this area.
Permanent Account Number
PAN card number is unique to every person/entity holding the card and contains some important information. This number is created based on the details provided by the institution. PAN is a 10 character alpha-numeric number. Each letter represents information.
First three letters: These three letters are completely alphabetical in nature and consist of three letters of the alphabet from A to Z.
Fourth letter: The fourth character of PAN indicates the category of taxpayer of the organization. The institutions and their associated letters are as follows-
A – Association of persons
B – body of persons
C – Company
F – Firm
G – Government
H – Hindu Undivided Family
L – Local Authority
J – Artificial Juridical Person
P-person
T – Association of persons for trust
Fifth letter: The fifth letter is the first letter of the person’s surname. The remaining letters next to this are according to the department.
signature of person
The last detail on the PAN card is the signature of the person. PAN card also acts as a proof of signature of the individual required for various financial transactions.
photo of person
The photograph of the cardholder is also present on the lower right side of the PAN card which enables the card to act as a photo identity proof of the individual. In case of companies and firms, no photograph is present on the card.
