How to download your e-PAN
The income tax e-filing portal's Instant e-PAN service lets you check the status of an e-PAN and download it, without logging in, using your Aadhaar and an OTP. If you have never been allotted a PAN, the same service can issue a new one. You need your 12-digit Aadhaar and the mobile number linked to it.
Download an existing e-PAN (no login)
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Open the portal. Type
incometax.gov.ininto your browser yourself. Check the address ends in incometax.gov.in. - Choose Instant e-PAN. Under Quick links on the home page, click Instant e-PAN.
- Open the status tile. On the e-PAN page, click Continue on the Check Status / Download e-PAN tile.
- Enter your Aadhaar. Type your 12-digit Aadhaar number and click Continue.
- Enter the OTP. Type the 6-digit OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile yourself and click Validate Aadhaar OTP and Continue.
- View or download. On the status page, click View e-PAN or Download e-PAN.
If you are logged in, you can instead go to Services, then View / Download e-PAN on your Dashboard and follow the same Aadhaar and OTP steps.
If you have no PAN: get a new e-PAN
The portal's manual says this is for an individual who has not been allotted a PAN, is not a minor on the date of request, and has a valid Aadhaar, an Aadhaar-linked mobile and DigiLocker access. DigiLocker needs one accepted date-of-birth proof (the manual lists birth certificate, matriculation certificate, driving licence, matriculation marksheet or CGHS card). The flow is: Get New e-PAN, tick the eligibility and consent boxes, continue to DigiLocker and sign in, allow sharing of your date-of-birth document, verify Aadhaar with an OTP, enter your father's name, submit, and save the acknowledgement number. The manual does not state a fee or how long it takes, so check the official site.
If something goes wrong
- No OTP. The OTP goes only to the mobile number registered with your Aadhaar.
- OTP expired. For the new-e-PAN Aadhaar step, the manual says the OTP is valid for 15 minutes, with 3 attempts.
- Can't log in afterwards. The manual says that after receiving a new e-PAN you must register on the e-filing portal before you can log in.
Stay safe
- Never share the OTP with anyone.
- Use only the official site, ending in incometax.gov.in. Sites that charge you for "instant PAN" are not the department.
- Type your Aadhaar only on the official site, never into a link sent to you.
- Lookalike sites copy the official look, so check the address before you type anything.
Pocko is not part of the income tax department and this guide is not official. Screens change; if a step looks different, follow what the official site shows, or check the official site's help.
Sources
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