Centre Extends Deadline To Link Aadhaar With Bank Accounts, Financial Services To March 31
Bank accounts which have not been linked with Aadhaar will cease to exist beyond this date.
The government has extended the deadline to link biometric identification Aadhaar and Permanent Account Number with bank accounts and other financial services to March 31, 2018.
Bank accounts which have not been linked with Aadhaar will cease to exist beyond this date till these documents are submitted by clients to their reporting entities, the finance ministry said in a press release. The earlier deadline for submission was Dec. 31, 2017.
Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, banks, insurance companies, chit fund companies, stock brokers, merchant bankers, custodian of securities, venture capital funds, among others are classified as reporting entities.
The government’s decision is in keeping with its statement before the Supreme Court that it is willing to extend the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail various services and welfare schemes till March 31, 2018.
In a gazette notification dated Dec. 12, 2017, the government had said that the deadline for linking Aadhaar and PAN with certain financial transactions like the opening of a bank account would be kept open-ended through an amendment in the Prevention of Money Laundering Rules (Maintenance of Records), 2005.
Under PMLA, Aadhaar, PAN and other official documents are required to be obtained by banks and financial institutions to open a bank account. Such documents are also necessary for making financial transactions of Rs 50,000 and above.
The government also extended the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar by three months to March 31, 2018.