Contradictions are of the essence in dialectics, but no good in government policy.
After telling the Supreme Court that the last date for linking income-tax payers’ Permanent Account Number (PAN) with their Unique Identity number, Aadhaar, is being extended from March 31 to end-June, the government has failed to follow through with action to modify the software for filing income-tax returns.
Those who have not yet applied for Aadhaar — many are waiting to see if the Supreme Court concurs with the government’s demand to link every possible public attribute of a citizen to Aadhaar — cannot file their income-tax returns for 2015-16 or 2016-17, the last date for which is March 31.
The e-filing site will not accept returns from those who do not have Aadhaar or at least the enrolment number. This contradiction is unfair and unwarranted.
People with PAN should be welcomed to the taxman’s parlour, not shunted out for not having one more document of identity. Yes, the government thinks that linking PAN to Aadhaar would eliminate a lot of duplicate PANs and bring more transparency to incomes.
But whether this should be mandatory or not has been challenged in the courts. The country’s apex court is seized of the question and will deliver its considered opinion soon. The decent thing to do is to wait for the court’s verdict to make Aadhaar mandatory for collecting tax from willing taxpayers.
If the mismatch between state submission to the Supreme Court and state action on the ground comes from self-righteousness on Aadhaar, that borders on contempt of court.
If, on the other hand, it stems from dysfunctionality, it should quickly be excised. In either case, the government does not quite cover itself with glory. Aadhaar should be mandated three months after the court validates a mandatory Aadhaar.
(This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Economic Times)
