31 July 2011
Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a ten-digit alphanumeric identifier, issued by Income Tax Department.A Unique pan has been issued to each assessee (e.g. individual, firm, company etc.)This number is almost mandatory for financial transactions such as opening a bank account, receiving taxable salary or professional fees, sale or purchase of assets above specified limits. his number can be considered to be similar to Social security number issued in United States to citizens and other legal residents.
1-5 field are alpha(A to Z)
6-9 field are numeric(0-9)
10 field is alpha(A-Z)
The fourth character of the PAN must be one of the following, depending on the type of assessee:
1. C — Company 2. P — Person/ Individual 3. H — Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) 4. F — Firm 5. A — Association of Persons (AOP) 6. T — AOP (Trust) 7. B — Body of Individuals (BOI) 8. L — Local Authority 9. J — Artificial Juridical Person 10. G — Govt