PAN Card is abbreviation for Permanent Account Number is 10 Digit Alphanumeric number issued by the Indian Income Tax Department in the form of a Laminated card .

It is a unique, alpha-numeric identifier of 10 characters, issued to all judicial entities identifiable under the 1961 Indian Income Tax Act. The PAN income tax code and its linked card are issued in accordance with Section 139A of the Income Tax Act. It is issued by the Indian Income Tax Department under the supervision of the Central Board for Direct Taxes (CBDT) and it also serves as an important proof of identification.
Structure
- Income Tax PAN card is issued under Section 139A of the Income Tax Act.
- The PAN structure is as follows: AAAPL1234C: The five (5) first characters are letters, followed by four (4) numerals, and the last (10th) character is a letter.
- The three (3) first characters of the code are 3 letters forming a sequence of alphabets letters from AAA to ZZZ
- The fourth (4th) character informs about the holder of the card. Each holder is uniquely defined by a type of holder defined by a letter from the list below:
A — Association of Persons (AOP)
B — Body of Individuals (BOI)
C — Company
F — Firm
G — Government
H — HUF (Hindu Undivided Family)
L — Local Authority
J — Artificial Juridical Person
P — Individual (PROPRIETOR)
T — Trust (AOP)
E – LLP (Limited Liability Partnership)