PAN
Also called: Permanent Account Number
What is PAN?
PAN, the Permanent Account Number, is the ten-character alphanumeric identifier issued by the income tax department to a person or entity. It is the spine of tax identity in India and is embedded inside every GSTIN.
Why PAN matters
Every tax credit, TDS entry and high-value transaction is tracked against PAN. A mismatched PAN in vendor records is the usual reason a deduction fails to show up in someone's tax statement.
How PAN works in practice
Capture PAN in your customer and supplier masters alongside GSTIN, and check that the ten characters inside a GSTIN match the PAN on file. That single check catches most data-entry errors at source.
Frequently asked questions
Characters three to twelve of a GSTIN are the entity's PAN, which is why a state's registrations all share the same core.