November 14: More than 5 million people have acquired Permanent Account Number (PAN) in Nepal so far. According to the latest data published by the Ministry of Finance, almost 200,000 people have come under the purview of tax in the last three months. Among them, most of the people have acquired personal PAN cards.

According to the ministry, a total of 198,087 individuals acquired PAN cards in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (mid-July to mid-October). Among them, 148,773 individuals have acquired personal PAN cards. During this period, 46,001 commercial/business PAN cards were issued by the Inland Revenue Department.

Similarly, 7207 new taxpayers in Value Added Tax category and 4717 new taxpayers in excise duty section have been added in the review period.

According to the Finance Minister, the total number of people registered under personal PAN category has reached 3,199,077. Likewise, 1,808,414 individuals have acquired business PAN cards so far in the country.

The Inland Revenue Department has made it mandatory for foreign nationals to submit details of PAN cards and tax clearance certificate in order to renew their work permit or visa. It is also mandatory to submit the details of PAN cards for any individual who wants to purchase a four-wheeler. The department has already implemented the arrangement to issue PAN cards to individuals along with the citizenship certificates and national ID cards. The new provisions intend to increase the number of taxpayers.