Penalties Section 272B — Penalty for Failure to Quote / Wrong PAN or Aadhaar
Section 272B — Penalty for Failure to Quote / Wrong PAN or Aadhaar
Income Tax Act 1961 — 272B
₹10,000 per default for failure to comply with PAN / Aadhaar quoting provisions (s.139A) or for quoting a false PAN.
The Penalty
₹10,000 per default
- Cap
- ₹10,000 per default; multiple defaults = multiple ₹10,000 penalties
- Calculation base
- Per-instance flat fee
- Period
- One-time per default.
When does this apply?
Failure to apply for or quote PAN where required, quoting an incorrect PAN, or knowingly using a false PAN.
Calculate this amount
This estimate applies only the rate and caps published in the authored rule for this page.
₹10,000Small-taxpayer slab
Worked examples
| Scenario | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor supplied wrong PAN on 5 invoices during the year | 5 × ₹10,000 = ₹50,000 | ₹50,000 |
How it is levied
AO discretion; reasonable-cause defence u/s 273B applies. In practice, AO tends to levy per return / per counterparty rather than per invoice — the assessee should push back on aggregation.
⚠ VERIFY
Whether ₹10,000 is per instance or per return is contested in practice — confirm the AO position and prior case law on facts before quantifying exposure.