India’s New PAN Card Rules: Daily Relief vs. Hard Targets for High-Value Wealth Tracking

Mumbai. Friday, 29 May 2026

Tax compliance in India has entered a significantly more digitized and structured era. Following the implementation of the Income Tax Act, 2025 (which replaced the old 1961 Act) and the accompanying Income Tax Rules, 2026, the Income Tax Department rolled out an updated framework for quoting Permanent Account Numbers (PAN).

The strategy is simple: ease day-to-day friction for common citizens while building airtight electronic rails to monitor big-ticket wealth.

If you are navigating personal banking, buying a family home, or funding a luxury wedding, certain daily thresholds have changed. Here is a friendly, completely accurate master guide to navigating these shifts, including critical clarifications regarding the new Form 97.

1. Banking & Cash: Goodbye Daily Friction, Hello Annual Ceilings

The biggest daily sigh of relief belongs to individual banking customers. Under the updated Rule 237 of the 2026 framework, you are no longer subjected to repeated PAN-quoting hassles for every standard daily transaction.

• Daily Cash Deposits: The historical requirement to quote your PAN for every daily cash deposit exceeding ₹50,000 has been significantly relaxed. You can execute routine branches tasks with less friction.

• The Reporting Leap: Banks will no longer automatically flag your cash deposit volumes to the central tax database until they breach ₹10 lakh annually (a massive jump from the previous threshold of ₹2.5 lakh).

• The High-Value Net: To catch unaccounted heavy-cash usage, a completely new mandatory PAN rule applies to anyone withdrawing more than ₹10 lakh in cash across a single financial year.

2. Real Estate Boundaries: The Shift to ₹20 Lakh and ₹45 Lakh

Buying or selling property triggers automatic cross-verification. To adjust for inflation and current valuation trends, the government has created clear, higher brackets:

3. Lifestyle, Vehicles, and Luxury Spend Tracking

The updated scope is much wider when tracking luxury consumption. The government is directly keeping tabs on high-end events and premium commuter assets.

• Hotels & Banquet Halls: The per-transaction threshold for cash spending at hotels and restaurants is raised to ₹1 lakh (up from ₹50,000). However, the reporting system now specifically extends to banquet halls, premium convention centers, and independent event management firms to ensure large events are linked to real tax profiles.

• The Two-Wheeler Expansion: While standard motor vehicle purchases above ₹5 lakh have always required a PAN, the revised rule explicitly includes two-wheelers (high-end superbikes and premium scooters) if they cross the ₹5 lakh mark. Conversely, tractors are completely exempt from this requirement to protect agricultural interests.

• Insurance & Stamp Papers: Financial instruments face deeper tracking. Annual insurance premiums that cross ₹5 lakh (for PAN holders) or stamp paper purchases crossing ₹2 lakh are automatically routed into your tax profile.

4. The Major Correction: Form 60 is Retired, Meet Form 97

Many early reports suggested that the newly introduced Form 97 is just a simple digital version of the old Form 60. This is factually incorrect.

Form 97 is a structurally different declaration system with a much narrower operational scope. It is designed purely for low-risk scenarios where a PAN is unavailable or not yet strictly mandatory (such as opening low-activity basic accounts or executing property transactions strictly between ₹20 lakh and ₹45 lakh).

⚠️ The Ultimate Dealbreaker: For any high-value real estate transaction, gift deed, or Joint Development Agreement (JDA) valued above ₹45 lakh, Form 97 is legally invalid as a substitute. If you do not have a PAN, you are legally obligated to apply for one, and you must present the application acknowledgement number to proceed with the transaction.

Relevant Resources

For full coverage of Indian socio-economic shifts, policy implementation updates, and national financial structural announcements, follow the official international reporting pages:

• To read regional and national legal breakdowns in comprehensive detail, visit Mathrubhumi English.