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Case law › Circulars › 2019 › Circular No. 6/2019
CBDT circular 31 March 2019

Circular No. 6/2019

Giving effect to the judgement(s)/order(s) of Hon'ble Supreme Court on Aadhaar-PAN for filing return of income

What this is

Circular No. 6/2019 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 31 March 2019. Its subject is Giving effect to the judgement(s)/order(s) of Hon'ble Supreme Court on Aadhaar-PAN for filing return of income.

What it does

Directs that from 1 April 2019 the requirement in section 139AA(1)(ii) to quote the Aadhaar number in the return of income is to be enforced, so no return, electronic or manual, can be filed without quoting Aadhaar unless the person is exempted by a notification under section 139AA(3). The Board records that the Supreme Court upheld section 139AA in Binoy Viswam v. Union of India (2017) 396 ITR 66, in the Constitution Bench judgment of 26 September 2018 in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) and another, and in Shreya Sen in SLP (Civil) Diary No. 34292/2018 dated 4 February 2019. Returns already filed before 1 April 2019 without Aadhaar, whether on the strength of a High Court order in a particular case or during the period when the online functionality allowed filing without Aadhaar following the Delhi High Court order of 24 July 2018 in Shreya Sen and until that functionality was withdrawn after the Constitution Bench judgment, are to be processed without any adverse consequence for non-quoting of Aadhaar.

Why it was issued

The Board issued it to give effect to the Supreme Court judgments upholding section 139AA and to settle the position of returns filed without Aadhaar in the interim.

Who it reaches

The provisions it speaks to

Left, the provision of the Income-tax Act, 1961 as the instrument itself names it. Right, the section of the Income-tax Act, 2025 that the department’s own concordance maps it to — which is where the same ground is now covered.
Under the 1961 ActNow
s.139AAs.262

The instrument, as the Board published it

The department publishes this one only as a PDF, so the words below were read out of that PDF by machine. That reading can carry its own mistakes — a misread number, a broken line. Check the signed document before you rely on a figure in it.

Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes ***** Circular No.6/2019 North Block, New Delhi, the 31st of March, 2019 Subject: Giving effect to the judgement(s)/order(s) of Hon'ble Supreme Court on Aadhaar-PAN for filing return of income-regd.- As per clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 139AA of the Income-tax Act, 1961, with effect from 01.07.2017, every person who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number has to quote the Aadhaar number in return of income. 2. In a series of judgments i.e. (i) Binoy Viswam Vs. Union of India reported in (2017) 396 ITR 66 (ii) Final Judgment and order of the Constitution Bench of Hon'ble Supreme Court dated 26.09.18 in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) and another {Writ Petition (Civil) No. 494 of 2012}; & (iii) Shreya Sen & Anr. In SLP (Civil) Diary No(s) 34292/2018 dated 04.02.2019, Hon'ble Supreme Court has upheld validity of Section 139AA. 3. In light of the aforesaid judgement(s)/order(s) of Hon'ble Supreme Court, from 01.04.2019 onwards, to give effect to the above judgements/orders, it has been decided by the Board that provision of clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 139AA of the Act would be implemented and it is mandatory to quote Aadhaar while filing the return of income unless specifically exempted as per any notification issued under sub-section (3) of section 139AA of the Act. Thus, returns being filed either electronically or manually cannot be filed without quoting the Aadhaar number. 4. Returns which were filed prior to 01.04.2019 without quoting of Aadhaar number as an outcome of any decision of different High Courts in a specific case or returns which were filed during the period when the online functionality for filing the return without quoting of Aadhaar number was so available in the aftermath of decision of Delhi High Court dated 24.07.18 in W.P. C.M 7444/2018 & C.M. Application No. 28499/2018 in case of Shreya Sen vs. Union of India & Ors., till it was withdrawn post decision of Constitution Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court dated 26.09.18, would also be taken up for processing without causing any adverse consequence for non-quoting of Aadhaar as per provision of section 139AA of the Act. 5. Hindi version to follow. ~\~ Under Secretary (ITA.II), CBDT (F. No. 225/75/2019-ITA.II) Copy to:- 1. PS to FM/OSD to FM/PS to MoS(F)/OSD to MoS(F) 2. PS/OSD to Secretary (Revenue) 3. Chairman, CBOT & All Members, CBOT 4. All Pr.CCsITj Pr.OsGIT 5. All Joint Secretaries/CslT, CBDT 6. CIT (M& TP), Official Spokesperson of (BDT 7. ADG(S)-4 for uploading on official website of income tax department 8. Addl.CIT (Database Cell) for uploading on irsofficersonline. ~\5 Under Secretary (ITA.II), CS'oT

What to watch

Where you meet it

You meet it where a return for assessment year 2018-19 or earlier was filed without an Aadhaar number and the processing or a defect notice questions it, or where a return will not upload for want of Aadhaar.

What it names

It mentions. Circular No. 6/2019

On the same provision

Other instruments in this library that name the same provision of the 1961 Act. They are not necessarily still operative, and a later one may have replaced an earlier one without saying so.

← Circular No. 7/2019  ·  F.No. 275/192/2018-IT (B) →

A circular binds the department, not you and not a court. The Board issues a circular to its own officers. An assessee may hold the department to a circular that helps him; the department cannot hold an assessee to one that hurts him, and the Tribunal and the courts decide the law for themselves.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.