Understanding PAN Numbers: What Do the First and Tenth Digits Mean in India?

deepesh khandelwal
Can anyone tell me what is the meaning of the first digits in PAN no. issued by the Income Tax Department of India? Also, what is the meaning of the 10th digit?

Thank you.
deepesh khandelwal
What is the meaning of digits in PAN No. Can anyone tell me what is the meaning of digits in PAN No. issued by the Income Tax Department of India and also the 10th digit meaning.

Please let me know if you need further clarification.
avsjai
Dear Mr. Deepesh Khandelwal,

Below are the details provided for your information, which are self-explanatory.

Regards,

A.V. Srinivasan

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Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a ten-digit alphanumeric identifier issued by the Income Tax Department. Each assessee (e.g., individual, firm, company, etc.) is issued a unique PAN.

Fields 1-5 are alpha (A to Z), fields 6-9 are numeric (0-9), and field 10 is alpha (A-Z).

The fourth field of PAN denotes assessee status:
- For individual: "P"
- For Company: "C"
- For Trust: "T"
- For partnership firm: "F"
- Body of Individual: "B"
- Association of persons: "A"
- HUF: "H"
- Local authority: "L"
- Government: "G"
- Judicial artificial person: "J"

The fifth field of PAN denotes NAME. In the case of an individual, it represents the surname/last name (as given in the PAN application).

For example:
- For Ram Kumar (individual), the 5th field will be "K" and the 4th field will be "P."
- For Ram Kumar Gupta (Individual), the 5th field will be "G" and the 4th field will be "P."

For all other assessees:
- The 5th field will be the first letter of the name/first name.
- For example, for Suresh Jindal (HUF), the 5th field will be "S" (first letter of the first name, i.e., Suresh) and the 4th field will be "H" (for HUF).
- For ABB LTD, the 5th field will be "A" (first letter of the first name) and the 4th field will be "C" (for company).

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