Beginning from Jan 1, all transactions involving an amount of Rs 2 lakhs and over would need a PAN number.

Persons who do not hold PAN are required to fill a form and furnish any one of the specified documents to establish their identity.

"One of the recommendations of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money was that quoting of PAN should be made mandatory for all sales and purchases of goods and services where the payment exceeds Rs.1 lakh.

Considering the representations, it has been decided that quoting of PAN will be required for transactions of an amount exceeding Rs.2 lakh regardless of the mode of payment," the government said in a release.

To bring a balance between burden of compliance on legitimate transactions and the need to capture information relating to transactions of higher value, the Government has also enhanced the monetary limits of certain transactions which require quoting of PAN.

The monetary limits have now been raised to Rs. 10 lakh from Rs. 5 lakh for sale or purchase of immovable property, to Rs.50,000 from Rs. 25,000 in the case of hotel or restaurant bills paid at any one time, and to Rs. 1 lakh from Rs. 50,000 for purchase or sale of shares of an unlisted company.

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