Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has informed that soon biometric smart Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards may be issued to reduce chances of duplication and to ensure better tax compliance.

The move to introduce new PAN cards has been prompted not just by recent incidents of issue of fake cards but also terrorism threat.

The Indian government fears that PAN cards could be an easy tool for terrorists to open bank accounts to finance their activities.

According to estimates, around 15 lakh of the total four crore PAN cards issued are duplicated by providing wrong information about their home address or even by furnishing ‘different names in the column of father’s name’ to get two or three PAN cards.

Further, the finance minister stated that the bids would soon be invited by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in this regard to issue PAN cards with biometric features.     

The biometric PAN card would use iris scan for identification, which means that the concerned person has to provide his fingerprint or iris / retina impression.

Currently, a PAN card costs about Rs 70. A biometric PAN card, however, will cost anywhere between Rs 200 to Rs 300.

The proposed biometric cards would be introduced only for new applicants while "old PAN cards will still be valid for income tax payers.