Permanent Account Number (PAN)
Permanent Account Number (PAN) is a ten-digit alphanumeric number, issued by the Income Tax Department, to any person who applies for it.
PAN enables the department to link all transactions of the person with the department. These transactions include tax payments, TDS/TCS credits, returns of income/wealth/gift/FBT, specified transactions, correspondence, and so on. PAN, thus, acts as an identifier for the person with the tax department.