LOK SABHA - 07.09.2007

Minister of State for Finance, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal affirmed in Lok Sabha today that some de-mat accounts have been freezed in the absence of Permanent Account Number (PAN), this year. The value of holdings in frozen accounts with the Depositories as on August 31, 2007 was Rs.95,769 crore. 18.86 lakh demat accounts have been released by the depositories since January 1, 2007 after submission of PAN details by the account holders. Shri Bansal this in a written reply to a question raised by Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Shri Kiren Rijiju.

PAN requirement for demat accounts: accounts may be frozen until PAN is furnished for reinstatement. Requirement of a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for demat accounts prompted depositories to freeze accounts missing PAN; holdings in frozen accounts were recorded as of end August 2007, and numerous accounts were released after account holders submitted PAN details, with reinstatement conditioned on furnishing the PAN.