The service providers are required to issue Permanent Account Number Cards within 15 calendar days for fresh applicant and within 20 calendar days for reprint/ correction, excluding the time taken by the department and the applicant.  The weighted average number of days for issue of Permanent Account Number Card is much less than 15 days.          

 Out of the applications received on or after 30.7.2006, there are 9,15,246 applications pending for  more than a year.

          The majority of the applications are defective applications where applicants have been informed about the nature of the defect but no satisfactory clarification has been received from the applicants.    

This information was given by Minister of State for Finance, Shri S.S. Palanimanickam in  written reply to a Question raised in Lok Sabha today.

PAN card issuance timelines require service providers to meet prescribed turnaround times; backlog persists due to defective applications. Service providers must issue PAN cards within stipulated turnaround times-fifteen calendar days for fresh applicants and twenty calendar days for reprint/correction-excluding time attributable to the department or applicant; reported weighted average processing time is lower. A substantial backlog of long-pending applications exists, largely attributable to defective applications where applicants were notified but failed to provide satisfactory clarifications.