Users were unable to access the Income Tax department of India website on Wednesday after the site crashed at around 11 am. Wednesday, i.e, March 31 is the last day for the mandatory linking of PAN (Permanent Account Number) with the Adhaar card and the process involves registering yourself with the e-filing portal of the IT site.

The site crash caused major inconvenience to users attempting to do the needful. While the reason behind the crash is yet not confirmed by the department, several users suggest it is due to overwhelming web traffic because of the PAN-Adhaar linking deadline.

Also Read: Last date to link PAN and Aadhaar is March 31: Step-by-step guide to do it online

According to the Central government’s rule, failing to link PAN with Adhaar as of March 31 will make your Permanent Account Number inoperative and users will be required to pay a penalty of Rs 1000 to renew the number.

Now if you are wondering what will happen if the PAN is not linked with Adhaar, here is the answer. Users will not be able to open a new account with any bank throughout the country, will not be able to avail credit and finance facilities like loans, credit cards, and scholarships and worst of all will not be able to file ITR.

Also Read: How to check if your PAN is linked with Aadhaar card?

An ‘inoperative PAN’ would mean that an individual does not have a PAN and the person will not be able to make transactions where PAN is required.

However, another way to link PAN with Adhaar is by sending an SMS to 567678 or 56161, through the income tax department’s e-filing website, or by filling a specified form at a PAN service centre.