Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has made quoting of Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for buying bank drafts, pay orders and bankers cheque for sums exceeding Rs 50,000 in a day.According to a Central Board of Direct Taxes notification issued on Thursday, persons depositing cash in excess of Rs 50,000 in day in any bank account will also be required to quote PAN.In case of foreign travel, persons will be required to quote PAN if the payment exceed Rs 25,000.In respect of contracts for sale and purchase of securities, the CBDT has fixed the threshold limit for compulsory quoting of PAN at Rs 1 lakh.The entral Board of Direct Taxes has also amended the Rule 114D for procuring documents from banks containing details of transactions even when the PAN is quoted.Meanwhile, in another press note the entral Board of Direct Taxes has clarified that income tax exemption on amount received under the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) will be available to an employee if he/she has either completed 10 years of service or 40 years of age. This notification will be effective from April 1, 2002.The entral Board of Direct Taxes has also notified International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) as institute of national importance under section 10(10C) of the Income Tax Act and hence the amount received by its employees under the VRS scheme will be exempt from income tax tax for assessment year 2002-03 and subsequent years.The CBDT has also specified the cost inflation index for 2002-03 at 447, up from 426 in 2001-02.
