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Social media post claiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi accidentally revealed his Permanent Account Number (PAN) through a screenshot on Twitter are incorrect as the PAN number belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and not Modi.
Besides, PAN details of candidates contesting elections in India are in the public domain.
On October 23, 2018, the prime minister tweeted a receipt of an online donation he made to the BJP through the Narendra Modi App.
"I urge you all to contribute to the Party through the App and spread the message of transparency in public life," his tweet said.
In the screenshot, Modi’s email id and phone number have been blurred while a PAN number is seen at the bottom left of the receipt.
French vigilante hacker who goes by the pseudonym ‘Elliot Alderson’ pointed it out thinking it to be an error on Modi’s part.
Several others on social media also saw it as a lapse on part of the prime minister's Twitter handle.
However, the PAN number 'AAABB0157F' does not belong to Modi but belongs to the BJP, a Google search of the PAN number shows.
The BJP’s PAN number can also be found on the EC’s website in a 2016 declaration of donors.
A similar screenshot was also shared by the BJP president, Amit Shah, where the same PAN number 'AAABB0157F' is visible.
Contributions by a company or individual towards a political party are eligible for deductions under Section 80GGB (companies) and (Section 80GGC for individuals) under the Income Tax Act 1961. In receipts issued for donations made to political parties, the PAN number of the receiver and not the donor is listed.
The PAN number AAABB0157F, cannot belong to Narendra Modi as per the format followed by India’s Income Tax Department.
The fourth character of a PAN number helps to identify if it belongs to an individual or entity.
In the fourth character, 'B' stands for Body of Individuals (BOI) whereas 'P' stands for an individual.
The PAN number AAABB0157F has 'B' as its fourth character, indicating that it belongs to a body of individuals, in this case the BJP.
Furthermore, the fifth character of the PAN number is first letter of the card holder’s last name. If the PAN number belonged to Modi, the fifth character in 'AAABB0157F' should have been 'M' and not 'B'.
(Go to page 2 of this link to read how a PAN number gets its unique identity)
Narendra Modi’s original PAN details are in the public domain, as a candidate contesting elections must reveal it as part of an affidavit submitted to the Election Commission of India.
Modi’s PAN number 'AHHPM8993N' can be found here in an affidavit he filed before the 2014 general elections. Modi's PAN number AHHPM8993N meets the criteria of the fourth character (P) belonging to an individual and fifth character (M), first alphabet of the PAN holder's last name (Modi).
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