Old TINs won\\\'t be valid for presentation at service points

The holders of old tax identification number (TIN) would not be able to avail various services using the same from the current fiscal year as the tax authority has decided to make the e-TIN only valid for the purpose.
Twenty-five types of services from different entities that taxpayers avail showing their TIN would be valid only for e-TIN holders from this year.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) decided to allow existing taxpayers to obtain e-TIN until their respective deadline for tax return submission.
However, the Board would not set any fresh deadline, but will cut off the facility for old TIN holders as a punitive measure.   
Earlier, the deadline for obtaining e-TIN was set on June 30, 2014.
The time for income tax returns for individual taxpayers starts from July 1 and is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2014.
Talking to the FE Friday, a senior tax official said the taxmen will motivate old TIN holders to obtain e-TIN when they would come for submitting tax returns to the tax offices.  
"Some 1.3 million taxpayers obtained e-TIN until July. Of them, some 0.3 million are new taxpayers while 1.0 are existing taxpayers who have obtained fresh registration numbers," he said.
The NBR received tax returns from a total 1.3 million individual taxpayers last year.
"Still, there are some 0.3 million taxpayers, who submitted tax returns last year, but remained out of e-TIN purview," the tax official said.
To facilitate the taxpayers, the NBR has adopted a flexible policy on e-TIN considering their convenience, he added. Responding to query on not obtaining e-TIN after submission of tax returns, the tax official said the taxmen would accept the returns with old TIN but the taxpayer will be treated as a 'general assesee' and his file will go through intensive auditing by taxmen. A taxpayer cannot file his returns under the universal self-assessment system until obtaining e-TIN, he added.
"We have found it difficult to set a cut-off time for taxpayers to obtain e-TIN. Online TIN is an opportunity for taxpayers rather than obligation," said a senior tax official.
The opportunity should continue as new taxpayers will continue to avail the same, he said.
Taxmen are unable to visit person to person for motivating them for e-TIN registration, he added. The e-TIN system has been introduced to facilitate taxpayers to register themselves with the tax net without any hassle. According to an estimate of the NBR, there are some 1.8 million TIN holders in the country who have valid addresses. Of them, some left the country for abroad while a few have died.