Senior Advisor - Direct & International Tax
A Permanent Account Number (‘PAN’) is a ten-digit alphanumeric number issued by the Income Tax Department in India. The provisions related to PAN are enumerated in s. 139A of the Income-tax Act 1961 (‘ITA’). s. 139A(iii) states that every person who is required to file it’s returns under s. 139(4A) of the ITA is required to have a PAN.
In this regard, the following below-mentioned foreign companies are required to file their return in India :
Therefore, in the aforementioned circumstances, since a Foreign Company is required to file its tax return in India, it has to obtain a PAN in India.
Further Rule 114B of the Income Tax Rules r.w.s 139A(5)(c) states that any person that sells or purchases shares of an unlisted company in excess of INR 1,00,000/- per transaction is required to obtain a PAN. A foreign company is included under the definition of any person as per the definition of s. 2(31) of the ITA.
Thus, every foreign company that purchases shares of an unlisted company in excess of INR 1,00,000/- is required to obtain a PAN in India.