A Permanent Account Number (PAN) card in India is a unique 10-character alphanumeric identifier issued by the Income Tax Department to individuals and entities for tax-related purposes. Each character in the PAN card has a specific meaning in 5 sets:
1.The first three characters of a PAN card represent the individual or entity’s name. It’s a combination of letters from A to Z, (e.g., ABCCS1234F – Abhishek Singh).
2.The fourth character of the PAN card represents the status of the PAN holder. Common status characters include:(e.g., ABC C S1234F- Abhishek Singh).
- C: Company
- P: Person (Individual)
- H: Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)
- F: Firm
- A: Association of Persons (AOP)
- T: Trust
- B: Body of Individuals (BOI)
- L: Local Authority
- J: Artificial Judicial Person
- G: Government
So, in our format, it is reflecting the PAN card of a “Company.”
3. The Fifth character is the first letter of the person’s surname or last name he has provided while applying for the PAN card. In our format, it is “S.” (e.g., ABCCS1234F – Abhishek Singh).
4. Four numbers are randomly selected with any combinations.
5. Last Character is an alphabetic check digit which is generated by applying a formula to the preceding nine letters and numbers.