1.54 lakh accounts in J&K Bank with no PAN, tax probe flags ‘systemic failure’

An Income Tax probe has found that 1.54 lakh accounts were opened with J&K Bank between 2021 and 2024 without any PAN details linked to them. And, deposits in such accounts with transactions touching Rs 15 lakh or more in a financial year totalled Rs 4.88 lakh crore, records investigated by The Indian Express show. So much so that in its final report submitted late last year, the I-T Department said the probe’s findings point to a “systemic failure” and a “significant red flag”, warning that the unlinked accounts, with their substantial transaction volumes, present “a staggering potential avenue for tax evasion”. Most of the accounts under the I-T scanner were Savings Bank accounts, opened merely by filling Form 60, a “declaration form” used by people without PAN cards.