So I finally received my Pan card in mail last week. Not only did I receive it in the promised time frame of two weeks but I was notified by SMS when it was approved and also when it was dispatched! But all this was a smooth sail only after I got the documents right...which wasn't easy.
For Pancard processing you need to produce 1. Proof of Address and 2. Proof of Identity. I figured that's easy. For proof of address I have the Index-2, given by the builder constructing our house and proof of identity would be my passport. I took all the Xerox and originals to Pan card office and stood in line with many others. The sweat smell in that small office with one small fan was simply unbearable!!!. Won't it be nice if government of India handed out free Deodorant sticks to the public, especially the ones who cannot afford :-), maybe institute a "ration card" system for Deo's :-))). Anyways, when I finally pushed my way to get 2 minutes of the "document reviewer's time" he said he government does not accept Index-2, bummer!!!
I was in a real fix as I had no other way to produce proof of address. No electricity/phone bills, nor is my name included on my Aai's house etc...So advice to readers (especially one's with US citizenship), maybe a good idea to have your name added to your parent's property before you have apply for your Pancard. For those of you with Indian passports, your residence address in on your passport which can be used for POA.
I made that one phone call to my cousin Satish Dada (Mr. Knows it all and helps them All). He gave me a fantastic suggestion. "Apparently a nationalized bank passbook qualifies as POA". I do have NRI accounts, but they are no good. I walked into Bank of Maharashtra with my Sis. They let me open a bank account based on the same Index-2 the same document, Pan card officers wouldn't accept as POA!!! :-)))...I deposited some minimal amount, got a passbook. Made Xerox copies of the same, submitted to the PanCard office and Wolla..!!!!
I found it ridiculously strange that they accepted a daughter document (Bank passbook) but not mother document (Index-2). Unfortunately, In India, one needs to know the loop holes to get around the systems which is sad but did the magic for me.
I hope this helps those of you wanting to get your Pan Cards....
For Pancard processing you need to produce 1. Proof of Address and 2. Proof of Identity. I figured that's easy. For proof of address I have the Index-2, given by the builder constructing our house and proof of identity would be my passport. I took all the Xerox and originals to Pan card office and stood in line with many others. The sweat smell in that small office with one small fan was simply unbearable!!!. Won't it be nice if government of India handed out free Deodorant sticks to the public, especially the ones who cannot afford :-), maybe institute a "ration card" system for Deo's :-))). Anyways, when I finally pushed my way to get 2 minutes of the "document reviewer's time" he said he government does not accept Index-2, bummer!!!
I was in a real fix as I had no other way to produce proof of address. No electricity/phone bills, nor is my name included on my Aai's house etc...So advice to readers (especially one's with US citizenship), maybe a good idea to have your name added to your parent's property before you have apply for your Pancard. For those of you with Indian passports, your residence address in on your passport which can be used for POA.
I made that one phone call to my cousin Satish Dada (Mr. Knows it all and helps them All). He gave me a fantastic suggestion. "Apparently a nationalized bank passbook qualifies as POA". I do have NRI accounts, but they are no good. I walked into Bank of Maharashtra with my Sis. They let me open a bank account based on the same Index-2 the same document, Pan card officers wouldn't accept as POA!!! :-)))...I deposited some minimal amount, got a passbook. Made Xerox copies of the same, submitted to the PanCard office and Wolla..!!!!
I found it ridiculously strange that they accepted a daughter document (Bank passbook) but not mother document (Index-2). Unfortunately, In India, one needs to know the loop holes to get around the systems which is sad but did the magic for me.
I hope this helps those of you wanting to get your Pan Cards....
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