7 Easy steps to avail an e-PAN in Nepal

I hate procrastination. Not only I, nobody likes it.

My earlier experiences at the government offices in Nepal while applying for the citizenship and
passport had not been so pleasant.  Procrastination, behaviour of the employees and the employees’ carelessness while preparing the final documents had left a bad imprint of the government offices and the office bearers in my mind.

Each time I submitted the documents as advised by the employees, some additional unjustified and unwanted requirements cropped up, hinting at the “under the table” money. However, I never gave up. Nor I bribed them. Result – it took almost 10 times the stated time to prepare the documents.

However, my latest tryst with the government employees at the Revenue Office turned out to be a super fast service delivered with finesse.

I had not applied for the Permanent Account Number (PAN) although my earlier employers had been constantly deducting a stipulated amount of tax from my salary. So, I made up my mind to avail a PAN at the start of the year 2014. I was guided to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) site by my colleague from administration department and it was as simple as opening a mail account.

Though I encountered few minor problems while filling the form, it was done within minutes. I then took a print-out of the filled form and went to the nearest IRD office. The officers were friendly and helpful. Just like the ones you find in private organisations. And within 15 minutes I had the PAN card with me.

Thanks IRD and Government of Nepal for making the process so efficient!

If you don’t have a PAN, follow the below steps and get one ASAP.

Screenshot of the Inland Revenue Department's website.

 
7 Steps to obtain an e-PAN

Go to the website of the Inland Revenue Department.
http://www.ird.gov.np

On the left hand column, you will find a section “Online Services (e-filing)” . Third on the list is E-PAN. Click the link and you will get to the page http://ssl.ird.gov.np .

On the left hand side you will come across a clickable link “Get Submission Number”.  Click on the link and you will be guided to the “Taxpayer’s Registration” page. Create a username and password, indicate the PAN type and the nearest verifying office. Then submit the information. You will quickly be awarded a submission number.

Again log in with the submission number, username and password, and fill in the details. You will find it quite easy to fill in the text in English section. However, filling the information in the Nepali section is a little bit tricky.

To fill the Nepali columns, open a Word document and type the required in any of the Nepali fonts (I would prefer Preeti). Open the Preeti to Unicode converter website. Then copy the text and paste it on the empty space. After clicking on the “convert” tab, you will get the equivalent in Unicode. Copy it and paste at the required columns.

Scan your picture and citizenship certificate and resize them via Microsoft Office Picture Manager to the stated pixels. Then upload them as advised.

You will find a button to view the filled information, click it and see if there are any mistakes. If not, print the page and run to the nearest tax office. You will get your e-PAN card within few minutes.  In my case although I filled the details in Nepali as stated, every time it showed  ?????  in the columns meant for name, father’s name and others. I printed it as it was and the officers at the tax office helped me with the corrections.

Things to improve

Though the process is quite easy and doesn’t consume much of your time, the IRD needs to take care of the below to make it more efficient.

Filling in the information in Nepali section is a bit tiresome. Although you input the text in Unicode and it shows the information correctly, as and when you refresh the page and print it, it shows ?????? in the columns meant for your name, your father’s name and others. The IRD should rectify the error at the earliest.

You will also face problem while uploading the picture and citizenship card. However, with some trial and errors you will be able to fix the problem. The numbers of pixels are fixed for each upload. The IRD can make the site to accept the picture and citizenship card upto a certain range. It will make the process faster.

The major problem with the IRD office providing the PAN card is – the card paper is glossy and the printing is easily erasable. The IRD can go for a mat paper and use a better printer. The current printing gets erased while the designated officer signs your card. Even your photograph is unrecognisable. As the card is meant for a long period, the printing should be indelible and long-lasting.