PAN CARD FOR A PROPRIETORY FIRM

You can not apply for PAN card in the name of a proprietary concern in which you  are the proprietor. You must use your individual PAN for your business. you must use the same PAN for any number of proprietary business

As per Income Tax Act Person means Individual, Partnership Firm, LLP, company, HUF, AOP and BOI i.e. PAN cards are issued in the name of Partnership Firm but you will nowhere find PAN in the name of Proprietorship Firm. As per Income Tax, Proprietor (INDIVIDUAL) and Proprietorship Firm/s are same. E.g. Mr. X has three proprietorship Firms named as ABC Enterprise, DEF associates and GHI stores then he cannot get three different PAN cards for all three proprietorship firms as in the eyes of Income Tax , all three are same and PAN of Mr. X itself is PAN of ABC Enterprise, DEF associates and GHI stores. Income Tax return will be filed in the name of Mr. X by clubbing income of all three Proprietorship Firms and also income of Mr. X like Interest, dividend which he is earning in his Individual name(if any).

Proprietary concern is not an independent and legal person - it is a unit of the proprietor. Therefore,  separate PAN  or TAN are not required.

He should take care to obtain TDS certificates in name of Proprietor. For this purpose every person who deducts tax from payments / credit in favour of proprietory concern should be informed and requested to issue TDS certificates in name of proprietor instead of in name of the proprietary concern.

It is better that each invoice and other related documents should show name of the concern and the fact that it is a proprietary, mentioning the name of the proprietor.

 It is suggested to the CBDT that a record of proprietary concerns of PAN holder may be kept and each proprietary concern be tagged with the PAN / TAN of the Proprietor.