Rule 114B: Is PAN Required for a Rs. 50,000 Cash Deposit, or Form 60?

The bank cannot process the deposit without one of the two. Splitting one large deposit into several sub-Rs. 50,000 lots on the same day does not escape the rule, because the threshold reads on the day's total, and structured deposits are flagged to the Annual Information Statement (AIS)^[3].

• →PAN is quoted on the deposit slip when the cash deposited exceeds Rs. 50,000 in a day.
• →No PAN at all → sign Form 60, the declaration the bank accepts in place of PAN.
• →The Rs. 50,000 test is per day per bank, not per single transaction.
• →If your income is above the basic exemption limit, Form 60 is a stop-gap only; you must still apply for PAN.

The duty sits on the person entering the transaction, not the service provider, but in practice the recipient of payment must collect PAN to comply with TDS rules and to protect their own audit position. These are the load-bearing thresholds for FY 2026-27:

• →Cash deposits above Rs. 50,000 in a single day require PAN to be quoted.
• →Time deposits above Rs. 50,000 require PAN to be quoted.
• →Cash payments to dealers above Rs. 2,00,000 require PAN to be quoted.
• →Immovable property transactions above Rs. 10,00,000 require PAN to be quoted.
• →Where PAN is not furnished, Section 206AA of the Income Tax Act^[2] forces the higher of the prescribed rate or a flat 20% TDS deduction.

• →GST audit: auditors cross-verify your invoices and receipts against the buyer's records, and PAN linkage helps reconcile them.
• →TDS applicability: if your service crosses TDS thresholds under 194C or 194J, the payer must deduct tax under your PAN.
• →High-value scrutiny: the IT department uses the Annual Information Statement (AIS)^[3] and Specified Financial Transactions (SFT) reporting to track large transactions.
• →Protection from denial: if a payer later claims non-payment, a receipt carrying their PAN makes that denial very difficult.

Note "PAN not provided" on the receipt either way. The higher 20% deduction is designed to incentivise compliance. You are not legally prevented from completing a non-TDS transaction without PAN, but the transaction becomes harder to defend if it is later questioned.

• →TDS case: deduct TDS at a flat 20% under Section 206AA rather than the normal prescribed rate.
• →Non-TDS case: record the refusal on the receipt and complete the transaction if you choose.
• →Either case: a documented refusal is weaker protection than a quoted PAN if the transaction is scrutinised.

Form 60 stands in for PAN only where the person genuinely does not hold one. It is distinct from a refusal to disclose an existing PAN, which instead triggers the flat 20% TDS route under Section 206AA^[2]. A company or firm cannot use Form 60; it must quote PAN.

Keep a GST-compliant tax invoice plus a payment receipt on file showing payment mode, amount, and purpose. That pairing alone resolves about 90% of disputes. For the specific thresholds that catch NRIs and freelancers, see Rule 114B: the Rs. 50,000 threshold for NRIs and freelancers.