A Permanent Account Number, almost always just called a PAN, is Nepal's tax identification number, issued by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). It shows up far more often than most people expect, well beyond filing taxes, and getting one is one of the simpler government registrations in Nepal since most of it happens online.
What a PAN actually is
Your PAN is a unique number the Inland Revenue Department assigns to identify you (or your business) in Nepal's tax system, similar in purpose to a tax ID in many other countries. It's issued once and doesn't expire, and unlike a citizenship certificate it's specifically a tax and financial identifier rather than a proof of citizenship or identity in the broader sense.
Who needs one
A PAN is required for registering a business of essentially any size, filing personal or business income tax, and for a growing list of financial transactions where the government wants a paper trail, larger property and vehicle transactions, certain bank account types, and various registrations that touch on taxable income. Plenty of individuals who aren't running a business still end up needing a PAN because a bank, employer or government office asks for one.
Individual PAN versus business PAN
An individual PAN is tied to your personal citizenship details, while a business PAN is tied to a registered firm, company or partnership and requires that entity's own registration documents in addition to the applicant's personal identity documents. If you're both an individual taxpayer and running a registered business, you may end up dealing with both, since a business PAN doesn't replace your personal one.
Documents you'll need
For an individual PAN, you'll generally need:
- Your citizenship certificate
- A recent passport-size photo
- Your current address and contact details
For a business PAN, add your company or firm registration certificate, the registered office address, and identity documents for the proprietor or authorized signatory, since the IRD needs to tie the business registration to a real, verifiable person.
Registering online, step by step
Individual and business PAN registration both start on the IRD's taxpayer portal, where you fill in an online application with your personal or business details and upload scanned copies of your supporting documents. Once submitted, the application is reviewed by the relevant Inland Revenue Office (IRO), and you're typically asked to visit in person once to verify your documents and collect your PAN registration certificate, which shows your assigned PAN number.
After you're registered
Once you have a PAN, it becomes the reference number you provide whenever a bank, government office or business partner asks for tax identification, keep your registration certificate somewhere you can find it, since you'll be citing that number regularly rather than reapplying. If you're registered for business tax obligations, staying current with filing deadlines matters more than the registration process itself, the IRD's portal is also where ongoing tax filings happen.
Keep your PAN number and other identity references organized offline alongside your local administrative details in the Nagarik Nepal app.
Join the WaitlistCommon issues to avoid
The most frequent snags are mismatched names or addresses between the citizenship certificate and the online application, missing business registration documents for a first-time business PAN, and skipping the in-person verification step, which is still required even though the application itself is submitted online. Double-checking that your uploaded documents are clearly legible before submitting avoids most delays.
For current forms, required documents and office locations, the Inland Revenue Department's official taxpayer portal is the authoritative source.