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The Bombay high court has passed an ex-parte interim order restraining several entities from operating websites etc claiming to provide PAN card services on behalf of the government-owned UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited (UTIITSL) and noted such an act poses a "national level threat".
A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre, in its order of January 12, said the Union government has made it mandatory for PAN card holders to link the same to their Aadhar Card, which is an acceptable proof of identification.
Therefore, any potential misuse of the licence/ authorization to issue PAN cards would be highly detrimental not only to the interest of the company but also to national interest, the HC said.
Considering the case at hand an interim ex-parte order even without service to the defendants was required because it would cause irreparable damage and severe compromise of valuable confidential data of the plaintiff company and pose a threat at a national level if such fake websites are allowed to remain active, the court said.
The HC was hearing an application filed by UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited seeking an interim order restraining several companies and unknown persons from infringing upon its copyright etc.
UTIITSL provides services relating to and in connection with the issuance of Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card.
The company is authorized by the Income Tax Department since 2003 to process PAN and related services like issuance of documents such as Aadhar Card, Voter ID and driving license.
The agreement to render these services is valid till March 2024.
In its application, the company claimed the defendants (known and unknown entities) have deliberately infringed upon its copyright and made unauthorized use of its label and marks in an almost identical manner to show they are authorized to provide services which are exclusive to UTIITSL.
It sought proactive orders to protect its mark and label considering the national importance of the services it provides.
In its order, the bench said services provided by the plaintiff company were exclusive in nature underpinning the national importance of its work to the citizens of India since PAN is a unique ten digit alphanumeric identity allotted to each taxpayer by the Income Tax department.
"It cannot be in dispute that the PAN system is of paramount importance on a national scale due to its multi-faceted impact on governance, taxation, and financial integrity. It can be said to be the cornerstone of a robust financial economic system," the court said in its order.
"PAN related services are pivotal in fostering fiscal discipline and ensuring a transparent and accountable economic framework, as apart from being a unique identifier for individuals and entities, it also aims at streamlining the tax recovery and payment process," the HC further said.
The company in its plea said the defendants, by providing identical services unauthorisedly, collect personal and confidential data of citizens and may sometimes mislead them into making payments and fabricate public documents.
The court, in its order noted, said a PAN card is mandatory to track and maintain record of all financial transactions concerning a citizen of this country and corporations in India.
"The primary object of PAN is to provide a universal identification key to track financial transactions, for whatever reasons; one of the prominent reasons being to ascertain the taxable component to prevent tax evasion," HC said.
The bench posted the matter for further hearing on February 20 and said the interim order shall continue till then.