As per our government data, there are currently more than 25 crore PAN cardholders in the country. Let's get to know our PAN cards up close and personal.
Decoded
All PAN numbers are a combination of ten alpha-numeric characters. The first three characters represent a series starting from AAA to ZZZ.
Fourth character
The fourth character represents the status of the PAN holder. C stands for Company, P for Person, H for HUF (Hindu Undivided Family), F for Firm, A for Association of Persons (AOP), T for AOP (Trust), B for Body of Individuals (BOI), L for Local Authority, J for Artificial Juridical Person and G for Government.
Fifth character
The fifth character is either the surname (in case of a person) or the name of the entity (in all other cases).
Number games
The sixth to ninth characters are sequential numbers running from 0001 to 9999.
And finally,
The last character is an alphabetic check digit which is generated by applying a formula to the preceding nine letters and numbers.