PAN (Permanent Account Number) स्थायी लेखा नम्बर
PAN लाई नेपालीमा स्थायी लेखा नम्बर (sthayi lekha number) भनिन्छ। यो आन्तरिक राजस्व विभागले करदातालाई दिने नौ अङ्कको परिचय नम्बर हो। PAN stands for Permanent Account Number: the nine-digit taxpayer identification number issued by Nepal's Inland Revenue Department. Every employee needs a personal PAN for the tax withheld from their salary to be credited to them, and every employer needs a business PAN to deposit it.
Also called: PAN Nepal, personal PAN, PAN number, sthayi lekha number, sthai lekha number, स्थाई लेखा नम्बर, स्था.ले.नं., पान नम्बर (paan number), प्यान नम्बर (pyan number), taxpayer identification number (TIN) Nepal
Key facts
- Full form
- Permanent Account Numberस्थायी लेखा नम्बर (sthayi lekha number).
- Format
- Nine digitsValid for the holder's lifetime.
- Issued by
- Inland Revenue DepartmentThrough the taxpayer portal and IRD offices.
- Employee needs
- Personal PANSo withheld tax is credited to them.
- Employer needs
- Business PANTo deposit tax and file returns.
- Used in
- eTDS reportingEach employee's PAN identifies their withheld tax.
- Check a number
- IRD PAN searchird.gov.np/pan-search/
What PAN means, in English and in Nepali
PAN stands for Permanent Account Number. Section 78 of the Income Tax Act 2058 has the Inland Revenue Department issue it to a person "for purposes of identifying that person", which makes it Nepal's taxpayer identification number (TIN). It is nine digits long and stays with the holder for life.
In Nepali it is स्थायी लेखा नम्बर (sthayi lekha number, often typed sthai lekha number). IRD pages shorten it to स्था.ले.नं., and IRD forms write it as पान (paan), as in पान नम्बर. The IRD issues a PAN certificate, which most people call a PAN card.
Why an employee without a PAN is a payroll problem
Tax withheld from salary is deposited against the employer's business PAN but reported against each employee's personal PAN. Without a personal PAN, an employee's withheld tax cannot be attributed to them, so it does not show against their name when they need proof of tax paid.
This is the reason a PAN belongs on the joining checklist rather than being chased later. Collecting it after several months of payroll means going back and correcting returns that have already been filed.
Personal PAN and business PAN
- A personal PAN identifies an individual taxpayer. A salaried employee needs one, and it stays with them across employers.
- A business PAN identifies the company. It is what payroll deposits and files under, and it is separate from any VAT registration.
- Neither substitutes for the other. An employee cannot be reported under the company's PAN.
How an employee gets a personal PAN
From the Inland Revenue Department, either online or at an Inland Revenue Office or Taxpayer Service Office, with a copy of their citizenship certificate. The IRD's home page also carries a guide to creating a personal PAN online from a national identity card number (राष्ट्रिय परिचयपत्र नम्बर). An employee who already has a PAN from a previous job keeps it: a new employer needs the same number, not a new one.
What HR should hold on file
- The PAN number itself, verified against the employee's PAN certificate rather than typed from memory.
- A lookup of the number on the IRD's public PAN search (ird.gov.np/pan-search/) before the first payroll run.
- A copy of the certificate in the employee's document record.
- A check at onboarding that the name on the PAN matches the name payroll will report under.
स्थायी लेखा नम्बर, word by word
The Nepali name translates Permanent Account Number one word at a time, so both names describe the same nine digits.
- स्थायी (sthayi)
- Permanent
- लेखा (lekha)
- Account
- नम्बर (number)
- Number
- स्थायी लेखा नम्बर
- Permanent Account Number (PAN)
- स्था.ले.नं.
- The short form on IRD pages
In speech and on forms most people say the English letters instead: पान नम्बर (paan number), also spelled प्यान, as in प्यान दर्ता (PAN registration).
PAN (Permanent Account Number), answered
Permanent Account Number. It is the nine-digit taxpayer identification number the Inland Revenue Department issues under section 78 of the Income Tax Act 2058, and it stays with the holder for life.
स्थायी लेखा नम्बर (sthayi lekha number, also typed sthai lekha number), shortened to स्था.ले.नं. Most people simply say पान नम्बर (paan number). Word for word, स्थायी means permanent, लेखा means account and नम्बर means number.
Yes, for salary tax to be credited to them. Withheld tax is reported against the employee's personal PAN, so without one the deduction cannot be attributed to that individual.
By applying to the Inland Revenue Department, online or at an Inland Revenue Office or Taxpayer Service Office, with a copy of their citizenship certificate. The IRD also explains how to create a personal PAN online from a national identity card number. Someone who already has a PAN keeps it when they change jobs.
A personal PAN identifies an individual taxpayer and follows the person between employers. A business PAN identifies the company and is what payroll deposits tax and files returns under.
In eTDS reporting. Each employee's withheld tax is listed against their PAN, which is how the deduction is credited to that person's tax record.
- Income Tax Act 2058 registration provisions, and Inland Revenue Department taxpayer registration guidance.
- Income Tax Act 2058 section 78 (permanent account number) and section 90(1)(b) (PAN in the withholding statement), English text from the Nepal Law Commission as published by ICAN (en.ican.org.np), read 2026-11-04.
- Nine digits, valid for life, and the IRO, TSO and online routes: Republica, "Things to know about PAN" (myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com), and Global IME Bank, "Process of Applying for PAN Card in Nepal" (2025-05-21).
- PAN search, the स्था.ले.नं. abbreviation, the पान spelling and the national identity card route: the ird.gov.np home page and its PAN form list, checked 2026-11-04.
This page explains general practice in Nepal. It is not legal or tax advice, and statutory figures are revised from time to time. Check the current Act, rule or notice before acting on it.
Related terms
- Inland Revenue Department (IRD)आन्तरिक राजस्व विभागIRD stands for Inland Revenue Department (आन्तरिक राजस्व विभाग), Nepal's tax administration, responsible for income tax, VAT and excise. For payroll it is the body that publishes the tax slabs, issues PANs, receives monthly withholding deposits and defines the eTDS format.
- eTDSइ-टीडीएसeTDS stands for electronic Tax Deducted at Source. It is the Inland Revenue Department's electronic format for withholding returns, and it reports, employee by employee and against each personal PAN, how much tax the employer withheld and deposited for the period.
- TDS (Tax Deducted at Source)स्रोतमा कर कट्टीTDS is income tax withheld by the employer from an employee's salary each month and deposited with the Inland Revenue Department on the employee's behalf. It is calculated on annual projected income and spread across the year, not charged month by month in isolation.
- Employee Onboardingकर्मचारी भर्ना प्रक्रियाOnboarding is everything between an accepted offer and a new employee being productive: paperwork, identifiers, access, equipment, introductions and the first pieces of work. It is a process with owners and dates, not a first-day checklist.
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