The government is planning to make Aadhaar number mandatory for filing of income tax (I-T) returns from the next financial year and link all bank accounts to the unique identity number by the end of this financial year.

The government is “actively” discussing possible amendments to the Income Tax Act in order to make Aadhaar linkage compulsory for I-T filings beginning FY18, Business Standard reported on Friday. Besides, a plan to ensure Aadhaar numbers are linked to account holders’ bank accounts by end of March 2017 in also under the works, according to the report.

Also, Aadhaar-based authentication of beneficiaries to avail benefits of public distribution system (PDS) may be made mandatory. The decision was taken in a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office was taken in May, according to the report.