TAN, PAN, and GSTIN — A Simple Guide for Business Owners

Many business owners hear TAN, PAN, and GSTIN together and assume they are the same. They are not. Each serves a different role in business documentation and compliance workflows.

Why Confusion Happens

• New business setup pressure
• Multiple checklist requests from different people
• Lack of a single compliance master file

A Practical Way to Think About It

• PAN – a core tax-related identifier used across multiple financial/tax processes.
• TAN – generally associated with tax deduction/collection related processes.
• GSTIN – related to GST registration/compliance for eligible businesses.

Exact applicability depends on the business type and facts of the case.

Why This Matters for Internal Process Setup

If your team does not know which identifier is used where, it can cause wrong entries, wrong submissions, and delays.

Tip for Business Owners

Create one “Compliance Master File” (digital folder or controlled sheet) containing business identity records, registration details, official contact details, and recurring due-date checklists.