Kathmandu, Aug. 19 -- The government is likely to make it mandatory for all individual wage earners to obtain a permanent account number (PAN) immediately despite calls from the private sector to postpone its implementation.

Permanent account numbers became required for salaried workers from July 17, the beginning of the fiscal year 2019-20. The government also made it mandatory for cargo transporters to use the vehicle and consignment tracking system from that date.

As per the Finance Act, firms cannot put distributed salaries without PAN under the expenditure heading. Any firm making payment to its workers who do not have a PAN is not validated by the tax authority.

The private sector has urged the government to defer the date of imp...