UTI PAN Centre Setup: What Your Counter Needs

Say you run a cyber cafe, a recharge shop or a stationery counter. Customers keep asking if you do PAN cards, and you’re wondering whether it’s worth adding. Before you spend a rupee, it helps to know what the work actually needs: a machine, some paperwork, money sitting in a wallet, and a few answers you should get in writing.

This checklist walks through all of that. It ends with nine questions to put in writing before you pay.

Can a cyber cafe or recharge shop run a UTI PAN centre?

Yes, as a PAN Service Agent (PSA). Not as someone who “makes” a PAN. SiOnline’s PAN registration page describes a PSA as an intermediary who submits PAN applications on behalf of customers. The Income Tax Department allots the Permanent Account Number, as the General FAQs of UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Ltd (UTIITSL) explain (checked 17 October 2026).

The same registration page says UTIITSL appoints PSAs through authorised channel partners, so you don’t apply to UTIITSL directly. UTIITSL’s home page, checked on 17 October 2026, says the Income Tax Department has appointed only UTIITSL and Protean eGov Technologies Limited to receive and process PAN applications. So ask any provider how its PSA ID sits under UTIITSL (question 9 below).

SiOnline never issues a PAN. It registers you for a wallet-based UTI PSA ID, and you file applications from the SiOnline portal, which is connected to the UTI portal. The registration cost is for the UTI PSA ID. It isn’t the government fee the customer pays for each application.

The PAN registration page says the work “runs on a counter you have” and needs no separate premises. It lists the starting conditions as 18 or over, a PAN of your own, and basic computer and internet ability. It adds: “A retail point helps but a business address is the requirement.”

What equipment does the counter need?

SiOnline’s PAN registration page gives the equipment line as “a computer, printer and scanner”. Its reason is that “applications involve documents, not just a form”. So this isn’t a phone-and-nothing-else business.

To see why, look at what a Form 93 application involves. Form 93 is the application for an individual who is a citizen of India. Here’s what it asks for:

The form’s guidelines tie the clarity of the image on the PAN card to the quality of the photograph. So a smudged passport photo isn’t a small thing. Decide at the start who supplies photographs, and what you’ll do when a customer’s photo is poor.

UTIITSL’s guidelines for submitting a PAN application describe the public route for an applicant who files through its own website. The applicant fills in the form online, pays, prints it, sticks on photographs, signs, attaches copies and sends the set to a UTIITSL office. A printer matters on that route.

The route in your SiOnline portal may differ in its screens and in what you print or upload. So ask support which route your ID uses.

Which machine should you use?

SiOnline’s current PAN agent login guide says scanner drivers and browser settings tend to be set up on one computer. It adds that PAN work “does not travel as easily between machines as ticketing does”. So pick one machine for PAN work and keep it there.

Before you buy anything, ask for the portal’s minimum scanner, browser and connection requirements. And if you have no room for a scanner and printer, or nobody to sit with an applicant while the form is checked, talk to support before you pay.

What do you need to register?

SiOnline’s PAN registration page lists the registration file as your PAN, an Aadhaar linked to your mobile number and a recent passport-style photograph. It also asks for an email address and mobile number, which is where your login details and every OTP will be sent. The last item is the business address, described as the premises you’ll operate from.

The same page says SiOnline checks the file against UTIITSL’s requirements and submits it. It says SiOnline confirms what applies to you, what it costs and what you need before anything is paid. After verification, the timeline is UTIITSL’s, and SiOnline gives the current turnaround when you enquire.

Before you pay, ask in writing which document proves the business address, and whether a GST registration or trade licence is needed.

How much wallet float do you need?

SiOnline provides a wallet-based UTI PSA ID. UTI also offers coupon-based IDs, but SiOnline doesn’t provide those. You load a wallet, and each PAN application is deducted from it.

Here’s what that means in practice, from SiOnline’s current UTI PSA login and wallet pages:

• You can sign in with an empty wallet, but you can’t submit an application. The pages name a low balance as the usual reason a login works while filing doesn’t.
• To add balance, you whitelist your sender bank account once. After that, transfers from it update the wallet. Keep the transaction reference, not just a screenshot of the amount.
• How much to keep is your call. The wallet page suggests holding enough for your busiest normal week, and topping up when the balance falls below half of that. Running close to zero means turning away a customer who has already walked in.

Official government fees are a separate matter. As of 17 October 2026, UTIITSL’s home page lists ₹107 for a physical card plus e-PAN and ₹72 for an e-PAN only. Its General FAQs list ₹107 for dispatch within India, ₹1,017 outside India, ₹72 for an e-PAN only at centres and ₹66 for an e-PAN submitted online through paperless modes. Confirm the current fee on the official UTIITSL or Income Tax Department page before you quote a customer.

Before you pay for registration, ask in writing what’s deducted from your wallet for one application, and what you may charge the customer beyond the government fee, if anything.

What does the first week look like?

Plan around the order of events, not around a number you read somewhere online.

1. Get the login first. The PAN agent login guide says the login ID is issued when your registration completes. It isn’t your PAN number. If you’ve lost it, call support with your registered mobile number.
2. Sign in before the first customer arrives, and check the wallet balance at the same time.
3. Check the form for the customer. Form 93 is for an individual Indian citizen. UTIITSL also lists Forms 94, 95 and 96 for other applicants, so confirm the right form on the current UTIITSL list.
4. File one real application slowly. SiOnline’s wallet page suggests filing one test application if you have a genuine one waiting. Note what the portal asked for and whether you were given an acknowledgement or reference number.
5. Keep the acknowledgement. UTIITSL’s General FAQs say an applicant can track an application with the acknowledgement or reference number on the designated portal.

If a login fails or an application won’t submit, work through the UTI PSA login guide. Don’t create a second ID, because the UTI PSA login page says one PAN holds one PSA ID.

How do you protect customers’ documents?

A PAN file puts an Aadhaar number, a signature, a photograph and an address in your hands. Form 93 says every person who has an Aadhaar number must quote it in the application, so you’ll see it often.

• Let the applicant sign. The form asks for the signature or thumb impression of the applicant or their representative. Don’t sign for a customer who can sign.
• Don’t share your login. The login guide says the ID belongs to the registered agent, and that sharing credentials makes any dispute over a submitted application impossible to resolve.
• Never send a password or OTP. SiOnline’s UTI PSA login page says it never asks for your password. Send your login ID and the registered mobile number to support instead.
• Turn the screen away from the queue. It costs nothing.
• Ask what to keep. Ask the provider in writing what scans or copies to keep, for how long, and how to dispose of them.

What should you ask in writing before you pay?

Put these in a message or an email, and keep the reply.

1. What is the minimum scanner, browser and internet connection for the portal?
2. Which proof of business address is accepted?
3. What is deducted from the wallet for one application, and is there a minimum balance for PAN work?
4. What may you charge the customer, if anything, beyond the government fee?
5. What is the current turnaround for the ID, and who gives it?
6. Which route does your ID use for an application, and what do you print or upload?
7. What scans or copies of customer documents should you keep, for how long, and how should they be disposed of?
8. Does PAN work run in the SiOnline Android app? The Android app page covers how it’s installed.
9. Under which UTIITSL arrangement is the PSA ID issued, and how can you check that with UTIITSL?

If an answer is vague, ask again. It’s your money and your counter.

Questions agents ask

Can I sign in but not file an application?

Yes. SiOnline’s UTI PSA login and wallet pages say a low wallet balance is the usual reason. Top up the wallet and try again.

Can I run PAN work from a phone?

SiOnline’s PAN agent login guide says you can sign in on a phone. But PAN work involves scanning and uploading supporting documents, so a computer with a scanner is what makes it practical.

Can one person hold two PSA IDs?

No. SiOnline’s UTI PSA login page says one PAN holds one PSA ID.

Does the ₹1,180 cover the government fee for applications?

No. The ₹1,180 is the cost of registering for the UTI PSA ID through SiOnline, as of 17 October 2026. The government’s PAN application fee is separate, and so is what’s deducted from your wallet for each application.

Next step

If the checklist fits your counter, the enquiry section of the PAN registration page is where to start. Ask the nine questions above before any money moves. If you want to know the cost side first, see the UTI PSA registration fees page.

Sources and checks

• UTIITSL, General FAQs on new PAN forms, pan.utiitsl.com, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• UTIITSL, document checklist, DocumentsForPAN, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• UTIITSL, guidelines for submitting a PAN application, IPGguidelines, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• UTIITSL, home page with application fees, pan.utiitsl.com, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• Form 93 and its guidelines, as hosted by Protean, Form 93, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• SiOnline’s PAN registration, UTI PSA login, PAN agent login, wallet and Android app pages, read on 17 October 2026.

Fees, forms and portal rules change. Confirm them at the source before you act.