Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Applied for PAN Online - Reader's Digest Sweepstakes

Day before yesterday, monday sent application for PAN (Permanent Account Number) card. In these days PAN card is required for many financial transaction. Banks and other financial institution require PAN card for transactions. If you are asking for a bank loan you should have PAN card. If you are looking for a credit card you should have PAN. Nowadays it is easier to apply for a PAN card. The Income Tax, Government of India, maintains a good website that will assist you to apply online for PAN card. The Tax Information Network (TIN) is your online information source. You can use that website to apply for PAN card online. You can even pay the fee online through credit card. Here is the procedure,

Open the website. click new PAN application. Give your details, like name, father name, Income Tax Ward, Circle, Range. Residential and office address (if any), source of Income etc.

Submit the application online. If you select credit card as payment option you will be asked for credit card details. It will take you to the payment gateway. If the payment is successful you will get an acknowledgment. You can also pay offline by check or DD.

Take a printout of the acknowledgment. Affix recent passport photograph (3.5 cm * 2.5 cm) in the space provided. Put your signature in BLACK INK in the space provided.

Attach xerox copy of address proof and identity proof like driving license.

Mail all the documents to the Income Tax Office at Pune. You will receive you PAN card by post! It is that simple!

Few months before i subscribed for Reader's digest magazine. They offered sweepstakes prizes worth rupees 1 crore. I recently received letters from Reader's digest regarding the sweepstakes. They mentioned i am one of the selected reader from Tamilnadu who gets entry into the 26 lakh super premier prize. They enclosed 4 tickets for Super Premier Prized and asked to look for the mail to arrive. The mail would have a pink envelope which contains reply envelope. Last Monday i received mail from Reader's digest. I received a number of documents, Certificates confirming my eligibility into the prize draw. There is a 26 lac Super Premier Prize plus Early Reply Bonus Cash prize of 4 lac. First prize of 2 lac and second prize of 1 lac. Pegasus prize for 3000 persons. There is another 5 lac special recognition prize.

I think it is a marketing strategy of Reader's digest. Infact the magazine is amusing an engaging with good articles, jokes and tips. They are sending these kind of sweepstakes letters to hundreds of thousands of people. At least a certain percentage of readers would subscribe for the magazine, attracted by the sweepstakes prize offer. Whom would like to loose a chance of becoming a millionaire? Whom would want to loose the offer of 30 lac hot cash? In fact the entry to the sweepstakes are free. They won't compel you to purchase a magazine subscription. Say for example they sent the letters to 10 lac people, potential customers. It would cost them at least 1 crore for postage and handling. Suppose some 30 percent respond by subscribing at Rs. 650 for year. 19 crore rupees! It would fetch them great interest. They can easily afford to offer 1 crore for sweepstakes cash. This is the marketing formula!

I too have subscribed for the magazine and got entry into the sweepstakes. The draw will take place on 21st January. The results can be had by querying rd from 1st February 2010 onwards. The winners list will be published in the march, 2010 Reader's digest magazine.

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