The December 31 deadline to link the 12-digit Aadhaar number with bank accounts and Permanent Account Number (PAN) has been lifted, the government announced on Wednesday.A notification to this effect was issued on Tuesday by the Department of Revenue under the Finance Ministry.According to the notification, the words "submit the Aadhaar number and PAN by December 31, 2017" were now substituted by "submit the Aadhaar number, PAN or Form No 60 by such date as may be notified by the Central government."Earlier, the government had made it mandatory to link bank accounts and PAN with Aadhaar by December 31.