Core rule: income-tax registration and VAT registration serve different purposes. A business may hold a PAN without being VAT-registered. A VAT registrant generally uses the same PAN with VAT registration recorded; it does not need a second identity for the same taxpayer.
Example: a PAN-only consultant charges NPR 20,000 for a service. Printing the PAN on the bill does not permit adding NPR 2,600 labelled VAT. First establish whether VAT registration is required or has been validly obtained.
VAT Act section 15 prohibits an unregistered person from collecting VAT or issuing a document showing VAT collection. Wrongly collected VAT can still be recovered by the tax authority.
Check the supplier's actual VAT status, the nature of the supply and registration obligations. A buyer cannot assume that every PAN-bearing invoice supports input VAT credit.