UDIN

Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN), as the name suggests, is an identification number that is generated for every document certified/attested by a Practicing Chartered Accountants. The mechanism has been conceptualized and developed by the Professional Development Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI) and has been initiated amidst the burgeoning issue of certification or attestation of financial statements and documents by other persons in the disguise of CA’s. In this article, we look at the various aspects of UDIN issued by CAs in detail.

Purpose of the Initiative

The Income Tax, GST and Company Laws of India attach a lot of significance to the role of a Chartered Accountant, given that his/her attestation on a certificate or any such document certifies it against any misrepresentation. Also, this attestation instils a sense of surety among investors and other stakeholders who wish to be affiliated with the particular entity in any manner. These factors prompted the ICAI to develop a mechanism for securing the documents issued by the Chartered Accountant by issuing a Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN).

Announcement

The notification pertaining to this pronouncement has been quoted below for your reference:

Mandatory from 1st January 2019

The ICAI has recently notified that all Chartered Accountants must make use of this provision from the 1st of January, 2019, onwards to identify and weed out dubious Chartered Accountants. This effectively means that all the paperwork for clients must henceforth depict the UDIN of the Chartered Accountant signing the document.

UDIN Portal

The UDIN portal facilitates various regulators, banks, authorities or other stakeholders to validate the authenticity of the documents certified by Practicing Chartered Accountants. The mechanism would enable such personnel in tracing and identifying the forged or inappropriate documents prepared by any third person in the guise of a Chartered Accountant.

UDIN Format

UDIN’s format is provided below:

• The membership number of the member attesting the document/certificate.
• The date of issue of the certificate.
• The system-allotted serial number of the document.

UDIN can be generated by a Practicing Chartered Accountant for the certificate or document attested by him/her either in an individual capacity or as a partner.

Registration with UDIN Portal

The following steps will help the respective user to register with the UDIN portal:

Step 1: Official Website

The registration can be initiated by visiting the official website of UIDAI.

Step 2: Initial Sign-Up

Click on the option “For first time sign up, click here,” which can be found on the homepage of the website.

Step 3: Specification of Details

Now, the user must enter the required basic details in the page before clicking on the option “Send OTP.” An OTP will be addressed to both the registered mobile and e-mail contact of the user.  The OTP must be keyed in, upon which a username and password will be auto-generated to the mobile and email contacts. This concludes the registration procedure.

Generation of UDIN for Document

The generation of UDIN involves the following steps:

Step 1: Official Website

As obvious as it may seem, the process of UDIN generation must be pursued in the same website as that of its registration.

Step 2: Login Using Credentials

The user may log in to the portal using the credentials received on the e-mail address registered with ICAI.

Step 3: Generate UDIN

Click on the option “Generate UDIN.”

Step 4: Specification of Details

The following page mandates the specification of details such as Membership Registration Number, Name, E-mail ID, Firm Registration Number, Name of the Firm, Client Reference Code/Number, Document Description, Date of Document, Keywords and Values. Upon entering them, click on the “Send OTP” tab.

Note: Keyword, in this context, refers to any keyword and its corresponding value/amount as mentioned in the particular document. A minimum of three keywords and their corresponding values must be provided for a document. The values can be as high as five.

Step 5: Specification of OTP

An OTP will be addressed to the e-mail address and mobile number of ICAI. With the specification of the OTP in the specific column, a preview of the details entered for this purpose will be depicted on the screen. The same can be modified by clicking on the “Back” and “Submit” button. It may be noted that this is the final opportunity to make any corrections, as no further modifications are allowed. it cannot be modified any further.

This concludes the process of UDIN generation. The generated UDIN could be used on the documents by earmarking the document with a pen or watermark.

Revocation of UDIN

We have now come to terms with the fact that the details of the document pertaining to the UDIN cannot be modified at a later stage. But if the circumstances warrant a change or modification, the UDIN can be revoked on valid grounds.