The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India ( ICAI ) has allowed the use of Electronic Signature for Signing Audit Reports and Certificates.
In an announcement issued by ICAI said that, From the aforesaid provisions of the IT Act 2000 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, it may be concluded that these Acts allow the use of electronic signature for authentication of various documents. The IT Act 2000 also prescribes certain conditions to be fulfilled for an electronic signature to be considered reliable.
The ICAI also said that, “the members of ICAI may use an e-signature for signing audit reports, all reports issued pursuant to any attestation engagement and certificates. However, the members need to ensure compliance with all the requirements relating to signature prescribed in the relevant law or regulation, Standards on Auditing and relevant announcements/ clarifications issued by ICAI on the matter including the requirement to mention UDIN”.
The requirement to mention UDIN is applicable both for manually and digitally signed reports/certificates including certificates uploaded online. This Announcement will come into force from immediate effect.
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