The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has released the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN). Recently the ICAI has announced the restriction of the revocation of Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) to 48 hours on 23rd June 2023.
This article covers basic details of UDIN including its objective, creation of UDIN, fee for registration of UDIN, lists of certificates which need mandatory UDIN, validity of UDIN, limit of generation of UDIN, Revocation of UDIN..etc.
Read More: ICAI Restricts Revocation of UDIN to 48 Hours
What is UDIN?
Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) is an 18-Digits system generated unique number for every document certified/attested by Practising Chartered Accountants.
What is the objective of UDIN?
To curb the malpractices of certification by non-CAs by impersonating themselves as CAs, the ICAI has come out with an innovative concept of UDIN i.e. Unique Document Identification Number which has been implemented in a phased manner. It will secure the certificates/reports/ document attested/certified by practicing CAs. This will also enable the Regulators/Banks/Third parties to check the authenticity of the certificates/reports/documents.
What is the reference of 18-Digits of UDIN?
The 18- digits UDIN (YY MMMMMM AANNNAANNN) will be like;
19304576AKTSBN1359 Wherein;
First 2 Digits are YY – Last 2 digits of the Current Year (19 in this case)
Next 6 Digits are MMMMMM — ICAl’s Membership No. (304576 in this case)
Next 10 Digits are AANNNAANNN —Alpha-numeric generated randomly by the system (AKTSBNI 359).
Is there any fee for generation of UDIN?
There is no fee for registration and generation of UDIN.
How is UDIN secure?
UDIN is totally secure as it can be viewed only by the Member and/ or the Regulators / other Stakeholders who are having the UDIN. Secondly, it does not contain any information of the client.
When to generate UDIN?
UDIN is to be generated at the time of signing the Certificate. However, the same can be generated within 15 days of the signing of the same (i.e within 15 days from the date mentioned at Certificates and not beyond that)
For generating UDIN, is any document is required to be uploaded on UDIN Portal?
No document is required to be uploaded for generating UDIN.
From 1st February 2019 UDIN is mandatory for all the certificates? What is meant by Certificates?
It is mandatory to obtain UDIN for all Certificates* where the Financial Information/related contents is certified as True and Fair / True and Correct.
Members’ attention is drawn that AASB (Auditing and Assurance Standard Board) of ICAI has already issued Guidance Note on Reports or Certificates for Special Purposes (Revised 201 6) with illustrative formats, to be followed by the Practicing Chartered Accountants. A dropdown illustrative list as below is appearing on the Portal from which the Member can select the certificate they are going to issue. In case the certificate is not matching with the list provided, he is advised to select “Others” and mention the nomenclature of the Certificate under “Document Description”.
1 . Additional Certification by Concurrent Auditors not forming part of Concurrent Audit Assignment
2. Capital Contribution Certificate/Net Worth Certificate
3. Certificate issued by Statutory Auditors of Banks
4. Certificate issued by Statutory Auditors of Insurance Companies
5. Certificate issued for KYC purpose to banks confirming sole proprietorship
6. Certificate issued under RERA
7. Certificate of Liquid Asset IJ/S 45-1B of RBI Act, 1945
8. Certificate of physical verification of securities issued by Concurrent Auditors of Treasury Department of
9. Certificate of Short Sale of Securities issued by Concurrent Auditors of Treasury Department of Banks
IO. Certificate Regarding Sources of Income
1 1.Certificates for Claiming Deductions and Exemptions under various Rules and Regulations
12. Certificates for Funds/ Grants utilisation Charitable Trust/lnstitution
13. Certificates for Funds/ Grants utilisation for NGO’s
14. Certificates for Funds/ Grants utilisation for Statutory Authority
15. Certificates for Funds/ Grants utilisation under FERA/FEMA/ Other Laws
16. Certificates in form 15CB.
17. Certificates in relation to initial Public Issue/compliances under ICDR and LODR.
18. Certificates issued on basis of Statutory Records under Companies Act, 2013 & applicable provisions
19. Certificates issued under LLP Act
20. Certification for claim of refund other Indirect Taxes.
21 . Certification for claim of refund under GST
22. Certification of arms length price u/s 92 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
23. Certification of Fair Values of Shares of Company for Buy Back
24. Certification of Fair Values of Shares of Company for the scope of merger / de-merger
25. Certification of Fair Values of Shares of Company for transfer of shares from resident to non-resident.
26. Certification of Fair Values of Shares of Company for Allotment of further shares
27. Certification under Exchange Control legislation
28. Certification under the Income-Tax Laws for various Deductions etc.
29. Net worth Certificates for Bank finances
30. Net worth Certificates for Bank Guarantee
31. Net worth Certificates for Student Study Loan
32. Net worth Certificates for Visa by Foreign Embassy
33. RBI Statutory Auditor Certificate for NBFCs
34. Turnover Certificate
35. Working Capital Certificate/Net Working Capital Certificate
36. Others
*Certificates includes Reports issued in lieu of a Certificate in terms of Guidance Note on Reports or Certificates for Special Purposes (Revised 2016)
What will not be covered under Certificates for UDIN which is being made mandatory w.e.f. 1st February 2019?
Non-applicability of UDIN can be listed out but the list is not exhaustive. Like in the 1st phase, requirement of obtaining UDIN was Not Applicable for below but the same has been made mandatory w.e.f. 01st of July, 2019:
Who can register on UDIN Portal?
All Practicing CAs having full-time Certificate of Practice (COP) can only register on the UDIN portal to generate UDIN.
Who has to generate UDIN?
All Practicing CAs having full time COP have to generate UDIN after registering on UDIN Portal.
Can a Partner generate UDIN for the Certificate signed by another Partner?
No,Only signing Partner have to generate UDIN.
Whether a Firm can register on UDIN Portal?
No, only members of ICAI having full-time Certificate of Practice can register on UDIN Portal.
Whether UDIN will be applicable only for manually signed documents or also for digitally signed certificates being uploaded online such as Form 15 CB?
UDIN will be applicable both for manually as well as digitally signed Certificates / uploaded online. In case of digitally signed / online certificates like MCA, ROC, RBI certificate/reports, UDIN has to be generated and retained for providing the same on being asked by any third party/ authority.
Is UDIN to be generated for the assignments awarded before 1st February, 2019 as UDIN for certificates being made mandatory w.e.f. 1st February, 2019?
UDIN is to be generated for all Certificates that are signed on or after 1st Feb., 2019.
Can Part Time CoP holder generate UDIN?
No. Since part-time COP holders cannot certify the documents. Hence, they have no access to UDIN portal.
How to Register on UDIN Portal?
To register on UDIN, please follow the below steps:
Step 1: Click “Member Registration” or click at “For first time sign up, click here”
Step 2: Registration window will be opened. After entering Six-digits Membership No.r Date of Birth and Year of Enrolment please click “Send OTP”. An OTP will be sent to the registered Mobile and Email of the Member.
Step 3: On confirmation of OTP as received, a Username and Password will be sent to the registered Email and Mobile No.
Does a member have to register on UDIN Portal for generating UDIN?
For generating UDIN, a member has to register on UDIN Portal for the first time compulsorily. Thereafter, he can just login and generate UDIN. Members who have already registered on UDIN Portal under recommendatory stage are not required to register again after UDIN being mandatory.
How to generate a Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN)?
Step 1: Go to udin.icai.org/ login by entering Username and Password.
Step 2: Click “Generate UDIN” from the menu bar.
Please Select Document type from the drop down menu.
Enter Date of Signing Document i.e. the date of signing/ certifying the document.
Then Enter 2 Financial Figures i.e. any Financial Figures from the document such as Turnover/Net Worth etc.
Then Enter the Description of the Figure i.e. Turnover/ Net Worth etc. to be filled in 10 to 50 characters.
Two Financial Figures are mandatory out of 3 (three) given fields. In case, there is no Financial Figure in the Certificate, Zero (0) is to be
mentioned in Financial Figure and in its Particulars mention “There is no Financial Figure in Certificate”.
Then please Select Document Description and enter the description/ details about the Certificate in 15 to 50 characters.
Then Click the button “Send OTP”.
After this an OTP will be received on Registered Mobile and Email of the Member.
Then Enter OTP as received and click “Preview”. In Preview details entered for generating the UDIN will be displayed. If there is any change/error in the content, click “Back” button, or else, click “Submit”.
Thereafter, 18 Digit UDIN will be generated and that UDIN can be used for mentioning on the Certificate for which it has been generated either by printing (watermarked) the same or by handwritten or printed. If it is being handwritten or printed, it can be mentioned after
Signatures and Membership Number of the Member.
What is meant by “Date of signing Document”?
The date on which the Document is signed/ certified by the member is to be mentioned under this head.
What is meant by “Document Description”?
“Document Description” is the details of the document for which the UDIN is being generated and is to be filled between 15 to 50 characters.
How to Revoke UDIN?
The UDIN once generated can be revoked or cancelled with narration. If any user had searched that UDIN before revocation, an alert message will go to him about revocation of the UDIN. After revocation of the UDIN, anybody searches for that UDIN, appropriate narration indicated by the Member with the date of revocation will be displayed for that revoked UDIN.
UDIN can be revoked on clicking revoke UDIN. The UDIN to be revoked is to be selected from the list. Assign the reason for revocation. Submit through OTP.
How can I change my Mobile Number and/or Email-id in UDIN? When would I be able to generate UDIN in case of change of Mobile Number and Email-id?
In UDIN Portal, the details of Members are fetched from ICAI records in SSP Portal. In case, any member wants to update his Mobile No. and / or Email-id, he has to update the same first at SSP Portal (Self Service Portal) at the link https://cdn3.digialm.com/EForms/configuredHtml/1666/57499/Registration.html?action=existing. Only after the approval of these details at SSP, these will be updated at UDIN Portal from SSP Portal.
Sometimes there are multiple reports in one Assignment. Is separate UDIN is to be generated for all such reports?
No. UDIN is to be generated for Assignment wise and same UDIN is to be used in all documents signed under that assignment. Say for Example while signing the various certificates while doing Bank Audit, same UDIN can be used for all certificates to be signed for that particular Bank Audit Assignment.
How many UDINs can be generated by a CA? Is there any limit? Or is there any restriction on the number of UDIN to be generated in a Day/ Month/ Year?
There is no limit on generation of UDIN and there is no restriction on the number of UDIN to be generated.
Whether fresh registration is required for every financial year?
No, separate UDIN is required for each assignment and is to be used for all documents issued under that assignment.
Whether one UDIN can be used for multiple certificates generated on the same day?
No, separate UDIN is required for each assignment and is to be used for all documents issued under that assignment.
Is it possible to generate UDIN before issuing the certificate?
There is no option to generate UDIN in advance. However there is option given to generate UDIN within 15 days of signing of the certificate.
Can UDIN be generated in bulk for certificates by uploading the details through excel or any other format? If yes, what is the process?
A provision for generating UDIN in bulk for Certificates has been incorporated in UDIN Portal. Using this facility, the members will be able to generate UDIN in bulk (uptil 300 UDINs) for various types of Certificates in one go. It can be done through uploading excel file.
Process for Bulk UDIN
1. After login, from the Menu bar, click on Bulk UDIN for Certificates. Minimum 3 certificates and Maximum 300 certificates can be generated using this procedure.
2. Download template file from Download Template button and open in Excel. Please note that the .xlsx file can be opened in Excel 2007 and later versions.
3. Select Certificate type from drop down.
4. Input dates in the format as per your system/computer (generally it is in mm/dd/yyyy or as 10 June 2020). Excel will format dates
automatically in required format i.e. dd-mm-yyyy. Do not use copy paste in this cell.
5. Fill in all the parameters and values.
6. Save the file.
7. Click on the upload file on the Certificate Form on UDIN Portal.
8. Select the file just saved now.
9. Portal will populate the data in the Form. Verify the data so populated.
10. If correct, Send and Verify OTP and Submit.
11. Alternatively, the option of filling the details of Type of Certificates, Dates and key fields etc. is available on the form itself
What is the validity of UDIN generated?
Generated UDIN has no expiry unless revoked.
What is the consequence of not generating UDIN which are made mandatory by ICAI in respective phases?
UDIN generation has been made mandatory as per the Council Decision hence not generating UDIN for mandatory documents will amount to non-adherence of the Council Decision and may attract disciplinary proceedings as per the Second Schedule Part II of The
Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.
Which type of Regulators /third parties can ask for UDIN?
All Regulators / Stakeholders like RBI, SEBI, CBDT, CBIC, RERAI MCA, IBA etc. can ask for UDIN as it has become mandatory to generate UDIN by every full time practising member vide 379th Council Meeting dated 17th and 18th December 2018. ICAI has also approached various Regulators informing about the UDIN mandate and requested them to insist upon UDIN on all documents certified by CAs.
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