Introduction
The ICAI’s (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) Unique Document Identification Number -UDIN is a proactive measure to stop issuance of financial statements and certificates by third persons who are not chartered accountants, instead of the members of ICAI. Such certificates/documents were being issued to various authorities, Banks and other stakeholders by forgery of signatures and misrepresenting themselves before the regulators.
To protect the members and to curb the malpractice, the Professional Development Committee of ICAI implemented a unique concept of UDIN - Unique Document Identification Number, by which all documents and certificates will have a unique number as the authenticity of such document/certificate. The Council Decision became effective from 1st February 2019. The official announcement is available on the ICAI portal.
What is UDIN?
Unique Document Identification Number is a unique number generated on the UDIN Portal for every document certified or attested by the Practicing Chartered Accountants who have registered themselves on the portal. It is an 18 digit system-generated number.
What is the format of UDIN?
UDIN is a18 digit number in below format:
YY-MMMMMM-XXXXXXXXXX
For example,
20304825BBCAMN7D34
When to generate UDIN?
UDIN is to be generated at the time signing the certificate or within 15 days from the date of signing of the certificate and not beyond that. UDIN cannot be generated before the signing of the certificate.
What are the mandatory certificates for which UDIN shall be generated?
UDIN is mandatory to be obtained for all certificates, wherein the financial information or related information is certified to be true and fair. Certificates include:
What is not covered under Certificates but the generation of UDIN for such documents/reports is mandatory?
With effect from July 01, 2019, UDIN is mandatory for all reports/documents other than certificates as mentioned above, such as:
- Auditor’s opinions / Reports issued by practising chartered accountants under any statute for any individual or entity. Such as - Tax Audit Report, Company Audit, GST Audit, Trust Audit, Society Audit, Transfer Pricing Report etc.
- Information System Audit
- Stock Audit, Revenue Audit etc.
- Quarterly Review Report
- Valuation Reports
- Internal Audit / Concurrent Audit
- Forensic Audit
- Any report issued in whatsoever nature including Due Diligence Report, Visibility Study Report etc.
UDIN is not required for certified true copies of the document It is to be generated only once for an original certificate. For the issue of the duplicate certificate, same UDIN shall be mentioned as generated for the original certificate.
Who can Register on UDIN portal?
Below are certain scenarios to determine applicability to register and who are allowed to register on UDIN portal:
Who has to generate UDIN?
All practising chartered accountants have a full-time certificate of practice, have to generate a UDIN. Note that:
- a partner of the firm is not allowed to generate UDIN on behalf of signing partner.
- If an assignment is carried out by a CA firm, then in such case only partners signing such documents/reports/certificates related to such assignment have to generate UDIN at the time of signing such certificates/reports/documents or within 15 days from the date of signing of the certificate.
Is UDIN mandatory for both physical and digitally signing of certificates/ documents/ forms?
UDIN is mandatory for both manually and digitally signed certificates.documents/forms. UDIN shall be generated in case of digitally signed forms to be submitted to the various authorities such as MCA, ROC, RBI, DGFT, Income Tax etc.
In case of signing and submission of online certificates like Form 15CA or Form 15CB UDIN has to be generated and retained for providing the same on being asked by any third party/authority.
How to Register on UDIN portal?
For generating UDIN a member must register himself on UDIN portal. Without registration, he cannot generate UDIN number. Registration on UDIN portal is easy:
Step 1: Go to https://udin.icai.org
Step 2: Click on Members Registration
Step 3: Enter 6 digit membership number, date of birth and year of enrolment. Then click on “Send OTP”. An OTP will be sent to the member’s email id and mobile number.
Step 4: On confirmation of OTP, Username and Password will be sent to the email id and mobile number of the Member. The password is system generated and encrypted, the member may change the password after the first login.
How to generate UDIN - Unique Document Identification Number?
Step 1: Go to https://udin.icai.org, Log in by entering the username and password.
Step 2: Click “Generate UDIN” from the menu bar.
Step 3: Select the document type from the drop-down menu.
Step 4: Enter the date of signing/certifying the document.
Step 5: Enter 2 financial figures from the document such as Net worth/Turnover.
The description of the figures to be filled in 10 to 50 characters. If the document does not contain any figures, then mention zero (0) in Financial Figures and in particulars mention “There is no Financial Figure in the Certificate.”
Step 6: Then select the document description and enter the details about the certificate in 10 to 50 characters.
Step 7: Click the “Send OTP” button.
Step 8: Enter the OPT received and click “Preview”. Check the details entered, if there is any change/error in the content, then click “Back” or if the details are correct, click “Submit”.
Once the details are submitted, 18 digits UDIN will be generated, you can print as a watermark or mention it in handwriting below the signature and membership number on the certificate or document for which it is created.
How to edit or revoke the UDIN?
UDIN once created is not editable, but it can be revoked by mentioning the reason. There is no time limit for revocation of UDIN. Kindly note that UDIN has no expiry unless it is revoked.
Do multiple reports in a single assignment require different UDIN?
A single UDIN generated can be used for different reports or certificates to be issued under a single assignment.
Where UDIN shall be mentioned?
UDIN shall be mentioned after every signature and membership number mentioned in the certificate/report/document.
What are the Consequences of not generating UDIN wherever it is mandatory?
Not generating UDIN for mandatory documents will amount to non-adherence and members may have to face disciplinary proceedings as per the Second Schedule Part II of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. Such actions are with adherence to the Council Decisions.
Is there any limit on UDIN generation?
The council has not put any limit on the number of UDIN generation.
In case of queries related to UDIN, the members can contact the UDIN help desk via a call at 011-30110480 or may write an email to [email protected]. They can also submit a query online by clicking on the “HelpDesk” available in the main menu.
For additional queries and details please visit https://udin.icai.org/faqs.
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