- anushree24r
Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) by CA
Updated: Nov 13, 2021
source: Taxontips
The attestation of a Chartered Accountant on a certificate or any such document is of immense value since it usually signifies that the Chartered Accountant, in his professional opinion, has ensured that there is no misrepresentation by the entity issuing/submitting such a document. A prime example of this being an audit report issued by the auditor in respect of the financial statements of an entity stating the financial statements reflect a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the entity. It is because of this attestation or signature made by the Chartered Accountant that the investors and other stakeholders can rely on the performance of an entity.
What is UDIN?
In order to prevent businesses/ clients from the fraudulent acts of non-CAs, practicing and certifying as CAs, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has come up with the concept of UDIN.
Primarily, UDIN secures certificates, reports, documents, etc. certified by the practicing CAs. Additionally, it enables regulators, banks as well as third parties to check the genuineness of the issued certificates, reports, documents, etc.
The present article highlights each and every point which one needs to know about UDIN. Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) is a unique number given to documents attested by Chartered Accountants in Practice. It is an 18 digits system generated unique number which shall generated separately for each document.
Implementation and Format of UDIN-
UDIN is an abbreviation of ‘Unique Document Identification Number’. The same is introduced in a phase-wise manner as follows-
Further, it is an 18 digits long system generated number. The formation of UDIN is explained in the table below-
The UDIN’s 18-digit alphanumeric number depicts as follows:
The first two digits represent the last 2 digits of the current year (For instance, 19 for the year 2019).
The next 6 digits will be the membership number of the CA Member.
The next 10 digits are alphanumeric digits randomly generated by the system.
Applicability
ICAI has mandated all CA in practice to obtain UDIN for all the certificates issued by them if the Financial information or any other content is certified as depicting a True and Fair view. The CA firms cannot register themselves on the UDIN portal. Chartered Accountants having full-time Certificate of Practice can register on UDIN Portal and generate UDIN by registering the certificates attested/certified by them.
UDIN is being made mandatory from 1st July, 2019 on all Corporate/ Non- Corporate Audit, Attest and Assurance Functions.
The UDIN generated by CA can be searched in online UDIN portal through search option by giving the Name, Contact and Email id of the person requesting the information. This will ensure the authenticity of the documents being certified by the CA members and can be relied upon by Stakeholders, Banking and various other regulating authorities.
How to Register on the UDIN portal?
Before generating UDIN, one needs to first obtain registration on the UDIN site. Steps for obtaining the registration are stated hereunder-
STEP 1 – Visit site https://udin.icai.org/.
STEP 2 – Click ‘First time Sign Up? Click Here’ available on the right-hand side of the page.
STEP 3 – Enter the following details-
Membership Number,
Date of Birth, and
Year of Enrolment.
STEP 4 – Send OTP.
STEP 5 – OTP will be received on the mobile number and e-mail ID registered with ICAI. Enter the OTP received and click ‘Continue’.
On following the above steps, ‘username’ and system generated ‘password’ will be received on the registered mobile number and e-mail ID.
HOW UDIN can be generated?
Post registration on UDIN site, one needs to follow the below steps for generation of UDIN-
STEP 1 – Visit site https://udin.icai.org/.
STEP 2 – Enter appropriate ‘Username’ and ‘Password’. Enter Captcha and click ‘Login’.
STEP 3 – Select the ‘Generate UDIN’ option.
STEP 4 – Select document type from the drop-down list.
STEP 5 – Enter requisite details like-
Client Reference Code/ Number,
Date of a document,
Document issued,
Document description,
Keyword/values within the document, etc.
STEP 6 – Click ‘Send OTP’ and OTP will be received on the registered mobile number and e-mail ID.
STEP 7 – Enter the OTP and click the ‘Preview’ option.
STEP 8 – Click ‘Submit’ to generate UDIN.
What does UDIN depict? When the CA in practice has to generate UDIN?
The UDIN has to be generated within 15 days from the date of signing or attesting the documents by the CA in practice and it cannot be done beyond 15 days from the date of signing.
Limit on generation of UDIN
The council has not put any limit on the number of UDIN a CA can generate. Further the generated UDIN shall not have any expiry unless revoked by the authority.
Precautions while generating UDIN and signing documents
When the chartered accountant is required to sign several documents under their one audit, the same UDIN shall be used for documents coming under one assignment.
The UDIN shall be only generated by the person signing the certificate. Any partner of the firm cannot generate UDIN on behalf of other signing partner.
UDIN shall not require to be obtained for certified true copies given.
If duplicate certificates are being issued as per client’s request, then the same UDIN mentioned in the original certificates has to be mentioned.
UDIN shall be required to generate for both physically signed as well as digitally signed certificates online. The UDIN so generated for certificates signed digitally shall be retained by the CA in practice and shall be furnished in case of any inspection by authority.
UDIN generated shall be mentioned after every signature and membership number of the CA in practice.
How UDIN is reflected?
The 18- digits UDIN will be like - 19304576AKTSBN1359 Wherein First 2 Digits are the Last 2 digits of the Current Year (19 in this case. Next 6 Digits are ICAI Membership No. (304576 in this case). Next 10 Digits are Alpha-numeric generated randomly by the system (AKTSBN1359)
What kind of Documents UDIN is applicable?
UDIN will be applicable both for manually as well as digitally signed Reports (like MCA Forms, 15CB) which are uploaded online. In case of no field for mentioning UDIN on digitally signed online reports, UDIN has to be generated and retained for providing the same on being asked by the stakeholders.
Consequence of default
The chartered accountant in practice who defaults in generating UDIN for mandatory documents shall face disciplinary actions as per Second Schedule Part II of The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.
Other important points-
1. Mentioning of UDIN-
UDIN needs to be mentioned on the certificate either by printing (by watermarked) or by handwritten/ printed. In case the UDIN is handwritten/ printed, the same needs to be mentioned after signatures and membership number.
2. Revocation/ cancellation of UDIN-
Generated UDIN can be revoked/ cancelled without any time limit. However, a reason for revocation/ cancellation of UDIN needs to be provided.
3. Steps to Verify UDIN-
Regulators, banks or third parties can verify the UDIN mentioned, on any of the documents issued by CAs, by following the below steps-
Visit site https://udin.icai.org/.
Click ‘Verify UDIN’.
Enter name, mobile number, UDIN and captcha.
Click ‘Send OTP’. Accordingly, OTP will be received on the mobile number.
Enter the OTP.
4. Consequence of non-generation of UDIN-
UDIN is made mandatory as per the decision of the Council. Accordingly, the non-generation of UDIN will quantify as non-adherence to the Council’s decision. Hence, the same will be treated as professional misconduct in terms of Part I, II and III of the First Schedule and Part I and part II of the Second Schedule.
Resultantly, the non-generation of UDIN will attract disciplinary proceedings under Second Schedule Part II of The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.
FAQs related to UDIN-
1. What is UDIN for?
UDIN is an initiative taken by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to curb/ limit misrepresentation by the third person posing as Chartered Accountants.
2. Is UDIN compulsory?
Yes, UDIN is compulsory for all the certificates, GST and tax audit as well as all audits and assurance functions issued by the Chartered Accountant.
3. Is UDIN mandatory for balance sheet?
Yes, it is mandatory for the balance sheet in case the financial statements are subject to statutory audit.
4. Can UDIN be generated back dated?
Generally, UDIN is generated at the time of signing the respective document. However, UDIN can also be generated within a period of 15 days (extended to 60 days) of the signing the documents.
5. What is the purpose of UDIN?
UDIN is a unique process adopted by the ICAI to curb misrepresentation by any third person, posing as CA, who generally forge signatures on the documents to mislead various authorities.
6. What is UDIN No. for CA?
UDIN is a unique number being generated on the UDIN portal for every certificate and such other documents that have been attested by a CA.
7. What is the validity of UDIN?
Time limit for generation of UDIN has been extended from 15 days to 60 days.
8. For which certificates UDIN is mandatory?
From 1st February 2019, all the certificates issued by the Chartered Accountant should mandatorily have UDIN.
9. From when is UDIN mandatory?
UDIN is mandatory for all the certificates from 1st February 2019; for GST and Tax audit reports from 1st April 2019 and all other attest functions from 1st July 2019.
10. What is the requirement of UDIN?
UDIN on any certificates/ documents/ reports verifies that it is certified by a Chartered Accountant.
11. When should UDIN be generated?
Generally, UDIN is generated at the time of signing the respective document/ certificates/ reports etc. But, UDIN can be generated within a period of 15 days (extended to 60 days) of the signing the documents.
12. How can I verify my UDIN number?
To verify UDIN number, one needs to follow the below steps-
STEP 1 – Visit https://udin.icai.org/search-udin.
STEP 2 – Enter following details-
Name,
Mobile No.,
E-mail,
UDIN,
STEP 3 – Click ‘Send OTP’.
13. What happens if UDIN is not generated?
In case the UDIN is not generated, the same will amount to professional misconduct and accordingly disciplinary proceedings can be initiated as per the Second Schedule Part II.
Verification of Documents using UDIN
The UDIN is an initiative taken by ICAI in an effort to curb misrepresentation by third persons posing as Chartered Accountants who forge signatures on documents to mislead authorities.
With the UDIN, the respective authorities such as banks, RBI, Income Tax Department, etc. can check the validity of the documents issued by the Chartered Accountant. Since the UDIN can be generated by the Chartered Accountants only via the UDIN portal, the validity of the attested document can be checked by using its UDIN. The document can also be found by using the Firm Registration Number (FRN), Client Reference Code, Date of Document, etc. through the UDIN portal.
Once a UDIN for a particular document has been generated, the details of the document corresponding with the UDIN cannot be modified in any manner. However, there may be a situation where the document may either require certain changes or cancellation altogether. In such a situation, the UDIN may be revoked by searching for the document on the UDIN portal and clicking on ‘Revoke’. Note that a reason for revocation will need to be provided. If the UDIN is searched for in the future, it will still appear on the portal, but the same would be displayed as ‘Revoked’.
UDIN helpline
For any queries or assistance related to the UDIN portal, the following helpline has been provided: PDC Department – (011) 3011 0444 You can also reach them via email at udin@icai.in