UDIN
1. MEANING:
It stands for UNIQUE DOCUMENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.
The UDIN is an 18-Digit system generated number and it has the following format:
| For E.g.: | 19A58903AKTSBN1659 | |
| First 2 Digits | Last 2-Digit of the Current Year | (in this case 19) |
| Next 6 Digits | ICSI’s Membership No. i.e., AAAAAA | (in this case A58903) |
| Next 10 Digits | Randomly generated Alpha-Numeric Number i.e., AANNNAANNN | (in this case AKTSBN1659). |
Note: The UDIN generated can be used on the Document by mentioning it as a Watermark or using a Pen on the Document.
B. OBJECTIVE:
The objective of issuing these Guidelines is to:-
1. It has been noticed that Attestation / Certification Services rendered by the Third Person misrepresenting themselves as ICSI Members are misleading the Authorities and Stakeholders. ICSI is also receiving number of complaints of signatures of CSs being forged by Non-CSs.
To curb such malpractices, the ICSI has come out with an innovative concept of UDIN i.e. Unique Document Identification Number which is being implemented in phased manner. It will secure the Attestation / Certification Services rendered by the Practicing Company Secretaries. This will also enable the Regulators / Banks / Third Parties to check the Authenticity of the documents.
2. It enables the stakeholders to verify the Authenticity of various documents certified by the PCS.
3. It prevents Counterfeiting of various Attestations / Certifications.
4. It provides Ease of maintaining the Register of Attestation / Certification Services rendered by the PCS.
5. It ensures Compliance of the Guidelines issued by the ICSI w.r.t ceilings on the number of the various Attestation / Certification Services that may be rendered by the PCS.
6. It Auto-Prefill details of Attestation / Certification Services rendered by the PCS in the form for Renewal of Certificate of Practice.
7. It is Totally Secure as it can be viewed only by the Member and / or the Regulators / other Stakeholders who having the UDIN. Secondly, it does not contain any information of the client.
UTILISATION:
UDIN shall be generated for the following services rendered by PCS:
1. Certification of Annual Return in e-Form MGT-8 under Section 92(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 and Rule 11(2) of the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014.
2. Issuance of Secretarial Audit Report in Form MR-3 in terms of Section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013.
3. Issuance of Secretarial Audit Report to Material Unlisted Subsidiaries of Listed Entities (whose equity shares are listed) under Regulation 24A of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.
4. Issuance of Annual Secretarial Compliance Report to Listed entities (whose equity shares are listed) under SEBI Circular No. CIR/CFD/CMD1/27/2019 DATED 8TH FEBRUARY, 2019.
5. Certification under SEBI (Listing Obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 that none of the directors on the board of the company have been debarred or disqualified from being appointed or continuing as directors of companies by the Board/Ministry of Corporate Affairs or any such statutory authority under Schedule V, Part C, Clause(10) (i).
6. Certification under Regulation 40(9) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 certifying that all certificates have been issued within 30 Days of the Date of Lodgement for transfer, subdivision, consolidation, renewal, exchange or endorsement of calls/allotment monies.
7. Conduct of Internal Audit of Operations of the Depository Participants registered with NSDL and CDSL under the Bye Laws issued by NSDL and CDSL.
8. Certification under Regulation 76 of SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations, 2018 for Reconciliation of Share Capital Audit.
9. Acting as Compliance Auditor under third party certification/ Audit Scheme (Amendment), 2018 in the State of Haryana.
10. Diligence reporting for Banks in case of multiple banking/consortium lending arrangements in terms of the circular issued by RBI
11. Conduct of Internal Audit of the stock brokers / sub brokers under SEBI Circular no. MIRSD/ DPSIII/CIR-26/08 DATED 22ND AUGUST 2008 AND MRD/DMS/CIR-29/2008 DATED 21ST OCTOBER 2008.
12. Issuance of Certificate in case of the Indian company accepting the investment from a foreign investor, thereby confirming compliance of Companies Act, 2013 and other matters (As per Para 9 (1) (B) (i) of Schedule 1 to Notification No. FEMA 20/2000-RB DATED 3RD MAY 2000)
Provided further that the PCS may generate the UDIN for any other e-Form and document(s) which is not listed above and not mandatory as per these guidelines on Voluntary Basis.
D. IMPLEMENTATION & GENERATION:
1. In terms of Clause (1) of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 as Amended by the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 2006, the ICSI Council has made quoting of mandatory UDIN (Unique Document Identification Number) in the documents certified / verified / attested / signed / authenticated by a company secretary in practice for the professional services mentioned in the Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) Guidelines
[Refer UDIN Guidelines on http://udin.icsi.edu/PDF/UdinGuidelines.pdf]
2. Further, the Council has also approved the Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) Guidelines, 2019, which shall be mandatory e.f 1st October, 2019.
3. Company Secretaries having Full-Time Certificate of Practice can register on UDIN Portal and generate UDIN by registering the certificates attested/certified by them from http://udin.icsi.edu/
4. The UDIN shall be a system generated random alphanumeric number. No document shall be required to be uploaded.
5. There is no fee for registration and generation of UDIN.
6. Process:
(i) Only Members with a valid Certificate of Practice can register.
(ii) Only the member certifying the document may generate UDIN.
(iii) Regulatory bodies and other stakeholders may verify the authenticity of documents certified by PCS by visiting the designated website.
(iv) UDIN shall be shared on registered Email id of the Members or through any other electronic mode.
(v) Name of recipient of the professional service, CIN /LLPIN/PAN No. of client (as the case may be) shall be disclosed at the time of generation of UDIN.
(vi) UDIN once generated but not utilized may be surrendered/cancelled by the PCS within 7 days of such generation.
7. Any non-compliance with these Guidelines shall render the members liable for action under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 read with First Schedule and Second Schedule to the Company Secretaries Act, 1980.
eCSIN
Having the Similar Objectives to curb such Malpractices done by the Third Person misrepresenting themselves as ICSI Members and In terms of Clause (1) of part II of the Second Schedule to the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 as amended by the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 2006, the Council has made quoting of eCSIN (Employee Company Secretary Identification Number) mandatorily for every appointment / cessation of Company Secretary in terms of Section 203 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 8 / Rule SA of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014.
Further, the Council has approved the Employee Company Secretary Identification Number (eCSIN) Guidelines, 2019 which shall be mandatory w.e.f 1st October, 2019.
The process to Generate eCSIN will be released by The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, very soon.
Author Bio
very nice