How to sign many documents at one time with the help of Digital Signature

Let’s work for a Digital India!

The Budget 2015 mentioned the progress towards making Digital India!

Also, the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley in the budget for the Financial Year 2015-16 have brought in the New Rule 4C in the Service Tax Rules, 1994 in relation to authentication of Invoices by Digital Signature. The New Rule provides that any Invoice, Bill or Challan may be authenticated by a Digital Signature. Further, Records may also be maintained in electronic forms.

Note: The Board may, by notification specify the conditions, safeguards and procedure to be followed by any person issuing digitally signed invoices and preserving digitally signed records.

In view of the New Rules, Let us all work towards the making of Digital India!

This will also save a lot of time, energy and resources!

About Digital Signature: Documents/Invoices requiring a handwritten Signature can also be signed digitally with the Digital Signature, just like we sign Form 16/16A’s with Digital signatures and issue it to employees/vendors and upload the Tax Returns by affixing a Digital Signature to it. Signing any document with the help of Digital Signature has the same legal acceptance as signing the same manually with handwritten signature. Section 5 of The Indian Information Technology Act, 2000 have given legal recognition to Digital Signatures. Digital Signature are now accepted at par with the handwritten Signatures and the electronic documents that have been digitally signed are treated at par with the paper based documents.

Moreover, unlike a handwritten signature, it is considered impossible to forge a Digital Signature the way a written signature might be. The purpose served using the Digital Signature is the same as handwritten signature. Instead of using a pen and paper, a Digital Signature uses Digital Keys.

What is a Digital Signature?

A Digital Signature is a technique used to validate the authenticity and the integrity of any Document with the identification of the signatory.

Where can we use this Digital Signature in practice?

Digital Signatures are currently widely used for signing Form 16/16A’s and filing Returns of Income/TDS as mentioned aforesaid. However with the initiatives and efforts taken by all of us towards a Digital India as also emphasized in the Budget, we can jointly work together for a Greener India by signing digitally a several kinds of documents; you and me can think of:

Few Examples:

1. Employees Monthly Salary Slips

2. Annual Increment Letters

3. Invoices to Vendors

How can we use Digital Signature?

Big Companies having proper Accounting system can incorporate the system of signing their Invoices with the help of a Digital Signature at the time of generation of these Invoices by affixing the Digital Signature signing process with their Accounting Software. Many of the big companies can also issue these Invoices to the Vendor electronically with the same software.

Mid-sized and small companies who wants to sign many documents can get the TCS PDF Signer which can be used to sign many PDF’s in one go. Also with this Software, you can affix the Digital Signature at the place of your choice on the document. The procedure for signing many documents in one go is as follows:

1. Open the TCS PDF Signer:

2. Click on Settings. The following Tab would appear:

Connect your Digital Signature Token (Please note that a Class 2 Digital Signature is required for signing with this Application) and browse and select the Digital Signature in the Token Library. Browse and Select the Input Directory being the folder which contains the Documents intended to be signed. Browse and select the Output Directory wherein you wish to save your documents which are digitally signed. Now click on the ‘Save’ option. You can also click on the ‘Signature Settings’ Tab to change the settings of the signature as to the placement of the signature on the document, whether you would like to sign the first page, last page or all the pages of the document etc.

 3. After saving the Settings the following Tab would appear:

4. Now click on ‘Sign’, it will prompt for the Digital Signature Password. Insert the Password and click on Ok. All documents in the Input Directory will get signed and the signed documents will be available in the Output Directory.

5. You can now send these documents electronically by e-mail to your Vendors/Employees/Other parties.

Note: Read my Article on sending documents automatically by e-mail at https://taxguru.in/income-tax/send-form-16-form-16a-forms-automatically.html

This technology can be used for signing various kinds of documents. You innovate! and be a part of the ‘Making Digital India Team’. Let us take for an example that you want to send an important document to your Foreign Holding/Subsidiary Company or a Non Resident Customer/Vendor urgently. Signing the document manually and sending it via courier may take several days, not to mention the cost. With the help of Digital Signature, you can sign and send the document by e-mail within seconds!!

Note: The above TCS PDF Signer is useful only for signing many documents in one go. If you want to sign a single document, you can sign the same with the help of a Class 3 Digital Signature without any software required. Adobe Professional version or similar is required to sign a single document.

Can “We” make an effort to go fully paperless by eliminating the need to print documents and work towards a Digital Greener India?