What is Digital Signature Certificate?
Issued by a Certifying Authority (CA), a Digital Signature Certificate is a digital key that certifies the identity of the holder. A Digital Signature contains the name, email, country, APNIC account and the public key of the holder. Public key infrastructure is used in Digital Signature Certificates which enables one to digitally sign or encrypt the data by a private key. The Data can only be decrypted with its corresponding public key. A Digital Signature Certificate acts a Credit Card that establishes the credentials of the holder while performing business or other transactions on the web.
Added Security
A digital signature offers more security than an electronic signature. The unique identifying “fingerprint” data in a digital signature remains permanently embedded within a document.
Independent verification
Digital signatures from companies can withstand stringent independent verification and cannot be altered by unauthorized parties.
Long-term retention and access
The signatories to a digital signature document do not need to rely on a vendor’s continued presence in the marketplace in order to continue to verify its authenticity.
Global acceptance & legal compliance
Digital signatures are being accepted largely on legally binding documents because they understand that the security protocols are in compliance with international standards in the field.
Applications for Digital Singature Certificate
Income Tax
e-filing is mandatory for those with annual income of more than Rs 10 lakh. However, one does not need digital signature to authenticate the tax return in such a case.
Foreign Trade and Digital Signature Certificates
The digital signature certificate has made foreign trade more transparent and effective. The companies that earlier required to do a lengthy paperwork can now complete any documentation very easily through Digital Signature Certificate for DGFT.
e-Tendering / e-Procurement
A Digital Signature Certificate is essential for companies and organizations that take part in e-Tendering processes.A Digital Signature Certificate also ensures greater security in other online transactions.
Employee Provident Fund
EPFO(Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) has introduced online transfer claims which require Class 2 Digital Signature Certificate or above. This has made the transfer process transparent and efficient.
MCA e-filing
A Digital Signature Certificate helps make light work of various transactions related to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, or Registrar of Companies.
Types of Digital Singature Certificate
Cosmic Infotech issues 2 classes of Certificates, viz: Class 3 and DGFT. Each class of digital signature certificate is associated with specific security features and corresponds to a specific level of trust.
A Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate is of the highest level as it is issued by a Registration Authority.
Since e-filing has been made mandatory in ROC, every Director or the signing authority needs to have its Digital Signature Certificate. It is now compulsory to obtain a Class 3 certificate with PAN encryption for a person authorized to sign manual documents and file returns with the ROC. It is also mandatory for a person to obtain a Class 3 certificate with PAN encryption for filing his Income Tax return in India. To participate in online auctions or submit e-tenders online, an individual must possess a Class 3 certificate. Without a Class 3 certificate, one cannot submit e-tenders or participate in online auctions.
A DGFT Digital Signature Certificate is similar to a Class 3 certificate and differs only in area of application.
DGFT stands for The Directorate General of Foreign Trade. A DGFT certificate is required for the Import and Export Industry indulged in Foreign Trade.