FAQs on UDIN for GST & Tax Audit

1. What is Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN)

Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) is 18- Digits system generated unique number for every document certified/attested by practicing Chartered Accountants.

2. What is the objective of UDIN

It has been noticed that financial documents/ certificates attested by third person misrepresenting themselves as CA Members are misleading the Authorities and Stakeholders. ICAI is also receiving numbers of complaints of signatures of CAs being forged by non CAs.

To curb such malpractices, the Professional Development Committee of ICAI 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 certificates attested/ certified by practicing CAs. This will also enable the Regulators/Banks/Third parties to check the authenticity of the documents.

3. What is the reference of 18-Digits of UDIN

The 18- digits UDIN (YY MMMMMM AANNNAANNN) will be like:

19304576AKTSBN1359

Wherein;

First 2 Digits are YY – Last 2 digits of the Current Year (19 in this case)

Next 6 Digits are MMMMMM – ICAI’s Membership No. (304576 in this case)

Next 10 Digits are AANNNAANNN – Alpha -numeric generated randomly by the system (AKTSBN1359).

4. Is there any fee for generation of UDIN

There is no fee for registration and generation of UDIN.

5. How is UDIN secure

UDIN is totally secure as it can be viewed only by the Member and/ or the Regulators/ other Stakeholders who are having the UDIN. Secondly, it does not contain any information of the client.

6. When to generate UDIN

UDIN is to be generated at the time of signing the Certificate . However, the same can be generated within 15 days of the signing of the same (i.e within 15 days from the date mentioned at Certificates and not beyond that).

7. For generating UDIN, is any document is required to be uploaded on UDIN Portal

No document is required to be uploaded for generating UDIN.

8. From 1st February 2019 UDIN is mandatory for all the certificates What is meant by Certificates

It is mandatory to obtain UDIN for all Certificates* issued where the Financial Information/related contents is certified as True and Fair / True and Correct.

Members attention is drawn that AASB (Auditing and Assurance Standard Board) of ICAI has already issued Guidance Note on Reports or Certificates for Special Purposes (Revised 2016) with illustrative formats, to be followed by the Practicing Chartered Accountants.

A dropdown illustrative list as below is appearing on the Portal from which the Member can select the certificate they are going to issue. In case their certificates are not matching with the list provided, Members are advised to select others and mention the nomenclature of the certificate in Document Description.

*Certificates includes Reports issued in lieu of a Certificate in terms of Guidance Note on Reports or Certificates for Special Purposes (Revised 2016)

9. What will not be covered under Certificates for UDIN which is being made mandatory w.e.f. 1st February 2019

Non-applicability of UDIN can be listed out but the list is not exhaustive. Like in the 1st phase, requirement of obtaining UDIN is Not Applicable for :

• Auditor’s Opinion/Reports issued by the Practicing Chartered Accountant under any Statute w.r.t. any entity or any person (e.g.: Tax Audit, Transfer Price Audit, VAT Audit, GST Audit, Company Audit, Trust Audit, Society Audit, etc.,
• Valuation Reports,
• Quarterly Review Reports,
• Limited Review Report
• Information System Audit,
• Forensic Audit,
• Revenue / Credit / Stock Audit,
• Borrower Monitoring Assignments,
• Concurrent / Internal Audit and the like,
• Any report of what so ever nature issued including Transfer Price Study Report, Viability Study Report, Diligence Report, Due Diligence Report, Management Report, etc.

10. Who can register on UDIN Portal

All Practicing CAs having full-time Certificate of Practice (CoP) can only register on the UDIN portal to generate UDIN.

11. Who has to generate UDIN

All Practicing CAs having full time CoP has to generate UDIN after registering on UDIN Portal.

12. Is any person other than CA is allowed to register at UDIN portal

No. Only CAs with full-time Certificate of Practice can register on UDIN portal to generate UDIN.

13. Is UDIN required for Certified True Copies also

No,UDIN is not required for certified true copies.

14. Can a Partner generate UDIN for the Certificate signed by another Partner

No, Only signing Partner has to generate UDIN.

15. Whether a Firm can register on UDIN Portal

No, only members of ICAI having full-time Certificate of Practice can register on UDIN Portal.

16. Who will generate UDIN for the assignment carried out by CA firm

Only the Partners signing the document for such assignment will have to generate UDIN.

17. Whether UDIN will be applicable only for manually signed documents or also for digitally signed certificates being uploaded online such as Form 15 CB

UDIN will be applicable both for manually as well as digitally signed Certificates / uploaded online. In case of digitally signed / online certificates, UDIN has to be generated and retained for providing the same on being asked by any third party/ authority.

18. Is UDIN required for original Certificate only or for duplicates also

UDIN is to be generated once only for Original Certificates. In case, duplicate certificate is being issued on the request of the client, same UDIN is to be mentioned.

19. Is UDIN to be generated for the assignments awarded before 1st February, 2019 as UDIN for certificates being made mandatory wef 1st February, 2019

UDIN is to be generated for all Certificates that are signed on or after 1st Feb., 2019.

20. Is UDIN applicable / useful for Members in Industry

Only Practicing CAs with full time CoP can register on the UDIN portal and can generate a UDIN.

21. Can Part Time CoP holder generate UDIN

No.Since part-time COP holders cannot certify the documents. Hence, they have no access to UDIN portal.

22. Whether UDIN is mandatory for each certification done

Yes, it is mandatory for all Certificates w.e.f. 1st February., 2019.

23. How to Register on UDIN Portal

To register on UDIN, please follow the below steps:

Step 1: Click Member Registration or click at For first time sign up, click here

Step 2: Registration window will be opened. After entering Six-digits Membership No., Date of Birth and Year of Enrolment please click Send OTP . An OTP will be sent to the registered Mobile and Email of the Member.

Step 3: On confirmation of OTP as received, a Username and Password will be sent to the registered Email and Mobile No.

24. Does a member have to register on UDIN Portal for generating UDIN

For generating UDIN, a member has to register on UDIN Portal for the first time compulsorily. Thereafter, he can just login and generate UDIN. Members who have already registered on UDIN Portal under recommendatory stage are not required to register again after UDIN being mandatory.

25. How to generate a Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN)

Step 1: Go to udin.icai.org, login by entering Username and Password.

Step 2: Click Generate UDIN from the menu bar.

Please Select Document type from the drop down menu.

Enter Date of Signing Document i.e. the date of signing/ certifying the document.

Then Enter 2 Financial Figures i.e. any Financial Figures from the document such as Turnover/Net Worth etc. Then Enter the Description of the Figure i.e. Turnover/ Net Worth etc. to be filled in 10 to 50 characters.

Two Financial Figures are mandatory out of 3 (three) given fields. In case, there is no Financial Figure in the Certificate, Zero (0) is to be mentioned in Financial Figure and in its Particulars mention There is no Financial Figure in Certificate .

Then please Select Document Description and enter the description/ details about the Certificate in 15 to 50 characters. Then Click the button Send OTP .

After this an OTP will be received on Registered Mobile and Email of the Member.

Then Enter OTP as received and click Preview . In Preview details entered for generating the UDIN will be displayed. If there is any change/error in the content, click Back button, or else, click Submit .

Thereafter, 18 Digit UDIN will be generated and that UDIN can be used for mentioning on the Certificate for which it has been generated either by printing (watermarked) the same or by handwritten or printed. If it is being handwritten or printed, it can be mentioned after Signatures and Membership Number of the Member.

26. Is it advisable to change the password after first login

The password generated by the system is encrypted to ensure the appropriate safety. However, interested Members may change the password at any time through Change Password button.

27. How to change the Password

1. Login.
2. Click Change Password .
3. Enter the current Password.
4. Enter new password, then click send An OTP will be sent on registered mobile and email.

On confirmation of the OTP as received, an Username and Password will be sent to the registered email and Mobile No.

28. What to do in case I forget the password

Step 1: Go to https://udin.icai.org.

Step 2: Click Forgot Password .

Step 3: Forgot Password form will be opened, enter six-digit Membership No., Date of Birth and Year of Enrolment and click Send OTP . An OTP will be sent on registered mobile and email.

Step 4: Enter the OTP as received and click Continue .

On confirmation OTP as received, a Username and password will be sent to the registered email and Mobile No.

29. What is required to generate UDIN

For generating UDIN, the Document type is to be selected. Thereafter, date of signing the document is to be mentioned. There are 3 fields for entering the financial figures / values from the document and the description of the figure/ value so entered. Out of these, 2 fields are mandatory. In case, there is no financial figure / value available in the document, 0 (zero) is to be mentioned and in description it should be clarified that no financial figure / value is available.

No details of the Client is to be mentioned anywhere on UDIN Portal.

30. What is meant by Date of signing Document

The date on which the Document is signed/ certified by the member is to be mentioned under this head.

31. What is meant by Document Description

Document Description is the details of the document for which the UDIN is being generated and is to be filled between 15 to 50 characters.

32. What are the Financial Figures and Particulars required to be mentioned for generating UDIN

Any Financial Figure and its particular from the document such as Turnover, Net worth etc. for which UDIN is being generated is to be mentioned under Financial Figures and Particulars. The particular is to be filled between 10 to 50 characters.

Two Financial Figures are mandatory out of three fields. In case, there is no financial figure in the certificate being certified, 0 is to be mentioned in Financial Figure and in its particular please mention There is no Financial Figure in Certificate .

33. How UDIN can be edited

UDIN once generated cannot be edited. A preview option is available after entering all details for generating UDIN for verifying its correctness before Generation.

34. What if the wrong UDIN is generated or if a UDIN needs to be revoked If yes, is there any time limit for revocation the certificates

In such case(s), UDIN can be revoked by mentioning the reason. Further, there is no time limit for allowing revocation.

35. How UDIN generated earlier by me can be tracked Can it be sorted assignment-wise for our records

Yes, UDIN generated by the members can be tracked through Search from your UDIN account.

36. How to Revoke UDIN

The UDIN once generated can be revoked or cancelled with narration. If any user had searched that UDIN before revocation, an alert message will go to him about revocation of the UDIN. After revocation of the UDIN, anybody searches for that UDIN, appropriate narration indicated by Member with the date of revocation will be displayed for that revoked UDIN.

37. What happens if the information is not accepted or the password is not sent

It will happen only when the credentials do not match with the database as maintained by the Regional Offices of ICAI. In such cases, the query may be lodged at UDIN portal.

38. How to Change/update /verify the mobile no. or email id in ICAI database

To change / update the email and mobile number, pl visit https://sdb.icai.org/member/updemX.aspx

39. Sometimes there are multiple reports in one Assignment. Is separate UDIN is to be generated for all such reports

No. UDIN is to be generated for Assignment wise and same UDIN is to be used in all documents signed under that assignment. Say for Example while signing the various certificates while doing Bank Audit, same UDIN can be used for all certificates to be signed for that particular Bank Audit Assignment.

40. How many UDINs can be generated by a CA Is there any limit Or is there any restriction on the number of UDIN to be generated in a Day/ Month/ Year

There is no limit on generation of UDIN and there is no restriction on the number of UDIN to be generated.

41. Is UDIN required to be mentioned on every page of the Document or it can be mentioned at the last

UDIN shall be mentioned after every Signature and Membership Number of the Member.

42. Whether fresh registration is required for every financial year

There is no need for fresh registration for every financial year.

43. Whether one UDIN can be used for multiple certificates generated on same day

No, separate UDIN is required for each assignment and is to be used for all documents issued under that assignment.

44. Can multiple certificate details be uploaded on UDIN portal in excel or any other format

There is no provision of such uploading. It has to be generated one by one.

45. Should existing digital signature be revised or changed due to UDIN insertion

UDIN has no connection with Member s Digital Signature and therefore no changes are required in Digital Signature.

46. Is it possible to generate UDIN before issuing the certificate

There is no option to generate UDIN in advance. However there is option given to generate UDIN within 15 days of signing of the certificate.

47. What is the validity of UDIN generated

Generated UDIN has no expiry unless revoked.

48. What is the consequence of not generating UDIN which are made mandatory by ICAI in respective phases

UDIN generation has been made mandatory as per the Council Decision hence not generating UDIN for mandatory documents will amount to non-adherence of the Council Decision and may attract disciplinary proceedings as per the Second Schedule Part II of The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.

49. How do Authorities/Regulators/Banks/Others can search UDIN

The UDIN so indicated on certificate can be searched through the search option on UDIN Portal by sharing few details such as Name of the Authority, Mobile Number and Email of the person searching the UDIN. However they are not required to register themselves on the UDIN Portal.

50. For searching UDIN, whether a regulator/third party requires to register on UDIN portal

No Registration is required for regulator/third party to search the certificate. For searching the UDIN regulator/third party has to mention UDIN number, Mobile number, email ID and Name of the authorities searching UDIN.

51. Which types of regulators/third parties can ask for UDIN

ICAI has made awareness about mandatory applicability of UDIN to all regulators like RBI, SEBI, CBDT, MCA, IBA and they can very well ask for UDIN.

52. Whether UDIN is mandatory for Statutory Bank Audit

For Statutory Bank Audit, UDIN is not mandatory. However, for all Certificates to be signed while conducting Bank Audit, generation of UDIN is mandatory as UDIN is already mandatory on all Certification w.e.f 1st Feb.,2019.

53. While conducting Bank Audit, whether separate UDIN has to be taken for all Certificates as there are bulk of certificates to be signed

UDIN has to be generated per Assignment per Signatory.

In Bank Branch Audit, One Branch is one assignment, hence, one UDIN for all certificates will suffice.

However, care should be taken that a list of all certificates bearing same UDIN should be compiled and handed over to management under a covering letter so that the UDIN generated cannot be misused by affixing on any other certificate which has not been signed by you.

54. In case if some Certificates are signed by one Partner while others are signed by another Partner, whether different UDIN is required for each such Partner

UDIN has to be taken per Assignment per Signatory. Bank Branch Audit per Branch is one assignment and hence one UDIN for all certificates is enough.

However, if different partners are signing different certificates then separate UDIN has to be taken per signatory for the certificates signed by them.

55. Whether UDIN is mandatory for Tax Audit

In the 2nd phase of UDIN applicability, ICAI Council has made generation of UDIN mandatory for all GST Audit and All Tax Audit from 1st April, 2019. Hence in Bank Branch Audit, separate UDIN has to be taken for Tax Audit.

56. Whether same UDIN which was generated for Certificates in Bank Branch Audit can be used for Tax Audit of the same Bank Branch

Tax Audit is the separate assignment. Hence separate UDINs have to be taken while conducting Bank Branch Audit for each Branch.

Therefore, 2 separate UDINs are to be generated one for Certificates and other for Tax Audit Report.

However, if certificates are signed by more than one partner then more UDINs on certificates have to be generated.

57. Whether UDIN is applicable to both Statutory Central Auditors (SCAs) and Statutory Branch Auditors (SBAs)

Yes, UDIN is applicable to both SCAs and SBAs for Certificates and Tax Audit Reports while conducting Bank Audit.

58. Whether UDIN is to be generated for LFAR and / or other Bank Audit Reports

As per UDIN applicability in 2nd Phase, UDIN is not required to be generated for LFAR and other Bank Audit Reports now.

59. What is the process to generate UDIN for certificates under Bank Audits

For generating UDIN, the Document type is to be selected as Certificates . Thereafter, date of signing of the document is to be mentioned. Under Type of Certificate select Certificate issued by Statutory Auditors of Banks .

There are 3 mandatory fields for entering the financial figures / values from the document and the description of the figure/ value so entered.

The names of the Certificates are to be mentioned under the Caption Document Description .

60. How to generate one UDIN for more than one Certificate when there are 3 mandatory filled to be given from the Certificates

While generating one UDIN for all the Certificates, some common figures /parameters should be given in 3 mandatory fields and if no common figure is there then name of the Bank and Branch, Advances, Deposits etc must be the one common field which can be correlated with all the certificates.

61. Whether UDIN is mandatory for Tax Audit Reports that are filed online using Digital Signature

UDIN will be applicable both for manually as well as digitally signed Reports / uploaded online. In case of digitally signed / online reports, UDIN has to be generated and retained for providing the same on being asked by any third party/ authority.

62. UDIN is mandatory on which types of Reports with effect from 1st April, 2019

As directed by the 379th ICAI Council Meeting held on 17th and 18th December, 2018 UDIN is mandatory for all Tax Audit Reports issued under IT Act, 1961 and GST Audit Reports issued under CGST Act, 2017 with effect from 1st April, 2019

63. Whether UDIN is also mandatory for Tax & GST Audit Reports that are filed online using Digital Signature

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.

64. What is the process to generate UDIN for Tax Audits

For generating UDIN, the Document type is to be selected as GST & Tax Audit . Thereafter, date of signing of Report is to be mentioned.

Relevant Section of Income Tax Act, 1961 is to be chosen under the Heading Particulars of Section / Form under which Report issued from the drop-down box which contains an illustrative list.

For reports issued under any other section of IT Act, 1961 which is not appearing in the list, UDIN can be generated by choosing Other Report under IT Act, 1961 and mention the details under Document Description

Thereafter, the key fields Figure/Value/Description are to be filled for generating UDIN.

65. What is the process to generate UDIN for GST Audits

For generating UDIN, the Document type is to be selected as GST & Tax Audit . Thereafter, date of signing of Report is to be mentioned.

Relevant Section of Central Goods & Services Act, 2017 is to be chosen under the Heading Particulars of Section / Form under which Report issued from the drop-down box which contains an illustrative list.

For reports issued under any other section of Central Goods & Services Act, 2017 which is not appearing in the list, UDIN can be generated by choosing Other Report under CGST Act, 2017 and mention the details under Document Description

Thereafter, the key fields Figure/Value/Description are to be filled for generating UDIN.

66. What are the Key fields under Figures / Values/Description in Tax Audits as per IT Act, 1961

• Under Section 44AB, the following 5 key fields are mandatory:

1. 1. Total Turnover as per Form 3CD
   2. Net Profit/ Turnover as per Form 3CD
   3. WDV of Fixed Assets as per Form 3CD
   4. Assessment Year
   5. Firm Registration Number (FRN)

In case where there is no figure/value available in the report related to above mandatory key fields from Sl. No. 1 to 3, mention 0 . The Assessment Year at Sl. No. 4 is to be filled in YYYY-YYYY format. In case, there is no FRN at Sl. No. 5 mention Not Applicable/NA and proceed.

Apart from above, one additional key field of PAN is there which is optional.

After this there is one more mandatory field as Document Description wherein text between 15 to 50 Characters from some portion of the report has to be mandatorily filled.

• For Other Tax Audit Reports other than Section 44AB, following 3 key fields are mandatory;

1. 1. Assessment Year
   2. Firm Registration Number (FRN)
   3. Any Figure/Value from the Report

The Assessment Year is to be filled in YYYY-YYYY format. In case, there is no FRN at Sl. No. 2 mention Not Applicable/NA and proceed. For 3rd Mandatory field some Figure/Value from report has to be mentioned. In case, there is no figure/value available in the report related to key fields at Sl. No. 3, mention 0 and proceed.

Apart from these, there are 3 additional key fields including PAN of the Assessee which are optional.

After this there is one more mandatory field as Document Description wherein text between 15 to 50 Characters from some portion of the report has to mandatorily filled.

67. What are the Key fields under Figures / Values / Description in GST Audits

• For Section 35(5) of CGST Act, 2017 – Form GST 9C, the mandatory key fields are as under:

1. 1. Turnover (incld. exports) as per Audited Financial Statements under Clause 5 (A) of Form 9C
   2. Turnover as declared in Annual Return (GSTR 9) under Clause 5 (Q) of Form 9C
   3. Assessment Year
   4. Firm Registration Number (FRN)

In case where there is no figure available in the form related to above mandatory key fields from Sl. No. 1 to 2, mention 0 . The Assessment Year at Sl. No. 3 is to be filled in YYYY-YYYY format. In case, there is no FRN as at Sl. No. 4, mention Not Applicable/NA and proceed.

Apart from the above, there are 2 more key fields including GSTIN of the Assessee which are optional.

There is one more mandatory field as Document Description wherein text between 15 to 50 Characters from some portion of the report has to mandatorily filled.

• For Section 66(1) of CGST Act, 2017 -Form ADT-04, the mandatory key fields are as under:

1. 1. Short payment of Tax as per Form ADT-04
   2. Any other amount as per Form ADT-04
   3. Assessment Year
   4. Firm Registration Number (FRN)

In case where there is no figure available in the form related to above mandatory key fields from Sl. No. 1 to 2, mention 0 . The Assessment Year at Sl. No. 3 is to be filled in YYYY-YYYY format. In case, there is no FRN as at Sl. No. 4 mention Not Applicable/NA and proceed.

Apart from the above, there are 2 more key fields including GSTIN of the Assessee which are optional.

There is one more mandatory field as Document Description wherein text between 15 to 50 Characters from some portion of the report has to mandatorily filled.

68. For Tax Audit under Section 44AB, whether separate UDIN is required for Audit Reports like Form 3CA/3CB and Form 3CD

No, UDIN has to be generated per assignment per signatory, hence, one UDIN to be generated and same UDIN to be mentioned in all the Forms such as 3CA/ 3CB and 3CD.

69. For other GST and/ or Tax Audit Reports, whether separate UDIN is required for various annexures

No, UDIN has to be generated per assignment per signatory, hence, one UDIN to be generated and to be mentioned in all Annexures if they are part of the Reports.

70. What will happen if I forgot to generate UDIN which are made mandatory by ICAI

UDIN can be generated till 15 days of signing the document. Further, it may be noted that UDIN generation is being made mandatory as per the Council Decision hence not generating UDIN will amount to non-adherence of the Council Decision and may attract disciplinary proceedings as per clause (1) of Part II of Second Schedule of The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.

71. Who can generate UDIN

Only Full time Practising Chartered Accountants with Active status can sign /attest documents and hence are allowed to register on UDIN Portal and generate UDIN.

In case of a firm, only signing partner can generate UDIN and no one else on behalf of another can generate UDIN.

72. In case I am a partner in multiple firms, which FRN I should mention while generating UDIN

The FRN of the Firm on behalf of which the member is signing the Report has to be mentioned. In case there is no FRN as Member is signing in his / her individual capacity, Not Applicable/NA to be mentioned against FRN.

73. Where do we contact in case of any query related to UDIN

Members can submit their query online on the help desk tab on Menu bar available at https://udin.icai.org or can email at [email protected].

Members can alternatively call at 011-30110480. In case of emergency, please speak with Mr. Vishal Agarwal at 9911539260.