New Regulations on Digital Signature Registration Released

India’s Income Tax Department has released new regulations on registering digital signatures for filing income tax returns effective beginning today.

The department has made revisions on its Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) registration process. The authorized signatory for the DSC has the option to follow the existing procedure or the new procedure highlighted below:

* The authorized signatory must use a new DSC with the encrypted value of his Permanent Account Number (PAN), as issued by certifying authorities
* Enter the authorized signatory’s PAN number while registering the DSC. The same person must also enter the same PAN in the verification portion of the I-T Return which he is signing in his capacity as Director/ Partner/Karta/Authorized Signatory
* If the authorized signatory PAN number matches the encrypted value of the PAN present in the DSC, then the DSC will be registered after selecting the appropriate type of DSC, either .pfx or USB token and clicking “Select Your .PFX File Certificate.”
* If an individual is registering his DSC for personal income tax return submissions then his PAN as per login should match the encrypted PAN contained in the DSC
* The registered DSC can now be used when individuals and companies file for their income tax returns

A person is qualified to be the authorized signatory under the following conditions:

* Company managing director or any other director if managing director is unavailable
* Any authorized person holding a legal power of attorney for non-resident companies
* Company managing partner or any other partner if the latter is unavailable
* Principal officer or chief executive officer or competent person in cases wherein the entity is an association of persons, body of individuals, artificial juridical person or local authority
* Head of the family or karta for a Hindu Undivided Family
* Individuals filing personal income tax returns or
* Any authorized person holding a legal power of attorney for individuals unable to sign an income tax return or is absent from India

---