E-Signature Laws in India | Everything you need to know

Digitalization in India is taking over the traditional business environment by storm, causing India to shift towards a paperless economy by enhancing its digital infrastructure. Through automation and digitalization of business operations, e-signing in India is becoming the method of choice to authorize and approve documents and transactions. However, e-signing laws in India dictate the validity, functionality, and usage of e-signatures.

The question hence arises,

What are e-signatures and what are the basic laws of e-signatures in India?

What are e-signatures?

E-signaturesare the digital, or electronic version of the conventional ink and paper signatures, which indicate the intent of an individual, organization, or authority to agree to the contents of a document, contract, transaction, or administrative data.E-signatures in India are bound by a set of laws for e-signing processes of businesses.

Also Read: e-Signing and its Benefits for Business

What are the laws for e-signing in India?

E-signatures in India are governed by :

1. Information Technology Act, 2000 (ITA)

2. Indian Contract Act of 1872 (ICA)

3. Electronic Signature or Electronic Authentication Technique and Procedure Rules, 2015 (ESEATPR)

4. Indian Stamp Act, 1899, and the relevant state stamp acts.

These e-signing laws form the basis for all electronic signing activities.

Primarily, the Information Technology Act, 2000 (ITA) is the governing law for e-signing in India. The ITA sets basic benchmarks for the rules of e-signing to be followed.

What are the types of e-signature in India?

As recognized by the IT Act, e-signature in India can be broadly categorized into two types,

1. E-signatures that combine an Aadhaar with an eKYC service

With the use of an online integrated e-signature service with an application service provider (ASP), anyuser with an Aadhaar ID can make use of secure digital signing in India through a mobile or web app interface.
This app interface can be used for online e-signing in India for any document by means of authentication of their identity using eKYC services.

2. Digital signatures that are generated by an asymmetric crypto-system and hash function

An 'asymmetric crypto system' provides a secure pair of keys (a public key and a private key), which can be used to verify and create an e-signature in India. Here the user obtains anelectronic signature from a certifying authority in the form of a digital signing certificate that includes the name of the user, public key, the expiration date of the certificate, and other relevant information.
Alongside, a USB token is also issued to the user containing a digital certificate-based ID and a personal PIN to sign the document.

What are the requirements for the reliability of e-signatures?

As per the IT Act, to be considered valid, the e-signatures in India must satisfy the following conditions,

1. The e-signing laws in India state that the e-signatures must be linked to the person signing the document in the form of a government-issued digital ID.
2. The signer must have complete control over the data used in the generation of the electronic signature by directly affixing their e-signatures to the document.
3. As given in the e-signing laws in India, any alterations to the affixed e-signature must be detectable after the e-signing by the use of a tamper-evident seal.
4. There should be an audit trail describing the steps taken in the electronic signing process.
5. As per the e-signing laws in India, the digital signature certificate must be issued by a Certifying Authority (CA), as recognized by the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA).

When can you not use an electronic signature?

As given in the IT Act 2000, e-signatures in India cannot be used in all classes of documents and there are specific cases that require the use of conventional wet/physical signatures. Listed below are the cases in which laws of e-signatures are considered invalid,

1. In the case of any contract for the sale of immovable property in India or any contract, interest, or conveyance in such property, e-signing laws cease to exist and wet signs are to be considered valid.

2. As stated under the laws for e-signing in India, in the case of power of attorney as per Section 1A of the Powers of Attorney Act, 1882, electronic signatures cannot be used.

3. A will and/or testament disposition as per Section 2(h) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 cannot be authorized using e-signatures as per the e-signing rules.

4. E-signatures cannot be used in the case of a negotiable instrument such as a promissory note or bills of exchange other than a cheque, as per Section 13 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

5. A trust deed as per Section 3 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 must not be signed using electronic signatures as per the e-signing laws in India.

   
   

When can e-signatures be revoked?

The e-signing laws in India state that, under certain conditions, the CA can revoke the digital signature certificate, deeming the use of DSC invalid.

1. The e-signing rules mention that an electronic signature can be revoked on the request of the e-signer to revoke the DSC.

2. In the case of insanity or death of the e-signer, the e-signatures can be revoked.

3. At the time of winding-up, dissolution, or insolvency of the company, the electronic signatures will be revoked.

4. Electronic signatures can also be revoked in the case of misrepresentation, falsification, or hiding of facts on the part of the e-signer.

5. Inability to fulfill the requirement for the issue of DSC.

How to know if your e-signatures are valid?

e-signatures will be considered invalid in the following cases,

1. The DSC has not been issued by a Certifying Authority (CA).

2. The subscriber in the list has not accepted the DSC.

3. The certificate has been suspended, revoked, or canceled.

Web-e-Sign for all your e-signing requirements

To fulfill all the statutory and compliance requirements of digital signing is definitely not an easy job. The task, however, doesnb t end with acquiring e-signatures that follow all the e-signing laws in India, integrating the e-signatures into your work processes in a fast and secure manner, requires a smart e-signing solution.

But what is the best e-signing solution for your business?

Web-e-sign is the solution that you have been looking for to resolve all your e-signing problems and follow all the e-signing rules.

What is Web-e-Sign?

Web-e-Sign is the e-signing solution for your business that ensures automated bulk digital signing with an advanced and seamless integration that helps you meet all your business requirements and comply with all the e-signing rules.

What makes Web-e-Sign better?

Web-e-sign is a smart e-signing solution by Webtel that offers a pool of features, making it the best e-signing solution for your business. Discussed below are some of the key features that make web-e-sign the best e-signing solution for you.

1. Web interface with logs and reports: Web-e-Sign offers a web interface to track all activities like batch time schedule, log sheets, mail settings, etc.

2. Signing Facilities with Collaboration: With the help of Web-e-Sign by Webtel, you can align multiple authorized signatories for affixing their digital signatures on documents.

3. Signing with auto intelligence: Web-e-Sign facilitates one-time settings to the configuration and scheduling of documents for signing and adds automation to the signing process.

4. The perfect solution even for non-ERP users: Even a non-ERP user can use Web-e-Sign by manually affixing a digital signature to various documents.

5. ERP integration through API/T-Code: Seamless integration with any ERP through API and T-Code mode. All assistance is given from API/T-Code documentation to the implementation process.

6. Sending signed documents: Web-e-Sign helps to email the signed pdf documents to the requisite department e.g. appointment letters etc. can be e-mailed to the HR department and invoices to the accounts department.

7. Enhanced security with anti-tampering of signature: With Web-e-Sign you get enhanced security where all activities on a document are tracked, time-stamped, and free from tampering/ manipulation/ alteration.

8. Document signer certificate: We provide a document signer certificate issued in the name of the organization which is issued by the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) for server-level signature (Integrated Signature Solution).

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