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Types of Digital Signatures Certificate

Types of Digital Signatures Certificate

A Digital Signature is an electronic signing media that proves the authenticity of the user. So it is important to choose the right digital signature. You will find different types of digital signatures in the market. But you should choose one as per your need only. Below is the list of digital signatures available in India and their application.

Types of Digital Signature

Uses of Digital Signature

Out of above mentioned 6 types of digital signing certificates, Class 1 and Class 2 are not used anymore. They are discontinued on 01-Jan-2021. So actually, we have 4 types of certificates to choose from. Refer to the below table to know the use of each digital signature.

Types of DSCDSC Application
DGFT Digital SignatureDGFT Portal for Import Export transactions. So only use for it, only IEC ready applicants apply for it.
Document SignerUsed for bulk document signing like emails, Invoices, etc. Generally, It is installed on a server for auto signing.
Foreigner Digital SignatureForeign individuals and organizations use this. Like company formation, tax filling, etc. Because they are not eligible for normal DSC.
Class 3 Digital SignatureIncome Tax Filing, Company Registration, Annual Compliances, PF submission, online tender and auctions, Icegate portal, Trademark and patent registration, GST filling, Logo registration, etc.

Availability of Digital Signatures

Due to high application, class 3 DSC is the most popular one. Therefore we recommend buying Class 3 DSC for multipurpose applications. But The good news is that all above mentioned digital signatures are listed on Apicountry. You can apply for the required certificate, complete your verification and download it. It will be prepared in 15 minutes only. So get your digital signature now.

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Sign PDF Document Using Digital Signature

Sign PDF Document Using Digital Signature

A working USB Token can be used to sign a PDF document easily. There should be an active digital signature present inside the token to sign the pdf. We need to install the acrobat signing component on our local computer.

To sign any pdf document, open your pdf document in acrobat reader. Click ‘Tools’ on the menu bar, and select the certificate option. Now a Certificate menu bar will appear just below the menu bar. You need to click on the ‘Digitally Sign’ option. Now your mouse cursor will change to select any portion of the opened pdf document. Please select the portion where you want to display your signature. Once you select the portion, acrobat will display available signatures to select from. Now you need to select your signature and save the digitally signed pdf document. Once saved, you can use that signed document as many times as you wish.

The detailed process is described in the below video tutorial. Watch it to learn and understand the signing process of any pdf document using a valid USB token containing a digital signature.

Video Tutorial on using USB token to sign a pdf document.

Conclusion

You can use any USB token with a valid digital signature for pdf signing purposes. The popularly used tokens are Proxkey Watchdata, ePass2003Auto Tokens, etc. You can purchase one for yourself and get a new digital signature. Buy a Class 3 digital signature which is used for multiple purposes.

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Why 3-Year Valid Digital Signature Not Available?

Note: 3 Year Validity Digital Signature is now available. You can place an order for it. ?

3 Year-valid digital signature option has not been available since 05-MAR-2021. Except for Emudhra, all other Certifying Authorities(CAs) disabled the option to apply 3year validity DSC. Although Emudhra issued 3 year DSC, it is not giving an exact three-year valid certificate. But why so happening? What is the reason behind stopping the issuance of only 3-year valid certificates? ?‍♀️

Before we understand the reason behind this, we must know who actually issues the certificates. In India, Government empowers The Office of Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) to issue digital signature certificates. CCA is the supreme authority and controls all CAs. Although CCA can directly issue a certificate, it generally does not. Rather it provides authority to CAs who issue certificates on behalf of the CCA. ?

Due to CAs derive power from CCA, they must act according to the rules and regulations of later. Whatever binds on CCA, the same lies on CAs. The Government of India, generally, gives 5-year license validity to CCAs and thus the CAs should operate within this time frame. At present, the CCA license validity will expire on 5th March 2024. Therefore no CAs can issue a certificate beyond that period. This is the reason why most all CAs suspended the issuance of 3year valid certificates. However, Emudhra issued a 3year certificate with an expiry date of 5th March 2024 only.

Again, this is not going to stay like this forever. Indian Government soon renew the CCA license validity for another 5 years soon. Once it is renewed, CAs again continue to issue 3year valid certificates.?

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Class 2 Vs Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate

Digital Signature Price List

Class 2 and Class 3 Digital Signature are widely used variants of DSC. It is very confusing for new users whether to get a Class 2 or Class 3 certificate. The reason is obvious the price differentiation. While Class 2 is available at a relatively cheaper price earlier, now the price of both is exactly the same. However, we will discuss the uses of both certificates in this article. It helps you to decide what to choose for your use✌.

CCA department has distinguished between class 2 and class 3 digital signature uses. According to it, there are limitations in the use and acceptance of these certificates. The class represents the level of security it holds and the authority level it contains. For general understanding, we have listed the differences in the following table.

Class 2 Digital Signature

  • It is the second level of certificate and without critical security configuration.
  • It is used for all general-purpose signing.
  • IT return filing, GST filing, Company registration, Trademark registration, ROC filing, Contractor tender, IRCTC, and EPF use is some major use of this certificate.
  • It is cheaper compared to Class 3 DSC.
  • A class 2 certificate can not be used in place of a class 3 certificate.
  • Note: Class 2 DSC is discontinued now. You need to use Class 3 DSC in place of Class 2.

Class 3 Digital Signature

  • It is the highest level of certificate and comes with a higher security configuration.
  • It is mostly used for E-tender and E-auction purposes. Some categories of Trademark and Patent registration are also needed in class 3 DSC for submitting an application.
  • One can use it in all places where Class 2 DSC is accepted.
  • Cost is higher compared to Class 2 DSC price.
  • Apply for class 3 DSC online in just 30 minutes.
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Digital Signature Certificate Uses

Use of Digital Signature Certificate

Digital Signature Uses. Use of Digital Signature Certificate in India. Following are the places where the digital signature is used for all transactions.

Digital Signature Certificate is used for the following purposes.

Income tax return filling.
GST registration.
GST return filling.
All types of Company registration (LLP, LTD, PVT LTD, OPC, etc.)
Annual compliance filing of all types of companies.
All other transactions in the MCA portal.
Import-export transaction in DGFT portal.
Trademark registration and logo registration.
Patent registration or application.
IRCTC vendor transaction.
Employee provident fund transaction.
Mgnrega contractor use.
Government organization transaction.
Panchayat office transaction.
eTender and eAuction transaction.

Digital signature uses are increasing day by day. There are many other websites where a digital signature is used for all transactions. It is practically impossible to list all websites. He has listed some major sites only.

List of websites accepting DSC for Tender

Following are some major sites accepting class 3 digital signatures for submitting a tender.

Government of India eProcurement System.
Indian Oil Corporation.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Coal India Limited.
Government of India eTender Portal.
Organisations under MoD
Maharashtra Tender
Engineering Projects (India) Ltd.
West Bengal Tender
ENERGY EFFICIENCY SERVICES LIMITED
Airport Authority of India
Assam Water Resource
National Informatics Centre

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Digital Signature Price List

Digital Signature Price List

Following is the Digital Signature price list. It includes the price of different Certifying Authority as per the April 2020 notification. RAs are free to set prices in accordance with this list are a small variance can be made. Service charge can be added extra as per the requirement of the client.

Digital Signature Price List

The digital signature price list includes only certificate costs. The token cost will be extra. There are 13 Tokens approved by the CCA of Govt of India.

Certificate NamePrice in INRAvailable CA’s
Class 3 Sign Only – 2Yr499Emudhra, Capricorn & Vsign
Class 3 Sign Only – 3Yr770Emudhra, Capricorn & Vsign
Class 3 Sign With Encryption – 2Yr899Emudhra, Capricorn & Vsign
Class 3 Sign With Encryption – 3Yr1400Emudhra, Capricorn & Vsign
IET DGFT – 1Yr999Emudhra, Capricorn & Vsign
IET DGFT – 2Yr1199Emudhra, Capricorn & Vsign
IET DGFT – 3Yr1799Emudhra, Capricorn & Vsign
Document Signer – 2Yr19000Emudhra, Capricorn & Vsign

Apicountry Digital Signature Price List

We follow the approved price list as per Certified Authorities under CCA of Govt of India. Token price if required will be added extra during the order. Our price includes taxes as well as the one-time shipping cost of Speedpost.

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Definition Of Digital Signature Certificate

Digital signature definition: It is defined as “A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of digital messages or documents. A valid digital signature, where the prerequisites are satisfied, gives a recipient very strong reason to believe that the message was created by a known sender (authentication) and that the message was not altered in transit.” Source: wikipedia.org

To simplify the digital signature definition, It is a medium to verify the authenticity of the user. If a digital signature is applied to any document, it gives strong reason to believe that it is sent by the person whose signature is present on it and no one else. it represents digital authenticity or approval of the document or message by the sender. It also confirms the document or message was not tampered with or altered during transit.

Digital Signature Meaning in general use.

To normal people, it is no use to tell a definition. So here is the simple meaning of digital signature. It is used to sign any digital form, document, etc that is applied or sent online. For example, if you filling out your income tax, you need to sign the form/pdf to submit it. You need to sign the form using a digital signature. Similarly, it is used to authenticate your acceptance of the bid amount while applying for e-tenders.

Now you might think, about how to get a digital signature or what are the uses of a digital signature certificate. Since it is a different subject, we discussed those topics in a separate article. You can check them and comment if that was helpful.

What is digital signature

If you prefer the Hindi language, watch the video tutorial to know the definition & meaning of DSC in Hindi.

You can buy digital signatures online from Apicountry. We do not require any hard copies. The application process is the completely paperless mode. We have Aadhaar & PAN verification links available for Individual applicants. Organizations simply need to send the scan copies only. Therefore we are the most popular digital signature provider since 2015.

We are associated with many Certifying Authorities. Major ones are Emudhra, Capricorn and Sify, etc. Since we have a dedicated link, we are able to get the DSC approved in no time. We also help you with the verification and documentation process. Write us if you have any other requirements.

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Unlock ePass2003 Auto Token CSP 2.0

Unlock epass2003auto USB Token

The below unlock process is only applicable for CSP 2.0 ePass2003 Auto tokens. If you are having the old token then refer to section 2 of the unlocking process.

Unlock ePass2003 Auto Token CSP 2.0

  • SO PIN for ePass2003 CSP2.0: SO pin for epass2003 auto tokens are not fully available. Sometimes or very rarely available on a case-to-case basis. We have to unlock it through OTP mainly. You can apply SO Pin/OTP for ePass2003auto Token here.
  • Find the attached admin utility form link https://apicountry.com/myuploads/ePass2003-Admin-Plugin.zip
  • Download and extract it.
  • Open the ePass2003-Admin-Plugin utility. (Close epass2003auto token manager before opening the Admin Utility.)
  • Click on the arrow above the Exit button.
  • Click on Unblock button given above and enter the SO PIN / OTP.
  • Enter the new PIN and confirm it.

Unlocking CSP 1.0 ePass2003Auto Token

To unlock a CSP 1.0 ePaas2003auto token, it must be upgraded to the newest CSP version. You can apply for upgrading the token CSP version here. Once CSP is upgraded, you can follow the above-mentioned process to unlock the token.

However, sometimes upgrading the CSP version might damage the digital signature certificate available inside it. Some certifying authorities allow re-download of digital signatures.

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ePass 2003 Auto Token CSP Upgrade Procedure

Upgrade epass2003auto csp version

ePass 2003 Auto Token Upgrade Procedure for New CSP Version 2.0.

CSP 2.0 refers to a new firmware version of a crypto token. Crypto Token is required to download a Digital Signature Certificate. As per the updated CCA guideline, CSP 2.0-enabled tokens can only be used to download a DSC after 1st July 2018. Hence all old tokens must be upgraded to be eligible for the DSC renewal process.

Process:

There are two ways to upgrade your ePass 2003 Auto Token. First is Interactive mode & second is Batch mode. If you are required to update a few tokens, say 2 nos, use Interactive mode. For a large number of tokens use Batch mode. Here we discuss both methods one by one. Prior to that, you need to download the ePass2003Auto Token CSP upgrade kit. Download the ePass 2003 Auto Token Upgrade kit here. After downloading, you will find a zip/rar file that you need to extract on your computer (You need WinRar software to extract the file).

Note: Please remove the old digital signature inside the token before updating.

After extracting, you will find many files. Now follow the below methods to upgrade according to the number of tokens you have.

a: Interactive mode:

1: Select the ePass-Update-Application.exe file as shown below.

2: Run the software, select Interactive mode & insert one token into the computer. you will see the serial number will show automatically as shown below.

3: Copy the serial number in a text file or word file one by one. Once all serial numbers are collected, buy the token upgrade key from here. We will generate the update key and send it to you.

4: Once you receive the updated keys, reopen the software. Select Interactive mode. Connect the token to the computer & update it using the key sent by us for that serial number. Please note that you can not update it if you have an existing certificate inside the token. you have to delete the old certificates first and then update them. Once the update is successfully done, the software show message “update successful”.

b: Batch Mode:

Open the Bulk-Serial-Number-Generator.exe file. run the file. A black screen will appear. Now insert a token & wait. the serial number will show on the black screen. Once it shows the serial number, remove the token & insert a new one. Connect all tokens like this one by one. The software will capture it & save the serial numbers in an xls/csv file in the same folder. see the below image. Once you get the SN.csv file, email it to support@apicountry.com. We will generate the update key & sent you back.

2: Once you receive the updated keys, reopen the software. Select Batch mode. Now click “Browse update key” & select the update.csv file sent from us. Now insert the token & wait till it shows the serial number. Once shown, click on update. If the update succeeds, it shows the message in the result area. Now remove the token & connect the next token to update. Follow the above steps & update all tokens.

3: If you have an old version of epass2003auto token installed on a computer, first uninstall it using windows add or remove the app application.

4: After uninstall, download the ePass2003auto-Setup file. run the software & install it. Once it is installed successfully, you can proceed to download the DSC. Also, you can watch the below video tutorial for more info.

https://youtu.be/RRygWPxN17w

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Download DSC Application Form

Download Digital Signature Application Form

Download DSC Application Form. Select your category and download the respective form. Fill out the form properly, scan it & send us along with supporting documents to process the DSC.

Note: With effect from 1st January 2021, all individuals, organizations & foreigners can apply in a paperless format. The mandate to send documents is withdrawn by CCA.

Download DSC Application Form
1-  Individual DSC Application Form.Download DSC Application Form
2-  Organization DSC Application Form.Download DSC Application Form
3-  Government Organization Form.Download DSC Application Form
4-  IET DGFT DSC Form.
5-  Foreign Individual DSC Form.
6-  Foreign Organizational DSC Application Form

To know more about class and types of digital signatures, refer to our separate article on this.