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.

What are e-signatures?

E-signatures are 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 the e-signing processes of businesses.

What are the laws for e-signing in India?

E-signatures in India are governed by :

• Information Technology Act, 2000 (ITA)
• Indian Contract Act of 1872 (ICA)
• Electronic Signature or Electronic Authentication Technique and Procedure Rules, 2015 (ESEATPR)
• 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?

• 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.

• 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 an electronic 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.

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,

• The e-signing laws in India state that e-signatures must be linked to the person signing the document in the form of a government-issued digital ID.
• 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.
• 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.
• There should be an audit trail describing the steps taken in the electronic signing process.
• 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,

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

• The e-signing rules mention that an electronic signature can be revoked at the request of the e-signer to revoke the DSC.
• In the case of insanity or death of the e-signer, the e-signatures can be revoked.
• At the time of winding-up, dissolution, or insolvency of the company, electronic signatures will be revoked.
• Electronic signatures can also be revoked in the case of misrepresentation, falsification, or hiding of facts on the part of the e-signer.
• 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,

• The DSC has not been issued by a Certifying Authority (CA).
• The subscriber in the list has not accepted the DSC.
• The certificate has been suspended, revoked, or canceled.

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

Fulfilling all the statutory and compliance requirements of digital signing is definitely not an easy job. The task, however, doesn'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.

• Web interface with logs and reports: Web-e-Sign offers a web interface to track all activities like batch time schedules, log sheets, mail settings, etc.
• 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.
• Signing with auto intelligence: Web-e-Sign facilitates one-time settings for the configuration and scheduling of documents for signing and adds automation to the signing process.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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).