On July 31, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) issued a circular extending the permission granted under circular no. SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD1/CIR/P/2020/63 dated April 17, 2020 (“Circular”), to use digital signature certifications for  authentication/certification of filings/submissions made to the stock exchanges under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (“LODR Regulations”).

This Circular was issued further to a representation from the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (“ICSI”) that due to the COVID -19 pandemic and precautionary measures for its curtailment, company secretaries continue to face operational challenges in carrying out certification and authentication of documents in physical form.

Based on the representations received from ICSI, the permission granted under the Circular has been extended and would be applicable towards any filings/submissions made to stock exchanges from July 1, 2020 upto December 31, 2020.

Please note that the manner of authentication of an electronic record affixed with an electronic signature is subject to the e-authentication techniques, as provided under the provisions of Schedule 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Please find a copy of the Circular dated July 31, 2020 here.

Contributed by Suchita Ambadipudi (Partner) and Mitali Jain (Associate).