Procedure for Obtaining Digital Signature by Foreign Vendors | Participate in Indian tender for Foreign Bidder/ Contractor/ Architect/ Consultant/ Agency.

Tendering Procedure:

Bid document will be available on website up to date shown in Government e-procurement website of https://eprocure.gov.in/
Bidder’s wishes to participate in tender will have to register on website https://eprocure.gov.in/
Bidders who wish to participate in online tender will have to procure /should have valid digital Signature certificate.

What is e-Procurement software system (https://eprocure.gov.in/)?

e-Procurement software system (GePNIC) is developed by National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology as a product in consultation with Procurement Policy Division, DoE, Ministry of Finance for facilitating electronic Procurement in Government. It is used by – 30 States & Union Territories and over 600+ Central Government Procuring Entities.

HOW TO REGISTRATION in e-Procurement Website ?

1) Bidders are required to enroll on the e-Procurement module of the Central Public Procurement Portal (URL: https://eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app) by clicking on the link “Online bidder Enrollment” on the CPP Portal which is free of charge.

2) As part of the enrolment process, the bidders will be required to choose a unique username and assign a password for their accounts.

3) Bidders are advised to register their valid email address and mobile numbers as part of the registration process. These would be used for any communication from the CPP Portal.

4) Upon enrolment, the bidders will be required to register their valid Digital Signature Certificate (Class III Certificates with signing key usage) issued by any Certifying Authority recognized by CCA India, with their profile.

5) Only one valid DSC should be registered by a bidder. Please note that the bidders are responsible to ensure that they do not lend their DSC’s to others which may lead to misuse.

6) Bidder then logs in to the site through the secured log-in by entering their user ID /password and the password of the DSC / e-Token.

What is Digital Signature (class-III)?

Bidders who wish to participate in online tender will have to procure /should have legally valid digital certificate (class-III) as per Information Technology Act-2000 using which they can sign their electronic bids. Bidder can procure the same from any of the license authority of India.

As per the IT ACT 2000, all bidders who participate in the online bidding process in this site should possess a valid “Digital Signature” issued by any of the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) vendors approved by CCA, India (https://cca.gov.in).

Digital signature certificate is required as part of the two-factor authentication as well as signing of bid documents while working with e-Procurement portal.

Digital Signature Certificate Specification:

Digital Signature Certificate (Signing usage only) of type Class 3 (class-III) issued by any Certifying Authority (CA) under Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) of India.

Certifying Authorities:

Certifying Authorities under CCA are issuing Digital Signature to Foreign Vendors. As on date 20th May 2021, below are the names of the vendors issuing DSC to Foreign Vendors.

Capricorn Identity Services Pvt. Ltd.
eMudhra
Sify Technologies Limited
VSIGN

Procedure for Obtaining Digital Signature (DSC):

As of now, it is learnt that eMudra and Sify Technologies Limited issue DSCs with the following procedure. Generally, the documents that are required to be submitted by Foreign Nationals are as follows:

Email id, mobile number, photo, scanned copy of proof of identity and scanned copy of proof of address are required to be submitted.

Foreign Individual:

For identity proof, the scanned copy of Passport/Local Govt issued identity/ PAN/ OCI passport can be submitted.
For the address proof the scanned copy of passport/OCI passport/local government issued id having address/bank details having address/any utility bills in the name of applicant issued within three months, or document issued from embassy with residential address can be provided.

Foreign Organization:

Scanned copy of organisational id, organisational email id, mobile number, organisational address and letter of authorization from organisation are required.
For the proof of organisational existence, publically verifiable and listed/recognized by local government reference of organisation in database/registry shall be provided.
If the organisation is already registered/empanelled in government organizations of India, then the scanned copy of the letter of request issued from Indian government organisation with the details of DSC applicant can be accepted as address proof/existence of organisation for DSC issuance. Bank account statement in the country of residence, duly attested by Indian Embassy / High Commission / Consulate / Apostille in the country, where the applicant is currently located. (At least 6 months of Bank transactions) with the proof indicating the account is owned by the Individual.

How to Apply for Digital Signature Certificate?

Procure Digital Signature Certificate in few simple steps:

Open the Website: https://www.emudhradigital.com/
Click on "Buy Certificate"
Select user type based on your use-case (Individual or Organization).
Select certificate type as per your requirement. By default you can select "Signature" as certificate type for all your digital signing purposes. Please note that you need to select "both" (signature & encryption) as the certificate type in case you want to use it for e-Tendering.
Select the validity period as per your requirement (for example:1 year/ 2 years/3 years).
Click on "Buy Certificate" to proceed with your purchase.
Verify your identity through online paperless process.
Download your Digital Signature Certificate.

Note: The Information given by the vendors is attached for facilitating the Foreign Nationals to procure DSCs from the Indian CA authorized vendors for information purpose only as shared by the respective CA's.

Please visit respective CA’s websites for detailed and latest information on procurement of DSC.

Digital Signature | Foreign Vendors Digital Signature| Participate in Indian tender for Foreign Bidder