What is NeSL? How Can You Register with NeSL to Submit Information

What is NeSL?

National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) is India’s first Information Utility, and a union government company.

An IU functions as a compendium or encyclopedia of financial information, for both persons and entities to submit information to and obtain authenticated financial information from.

An IU provides all interested parties with a repository of trusted and trustworthy information, with which to make decisions.

Additionally, the data and certificates issued by NeSL are legally valid evidence, and the organization as a whole is aimed at resolving issues pertaining to insolvencies quickly and hence reducing non-performing assets in the banking sector.

What does NeSL do?

NeSL , as mentioned above, collects financial information, provides a platform for the authentication of this information, stores this information, and provides access to this data to the stakeholders in the insolvency resolution process.

NeSL performs these functions by offering certain “core services” –

To accept electronic submission of financial information
To safely and accurately record financial information
To authenticate and verify the financial information submitted
To provide access to the stored information to specified persons or entities

Now, in order to submit debt-related information to NeSL, a person or entity must first register with the utility.

How can you register with NeSL?

The process of registration with an IU differs for individual persons and entities. However, both processes involve the following.

Capturing a minimum amount of information including identity and contact details
Conducting a de-duplication check across all other IUs to ensure that the user is not already registered
Verifying the user against their ID
Uploading a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) and its verification with Certifying Authorities (CAs)
Receiving the acceptance of the terms of usage of the IU
Receiving the fees for IU usage
Allotting a Unique Identification Number (UIN)
Issuing a User ID and Password

Now let’s go through the processes of registration with an IU for an individual person and an entity.

For Individual persons

For individual persons registering with an IU, these regulations are to be followed.

Individual persons seeking to register with an IU are to provide their Aadhaar details only at the time of availing the IU’s services
The IU must conduct a de-duplication check, as mentioned before, to check if the user’s Aadhaar number has been used in the same or any other IU.
1. If the user has indeed verified their Aadhaar credentials before, the IU is to perform an identity verification with the UIDAI database through OTP-based ot biometric methods
2. If the user has not verified their Aadhaar credentials before, i.e if this is their first time availing an IU’s services; the IU is to verify the credentials in the same way mentioned above. Additionally, user details such as date of birth, address, mobile number, and email ID are to be captured as per UIDAI records and are to be used to create an internal registration record

No user IDs or passwords are to be issued to persons with Aadhaar and the IU is to provide alternative mechanisms to submit supporting documentation for foreign individuals and non-residential Indians.

Therefore, if you’re an individual who wants to register with an IU, all you need is an Aadhaar card.

For legal entities

For legal entities registering with an IU, the following procedure is to be followed.

1. The legal entity must furnish the following information to the IU.

Name of entity
Type of person/legal constitution
Indian/Overseas status
PAN as primary ID
CIN/LLPIN (if registered with MCA)
Date of incorporation
Name of the entity’s representative
Designation of the representative
Aadhaar or PAN of the representative
Primary & alternative email ID
Primary and alternative mobile number
Landline number (if available)
Registered office address
Communication/billing address

2. A de-duplication check is to be conducted along these lines –

If the entity has already been validated, it will be asked to log in
If not, the entity’s PAN is verified with the issuing authority
The entity’s representative will have his/her Aadhaar verified through OTP or biometric means. Additionally, PAN verification along with digital signature certificate is also permitted

3. The authorized representative of the legal entity must then submit a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or opt for Aadhaar eSign. In case DSC is submitted, the IU will verify its authenticity, along with other pertinent details such as the name of the legal entity (if provided along with DSC) and the name of the representative in the UIDAI database

4. The email ID and mobile number provided will then be verified via OTP or by sending a verification link

5. The representative will have to accept the terms and conditions before completing the registration

6. The process is completed by treating the PAN or Aadhaar as the entity’s Unique Identification Number (UIN)

7. Finally, a confirmation mail is sent by the IU to the email address provided. The IU additionally issues a login ID and a password

Unique Identifier Number and Unique Debt Identifier

We’ve seen UIN mentioned before, it’s worth going into more detail as to what it is and form it takes. We will also briefly touch upon Unique Debt Identifier (UDI) as it will be important when submitting information to an IU.

UIN is a unique identifier assigned to users of the IU. UIN is issued to every individual person or legal entity registered with an IU. For individual users, Aadhaar number (12 digits) is used as UIN, and PAN number (10 digits) will be used as UIN for legal entities.
UDI is a unique identifier assigned to information of debt. UDI will take the form of UIN suffixed with the loan account number allotted by the creditor.
- For individual persons, for example if the Aadhaar number is 469485907737 and loan account number is HP/01283/2017-18, UDI will be 469485907737HP/01283/2017-18
- For legal entities, if the UIN i.e PAN is AADPU6217E and loan account number is 12345678900987654321; then UDI will be AADPU6217E0012345678900987654321, with two zeroes added between PAN and loan account number to ensure that loan account number starts from the 13th digit of UDI

How can you submit financial information to NeSL?

Financial information is submitted to NeSL via Form C and all submitted information is to be done with the digital signature of the submitter.

Form C contains pertinent information regarding the two parties involved and details of the debt. Here’s an overview of the information to be submitted in Form C.

Submitter information, including:
1. UIN
2. Submitter’s name
3. Relationship to the debt
4. Date of incorporation/ DOB
5. Communication address
6. PIN code
7. Telephone & mobile number
8. Email ID
Other party information, including:
1. Relationship to debt
2. Counterparty name
3. Registered address
4. Address for communication & PIN code
5. Legal constitution
6. Date of incorporation
7. CIN/LLPIN if applicable
8. PAN & Aadhaar number
9. Contact person details
Debt information, including:
1. Loan account number
2. Date of sanction
3. Date of disbursement
4. Sanctioned amount
5. Nature of credit facility
6. Repayment frequency
7. Rate of interest
8. Lending arrangement
9. Outstanding amount
10. Amount overdue
11. Days past due
12. Security information
13. Default information

Users submitting information to NeSL must also note that –

- Any information submitted is to be digitally signed, with individuals afforded the option of Aadhaar eSign

Supporting documents to a debt or security can be submitted at any time.
All supporting documents must also be digitally signed, all documents regarding debt must have UDI and all documents regarding security must have CERSAI ID
All documents pertaining to balance sheet and cash flow must have UIN, i.e PAN
Once information is submitted, an acknowledgment email will be sent to the registered email ID

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