DSC for TRACES (TDS Portal): Statements, Corrections and Form 16

A Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) for TRACES is a Class 3 signing certificate for deductors, that is the employers, companies and banks that deduct tax at source. You register it once on the TRACES portal and use it to file TDS statements, file corrections and request consolidated files. This post covers who needs one, what the portal asks for, and how the registration works.

Who needs one

If you deduct tax at source on salaries, rent, professional fees or contractor payments, you file TDS statements on TRACES, and those statements are signed with a DSC. Companies, firms and banks all file as deductors. Employees who only download Form 16 or Form 16A do not need a DSC. The certificate is for the person who signs for the deductor, in their own name or in the name of the organisation.

What the portal needs

TRACES accepts a Class 3 signing DSC for individuals and organisations. The certificate is issued against a PAN, so the PAN on the certificate must match the PAN of the deductor account. One certificate serves one deductor account. The portal does not ask for encryption for this work, so a signing certificate is enough. You do not need a combo.

What you need before you apply

The certificate is issued against your PAN, so the name on the certificate must match your income tax records. You need your PAN card, your Aadhaar card linked to that PAN and to your mobile, and an email ID and mobile number for the DSC record. The photo and the ID are captured live in the Certifying Authority’s video KYC, so you do not send us a photo. An organisation applying in its name also sends the authorisation letter and the registration documents of the organisation.

How to get it from us

Order and pay on the site, then send us your documents on WhatsApp, by email or at our Udaipur office. We fill and submit the application to the Certifying Authority for you. You then confirm your mobile and email with OTPs, complete the Aadhaar OTP and video KYC with the Certifying Authority, and a final eKYC OTP on your phone approves the application. We assist you through the KYC. The certificate is issued on a USB token, which reaches you by courier or can be picked up from the office. Application support is included in the price. Current prices are on the Class 3 signing product page.

How to register it on the portal

Once the certificate is on your token, you register it on TRACES yourself. Log in, go to Profile, then Signature, then Register DSC. Select the certificate from the plugged-in token and enter the PIN. Registration is done once per portal. The same certificate works on the Income Tax e-Filing portal and on GST too, and each portal has its own registration.

When you sign a statement, TRACES uses its own DSC Utility. It is the portal’s signing tool: it reads your certificate from the token when you sign a statement or file. The portal prompts for it when it asks for a signature.

Renewal

A DSC is issued for 1 to 3 years. After expiry, signing stops, so plan the reissue before the expiry date, especially if a correction or a quarterly statement is due. A certificate already on your token keeps working until it expires, so there is no gap if you plan ahead. After a reissue, register the new certificate on TRACES again. Our DSC for TRACES page covers the same registration steps in more detail.