eStamp Information

SignCare issues digital eStamp certificates through two providers — NeSL (National E-Governance Services Limited) and SHCIL (Stock Holding Corporation of India). Both issue stamps on a 24×7, on-the-fly basis (digital copy issued immediately; physical copy, where applicable, dispatched periodically). This page covers where each provider operates, the government charges that apply, and how to choose between them.

1. State availability — NeSL vs SHCIL (24×7, on-the-fly)#

A ✓ means the state is available on that provider for on-the-fly digital issuance. ✓* denotes a NeSL state that requires a separate wallet.

2. NeSL government charges#

NeSL charges are made up of two parts: a fixed agreement charge (charged once per agreement, regardless of how many eStamps it contains) plus a per-eStamp charge.

Worked examples:

These are in addition to the actual state stamp duty (the value of the stamp itself).

3. SHCIL government charges#

SHCIL service charges are slab-based on the stamp-duty amount and vary by state. Bands (₹): ≤49 · 50 · 51–99 · 100 · 101–499 · 500–1000 · 1001–5000 · 5001–9999 · >9999.

These are in addition to the actual state stamp duty.

4. Provider comparison#

Which to choose:

• Need a state only NeSL covers (e.g. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Manipur) → NeSL.
• Need Chandigarh, the only state SHCIL covers and NeSL does not → SHCIL.
• State available on both → choose on commercials (per §2/§3 and your per-eStamp API tier) and on whether you want template-driven document generation (SHCIL) or transactional multi-party financial contracts (NeSL).

5. Onboarding#

Both providers require an onboarding step before live issuance. See the Going Live page for the full process, lead times, and prerequisites.

Details required for NeSL onboarding:

• Name of the entity
• CIN
• Registration / License No. (RBI / IRDA / SEBI)
• Date of Incorporation (DOI)
• PAN / Employee Code & Designation of the signatory
• NeSL agreements (format provided by your account manager)

Details required for SHCIL onboarding:

• Name of the entity
• CIN
• Registration / License No. (RBI / IRDA / SEBI)
• Letter of Authority on company letterhead — authorising SignCare to provide digital stamps (format provided by your account manager)

6. Operational notes & limitations#

• Prepaid only. Stamp duty and all charges are deducted from that provider's prepaid wallet (NeSL or SHCIL). Keep each one you use funded — issuance fails on insufficient balance.
• Success-only billing. You're charged only when the provider returns a successful response. Failed requests cost nothing. SHCIL issues the stamp in the background, so its generate response shows isBillable: false. The charge is made when the stamp is issued.
• No refunds on issued stamps. Once an eStamp is generated it cannot be revoked or refunded. (SHCIL document deletion before issuance completes is the only exception and follows SHCIL's own rules.)
• Separate NeSL wallet for ✓* states. Fund it independently.
• State coverage changes. The matrix in §1 reflects current availability; providers add/withdraw states periodically. Confirm with your account manager for a state not listed.
• Taxes extra. All figures are exclusive of GST.

See also#

• Going Live — onboarding steps, lead times, prerequisites per provider
• NeSL eStamp API — request/response reference
• SHCIL eStamp API — request/response reference + integration guide
• Physical eStamp API — physical stamp procurement
• Environments — UAT vs Live URLs