KUALA LUMPUR May 17 - Mimos Bhd's iVEST and Digicert Sdn Bhd, the public key infrastructure (PKI)-based solution provider and premier licensed certification authority in Malaysia respectively, are targeting 20,000 new users of iVEST 4MyKad Online Kit this year.

"The figure is for e-filing service users. iVEST 4MyKad online kit also provides access to multiple applications such as e-banking, e-insurance and e-trading," said iVEST's marketing director, Ong Hock Kian, after the official launch of the secure e-filing service by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) here Monday.

E-filing is the latest e-service by IRB to enable company tax-payers to conveniently submit their tax returns over the Internet with a legally-binding digital signature.

It uses MyKad embedded with a digital certificate to sign and encrypt the form for submission.

PKI, on the other hand, is an international security standard design for secure online transactions and communications using cryptography and digital certificate technology.

With iVEST 4MyKad online kit, a MyKad would be PKI enabled, making it possible and easier for secure e-business transactions and e-public services.

Currently, iVEST 4MyKad online kit has more than 30,000 users and is distributed exclusively by One TechnoNiche Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile, at the same event, the chief executive/director-general of IRB, Tan Sri Zainol Abidin Abd Rasyid, said e-filing services could attract more users as there had been a surge in 2003 compared to 2002.

In 2002, out of 179,529 income tax forms submitted, six percent was done through e-filing. But as at April 30, 2003, of the 77,731 forms, 16.4 percent was done through e-filing.

"We are optimistic that more would joint in the bandwagon because it is so much easier," he said.

"We anticipate by August, the figure will jump up significantly."