Agreement with the counterparty on the use of electronic document management. Electronic document flow between organizations Agreement on electronic document flow
How to properly organize and document electronic document flow with counterparties (acts, invoices, delivery notes)? Should contracts reflect this?
To start electronic document management with counterparties, you need to reflect this condition in the accounting policy (Article 8 of the Federal Law dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ). At the same time, secure:
Volume of electronic document circulation,
Electronic document formats,
Cases when, instead of electronic documents, a company draws up documents on paper.
See below for a fragment of the accounting policy on electronic document management.
clause 1 art. 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, contracts need to reflect the provision for electronic document management. If several contracts have been signed with counterparties, then it is more convenient to draw up a separate agreement. The parties can draw up an agreement on electronic exchange of documents in any form. In the agreement (or in the contract) you can indicate, for example: the parties exchange invoices, acts, delivery notes in electronic form. Technical means and capabilities allow you to receive and process electronic documents. The exchange of invoices, acts, delivery notes in electronic form is carried out via telecommunication channels through the electronic document management operator Taxkom LLC in compliance with all provisions of the Procedure approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 25, 2011 No. 50n.
Rationale
From the form
Limited Liability Company "Alpha"
Accounting policies for accounting purposes
on 2016year
<...>
Electronic document management
1. To confirm the facts of economic life, unified forms of documents are used, the list of which is given in Appendix 1 to this order.
2. All primary documents are compiled in electronic form.
3. Electronic exchange of invoices in the TORG-12 form and acceptance certificates for work (services) is carried out in the format approved by order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated March 21, 2012 No. ММВ-7-6/172.
4. The exchange of electronic documents with counterparties is carried out through an electronic document management operator.
5. All primary accounting documents are signed with an enhanced qualified signature.
6. The right to sign primary documents is available to employees, the list of whom is given in Appendix 2 to this order.
7. Primary accounting documents are stored together with the signature key certificate used to generate the electronic digital signature of these documents for five years.
8. At the request of the tax inspectorate, primary documents are presented in the following form:
– invoices in the form TORG-12 and acts of acceptance and delivery of work (services) – in electronic form via telecommunication channels;
– all other primary documents – on paper in the form of certified copies.
<...>
From the form
AGREEMENT
on mutual issuance of invoices electronically
Moscow 06/17/2015
Limited Liability Company "Production Company "Master"" represented by chief accountant V.K. Volkov, acting on the basis of a power of attorney, on the one hand, and the limited liability company "Trading Company "Hermes"" represented by chief accountant A.S. Kondratyev, acting on the basis of a power of attorney, on the other hand, have drawn up an agreement as follows.
Limited Liability Company "Production Company "Master"" and Limited Liability Company "Trading Company "Hermes"" confirm mutual agreement to issue invoices addressed to the parties to the agreement in electronic form. Technical means and capabilities allow you to receive and process electronic invoices.
The exchange of invoices in electronic form is carried out via telecommunication channels through the electronic document management operator Taxcom LLC in compliance with all provisions of the Procedure approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 25, 2011 No. 50n.
Addresses and signatures of the parties:
Tax subtleties
Five steps to switch to electronic document management without problems with the tax authorities
Step one: make sure that you have the right to exchange electronic documents with the counterparty
Companies have the right to exchange electronic documents via TCS if the sender and addressee can be identified as parties to the transaction (clause 2 of Article 434 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The exchange of electronic messages is considered as an exchange of documents (Part 4 of Article 11 of the Federal Law of July 27, 2006 No. 149?FZ “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection”).
Electronic documents are signed with an electronic signature (clause 2 of Article 160 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Moreover, with one electronic signature, an organization has the right to sign several electronic documents (clause 4 of the Federal Law of 04/06/11 No. 63?FZ “On Electronic Signatures”).
Courts accept as written evidence printouts of the electronic “primary” and documents received in electronic form (clause 3 of article 75 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and clause 1 of article 71 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation) (read more in the box below).
Read on e.rnk.ru
A document in Word format is not an electronic “primary”
The primary electronic document confirms the company's expenses if it is certified with an electronic signature. A document filled out in Word or Excel format received from the supplier by e-mail is not evidence. For more information about why papers in Word format are for informational purposes, read the article “About the costs of annual bonuses, electronic documents and personal income tax from fines” // RNA, 2015, No. 24
Step two: discuss with counterparties the conditions for the transition to electronic document management
Partners have the right to send each other electronic invoices and “primary statements” if they have agreed on this (Clause 1 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If the buyer does not agree to electronic documents, the supplier will have to issue invoices and “primary documents” on paper.
The parties can draw up an agreement on electronic exchange of documents in any form. In particular, draw up a separate agreement on electronic document flow (a sample of such an agreement is given in the article “What is important to include in an agreement on electronic exchange of documents to avoid tax losses” // RNA, 2014, No. 12), exchange electronic documents or perform other actions, which confirm the right to use electronic invoices (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 01.08.11 No. 03-07-09/26).
Step three: get an electronic signature
Organizations that report to inspectorates and funds electronically already have an electronic signature. Other companies will have to register it.
A qualified electronic signature is required for documents that the company submits to government agencies and invoices. The organization has the right to sign the “primary document” to the counterparty with a simple or unqualified electronic signature (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 02.06.15 No. 03-01-13/01/31906, see also the table below). It is safer to agree on this in advance with the counterparty (letters from the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 01/17/14 No. PA-4-6/489 and the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 05/05/15 No. 07-01-06/25701).
Electronic “primary” the court accepts as evidence
Scans of paper documents that the company sends through an EDF operator are certified with an electronic signature. Therefore, there is no need to put a stamp on them (letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated November 23, 2015 No. ED-4-2/20421). The Federal Tax Service of Russia made such conclusions regarding documents sent upon request to the inspectorate. We believe that the department’s logic can be extended to electronic document flow with counterparties.
Step four: choose an electronic document management operator
If an organization already sends electronic reports to the inspectorate and funds through an EDI operator, it has the right to exchange electronic “primary reports” with partners through the same company.
The choice of an EDF operator is influenced by the company’s usual document flow, the operator’s pricing policy and the choice of counterparty.
Compatible with accounting software
EDF operators offer to familiarize themselves with their services in test mode. This allows you to select an operator with software that is compatible with the organization's accounting program.
Ability to send electronic documents to all counterparties at once
Through one operator, an organization has the right to exchange documents with both government agencies and counterparties (read more in the box below). Therefore, if a company already submits reports to the inspectorate and funds through an EDI operator, after signing agreements on electronic interaction with partners, it is beneficial for it to exchange “primary data” with them through the same operator.
Art. 8 Law No. 402-FZ).
clause 4
Read on e.rnk.ru
How to exchange invoices electronically
The Russian Ministry of Finance strictly regulates the procedure for electronic exchange of invoices (order No. 50n dated April 25, 2011), in which the entire procedure is described in 23 points. However, exchanging electronic invoices is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.
In the article “Sending an electronic invoice is not as difficult as it seems,” we explained what is important for an accountant to know when issuing an electronic invoice and sending such a document to the buyer
The exchange of electronic invoices is possible exclusively through the EDI operator (Procedure for issuing and receiving invoices in electronic form via telecommunication channels using an electronic digital signature, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 25, 2011 No. 50n). While the law does not oblige companies to engage an EDF operator to exchange other documents. It turns out that a company can send an invoice for payment or an invoice by e-mail, having certified the document with an electronic digital signature.
3. Reflection of the method of signing an electronic document will determine its legal force
There are several types of electronic signature - simple, enhanced unqualified and enhanced qualified (Article 2 of the Federal Law of 04/06/11 No. 63-FZ “On Electronic Signature”).
According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, it is possible to confirm the fact of a business transaction for tax purposes with an electronic document signed with an enhanced qualified electronic signature. A document signed with a simple or enhanced unqualified signature can be regarded as an analogue of a document with a handwritten signature affixed to paper only in the case established by law (letter dated 04/12/13 No. 03-03-07/12250).
It turns out that a document signed with a simple or enhanced unqualified signature will not confirm the company’s expenses (letters from the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 23, 2013 No. 03-03-06/1/24, dated December 25, 2012 No. 03-03-06/2/139 and from 12/20/12 No. 03-03-06/1/710).
However, nowhere does it say in what form the counterparty must express that consent. Officials from the Russian Ministry of Finance provided clarification on this matter in a letter dated August 1, 2011 No. 03-07-09/26. In their opinion, the parties can simply exchange documents, from which it follows that both agree to switch to electronic document management.
Or, for example, you can include a provision for the exchange of electronic invoices in the main agreement with the counterparty. True, if your company has signed several contracts with him, then it is still more convenient to draw up a separate agreement. We have posted a sample of such a document below.
In general, the rules allow you to exchange documents through several operators at once. But so far, full communication between special operators has not been established. So at the moment, you will only be able to interact via telecommunications channels with those companies that are serviced by the same operator as yours.
Step #2. Get a digital signature key certificate if you don’t already have one
What no invoice can do without is a signature. And in the electronic version of such a document, it is replaced by an electronic digital signature (EDS). If your company reports to the tax office electronically, then you already have a signature key certificate. There is no need to purchase a new one. You can use the same digital signature for virtual invoices.
If this is your first time encountering electronic document management, then you need to purchase a key certificate for digital signature. This can be done at any certification center - you will find a complete list of them on the official website of the Federal Tax Service of Russia (www.nalog.ru).
The certificate is issued to the manager or other authorized employee, for example the chief accountant. But in the second case, the right to sign must be provided for in the corresponding order or in the power of attorney. A copy of such documents along with your passport (or other identification document) will be asked from you at the special center.
For internal accounting of issued digital signatures, we recommend approving the list of employees to whom they are assigned.
Step #3. Submit an application to your telecom operator to participate in electronic document management
So, you have reached an agreement with your counterparties. The key certificate for digital signature is in your hands. Now you need to select an operator. Be careful: the company you choose must be part of a network of trusted electronic document management operators (Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated April 20, 2012 No. ММВ-7-6/253@). Their list is posted on the website www.nalog.ru. The tax service assigned each of them a unique identifier, which is a mandatory requisite for a document sent electronically.
To connect to the system for exchanging invoices via TCS, write an application to a special communications operator. It usually requires you to indicate the name of the organization, TIN, address, telephone number, and details of the signature key certificate. As well as information about the owner of the electronic signature and the inspectorate in which your company is registered. You can probably get an application form from the operator.
Then all that remains is to conclude a license agreement with the telecom operator. This only needs to be done by the parent organization. And the contract should already spell out all the divisions that will also be registered in the electronic exchange system.
As a result, the special operator will give you a participant ID. And will provide access details and other data necessary for connection.
Step #4. Establish in your accounting policies the procedure for electronic exchange of invoices with counterparties
The fact that you exchange invoices with your counterparties, including electronically, should be stated in your accounting policy. And fix the order of virtual exchange there. In the table below we have named all the documents that you must ultimately have in order to confidently claim a VAT deduction using an electronic invoice. Or to confirm the fact of issuing such an invoice. Read on to learn how to correct errors in an electronic invoice.
Documents with which the supplier and buyer will confirm the fact of issuing an electronic invoice
| How will the supplier confirm the fact of issuing an invoice? | How will the buyer justify the deduction on the electronic invoice? |
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1. Invoice 4. Notifying the buyer of receipt of the invoice |
1. Invoice 2. Confirmation of the operator about the date of receipt and sending of the document 3. Notification of receipt of operator confirmation 4. Notification of receipt of invoice 5. Confirmation of the operator about the date of sending the notice of receipt of the invoice 6. Notification of receipt of operator confirmation |
Step #5. Consider the costs associated with transferring virtual accounts
You can take into account the costs of electronic document management when calculating your income tax. Such costs are economically justified. After all, this is how the company optimizes the work of the accounting department.
Write off the connection fee as part of other expenses associated with production and sales (subclause 26, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Moreover, it is safer to write off the amount during the validity period of the license agreement. But you can write off subscription payments on the basis of subparagraph 25 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Code. If you are on an unlimited tariff, then it is again better to spread the annual cost of services over a year. And when paying for the transfer of invoices “piece by piece”, take into account the costs at the end of the month on the basis of acts drawn up by the operator.
What is important to include in an electronic document exchange agreement to avoid tax losses
Nowadays, more and more companies are switching to electronic document management not only with
1. Consolidating the form of the agreement in the accounting policy will justify the company’s right to exchange papers electronically
Electronic document management is associated with the company’s internal document flow, accounting and reporting. In turn, the set of accounting methods must be approved in the accounting policy (Article 8 of Federal Law No. 402-FZ dated 06.12.11, hereinafter referred to as Law No. 402-FZ).
Therefore, if a company decides to introduce an electronic document management and electronic reporting system, such a system must be reflected in its accounting policies. It is important to secure:
- volume of electronic document flow;
- formats of electronic documents;
- procedure for storing electronic reporting;
- cases when, instead of electronic documents, the company draws up documents on paper.
2. Indication of the method of electronic exchange will provide clarity when interacting with counterparties
Companies determine the procedure and method of electronic document management independently. It is important to take into account two main nuances.
First, the agreement must indicate whether electronic documents are duplicated on paper. For example, a company sends a TTN to a counterparty electronically, and then after some time sends the same document in paper form (for example, if the counterparty has not received the electronic document).
Please note that this procedure for processing documents is currently provided for invoices (clause 4 of the Rules for maintaining a log of received and issued invoices used in calculations of value added tax, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 26, 2011 No. 1137 “On the forms and rules for filling out (maintaining) documents used in calculations for value added tax”).
Secondly, it is advisable to note in the agreement whether companies exchange electronic documents directly (using specialized programs or regular email clients) or by engaging an electronic document management operator (read more below).
“Electronic document management is a progressive and promising data transfer system:
- The system provides high reliability and reliability of recording and control of the flow of documents, guaranteed compliance with the confidentiality of transmitted information;
- The system allows you to send reports from the policyholder’s workplace on any day, at any time of the day;
- The system allows you to quickly correct errors detected by the Pension Fund of Russia in the submitted documents from the insurer’s workplace repeatedly in one day;
- There is no need for an accountant to visit the territorial office of the Pension Fund of Russia;
- When sending reports, the policyholder receives electronic information about the results of receiving reports;
- It opens up the possibility of creating electronic archives at the enterprise of all document flow with the territorial body of the Pension Fund of Russia.
The question of the possibility and procedure for submitting information in electronic form is decided by the territorial body of the Pension Fund together with a specific policyholder and is drawn up in the “Agreement on the exchange of electronic documents in the electronic document management system.”
1 . What is necessary to submit reports to the Pension Fund Office in electronic form with an electronic signature (hereinafter referred to as ES):
- software for creating reports in established formats;
- cryptographic software with the implementation of the necessary electronic signature and encryption functions (generation of cryptographic keys, signing and verification of electronic signature at the file level, data encryption). These functions are implemented by software belonging to the category of cryptographic information protection tools (hereinafter referred to as cryptographic information protection tools), and which, when used in the electronic document management system (hereinafter referred to as EDMS) of the Pension Fund of Russia, must have an FSB certificate;
- services of a certification center for the creation and maintenance of electronic key certificates in the Pension Fund's EDMS;
- carrying out organizational measures: appointing a person responsible for organizing the use of CIPF, equipment and protection from unauthorized access of the workplace, magnetic media of cryptographic keys, archives of electronic documents;
- Conclusion of the “Agreement on the exchange of electronic documents in the electronic document management system of the Pension Fund of Russia via telecommunication channels” with the district Office of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
For these purposes you will need:
* Contact the certification center, select the package of services you need, receive an application form (for the production of a signature key certificate for the manager), and other documentation.
* Contact the regional PFR Office with a completed application for its approval and conclude an “Agreement on the exchange of electronic documents in the PFR electronic document management system via telecommunication channels.”
* When ready to start work, carry out a test exchange of messages with the Pension Fund Office.
- Features of electronic document management in the Pension Fund of Russia.
- Individual (personalized) accounting information submitted to the Pension Fund Office falls into the category of personal data. Their preparation, transmission and processing are carried out in accordance with current legislation on the protection of personal data.
- To submit a report to the Pension Fund Office, one electronic signature is required - the head of the organization.
- In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Law “On Electronic Signatures” dated April 6, 2011 No. 63-FZ, the use of an electronic signature by a person who is not its owner is unacceptable. Such actions entail the loss of the legal significance of the signed document, the transfer of cryptographic keys to the category of compromised and the revocation of the corresponding certificate.
Services to policyholders are provided by:
|
Organization |
Technology |
Contact Information |
Note |
|
|
JSC "CenterInform" |
"Kontur-Extern" |
Contact tel. 740-54-05 - Connection department |
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CJSC "CERTIFICATE CENTER" |
PP "Comita-Report" |
Contact tel. |
||
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LLC "Company "Tensor" |
"SBIS++ Electronic reporting" |
Contact tel. |
||
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ARGOS LLC www.argos-nalog.ru |
EDS "Argos - Taxpayer" |
Contact tel. |
||
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Taxkom LLC |
PC "Sprinter" |
Contact tel. |
||
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CJSC Kaluga Astral www.astralnalog.ru |
PC "Astral Report" |
Contact tel. 702-11-93, 309-29-23 |
||
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KORUS Consulting CIS LLC |
PC "Sphere" |
Contact tel. |
||
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LLC "Certification Center GAZINFORMSERVICE" http://ca.gisca.ru |
PC "Taxnet-Referent" |
Contact tel. 8-800-50-50-50-2 (free call) |
||
|
LLC "Rus-Telecom" www.rus-telecom.ru |
"Courier" |
Contact tel. representative offices in St. Petersburg |
||
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Evgenia Gerasimova May 30, 2016 10:11 Questions about whether or not to switch to exchanging electronic documents with counterparties arise less frequently. An increasing number of companies are deciding to connect to the EDF Operator, and questions of a different kind are becoming relevant for them. For example, is it necessary to sign an electronic exchange agreement with each counterparty, what force will this agreement have, etc. We've collected the most common questions on this topic to help fill the gaps in your knowledge about electronic document exchange. Consulting by Synerdocs analysts. When switching to the exchange of electronic documents, is it necessary to sign an EDI Agreement with the counterparty? Not always. The obligation to draw up an Agreement on the transition to EDI with counterparties depends on the method of exchange and the type of electronic signature used. Consider the following situations: a) You exchange with counterparties by email and use a simple and/or unqualified electronic signature. In such a situation, it is necessary to conclude an Agreement (Part 2, Article 6 of Federal Law No. 63 “On Electronic Signatures”). b) You exchange via email and use a qualified electronic signature certificate. The agreement does not have to be drawn up on the basis of Part 1 of Art. 6 Federal Law No. 63, but we recommend. In case of litigation, such an Agreement may be useful, because it may specify the exchange procedure, conditions for recognizing electronic documents as equivalent to paper ones, the responsibilities of the parties, the rights and obligations of participants, etc. c) You exchange through the EDF Operator SF. As a rule, exchange services use a qualified electronic signature. An agreement is not required on the basis of Part 1 of Art. 6 Federal Law No. 63, and because clients enter into an agreement with the Operator. No additional agreements will be required anymore. Exchange through EDF Operator SFAfter our organization connects to the exchange service of the EDF operator, are we obliged to somehow notify our counterparties with whom we want to conduct electronic exchange? In what form should this be done? What agreement should be concluded that we will exchange primary data electronically? According to para. 2 p. 1 art. 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, invoices are drawn up in electronic form by mutual agreement of the parties if they have compatible technical means. Reciprocity of the transition to electronic interaction is the only condition. Current legislation does not establish requirements for notifying counterparties after connecting to the service. When switching to the exchange of electronic documents through the EDF Operator, you will not have to enter into any agreements with counterparties. The services use an enhanced qualified electronic signature, in accordance with clause 1 of Art. 6 of Federal Law No. 63 “On Electronic Signatures”, this type of signature is recognized as equivalent to a handwritten one, therefore no additional agreements are required. But if you wish, you can notify your counterparties about the transition to EDI, for example, by mass mailing. This will allow them to be aware of your intentions, and those who have not yet connected may consider connecting. What to do if a counterparty uses the Agreement against you?Some of our counterparties have been transferred to EDI; with others we work on paper. During the month, due to technical reasons, we cannot accept incoming electronic invoices. One of the counterparties refuses to send us paper documents, citing the fact that we have an agreement on electronic exchange concluded with the EDF Operator. How legal are the actions of the counterparty? In this situation, it is necessary to pay attention to clause 1.4 of section. I Appendix to the Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated November 10, 2015 No. 174n (hereinafter referred to as the Order). Invoices are drawn up electronically by mutual agreement of the parties to the transaction and if they have compatible technical means and capabilities for receiving and processing these invoices. Thus, if you do not have the opportunity to accept electronic documents, then the counterparty does not have the right to refuse to issue a paper original. A similar rule is also contained in paragraph. 2 p. 1 art. 169 of the Tax Code of Russia. We also draw your attention to clause 2.20 of the Order. If the seller has not received confirmation from the Electronic Document Management Operator within the prescribed period indicating the date and time of receipt of the invoice file, he informs the Electronic Document Management Operator about this fact. The seller repeats sending the invoice file in electronic form to the buyer through the Electronic Document Management Operator. If it is impossible to send the invoice file in electronic form to the buyer through the Electronic Document Flow Operator, the seller issues the buyer a paper invoice. At the same time, according to letters of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated September 12, 2013 N 03-07-09/37682 and the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation dated June 12, 2013 N ED-4-3/10769, the presence of an agreement concluded between the parties to the transaction on electronic document flow regarding invoices does not prevent issuing invoices on paper. The main thing is to prevent duplication of one document in paper and electronic form. You can view the full list of consultations, as well as ask the experts your own questions on the website Electronic document flow between organizations - how does it work? What documents can be exchanged electronically, how to draw up an agreement with a counterparty to establish electronic interaction, and what should be included in the regulations? This will be discussed in our material. An important element of any electronic document management is an electronic document. In order to give a document created in electronic form legally significant force, both parties to the electronic document flow must provide it with 3 important properties. The electronic document must:
If you and your counterparty have organized the generation of electronic documents in established formats at your enterprises, it is necessary to technically ensure your electronic interaction with them. How to do it? In order for two separate systems to mutually and effectively exchange documents, it is necessary to specify all the nuances of document flow in special regulations. First of all, you need to figure out which electronic documents should be signed with a simple electronic signature, and which with a strengthened one. The legally permitted types of electronic signatures are shown in the figure.
Electronic document flow with counterparties may involve documents of varying degrees of significance and confidentiality. For example, the most stringent requirements apply to electronic invoices: they must be signed exclusively by UKEP and sent through an EDI operator (Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 10, 2015 No. 174n). And for internal company documents, the use of UKEP is not mandatory. Therefore, the company itself decides what signature will be used to sign this or that internal document. In the regulations on electronic document management, it is necessary to establish the procedure for signing electronic documents and outline the circle of responsible persons who have the right to sign them. After resolving all regulatory issues with counterparties, you need to select an EDF operator through which you will exchange electronic documents and conclude an agreement with them. In addition, you will need to solve other problems:
Exchange of documents in the form of scanned images: how and when is this possibleThe electronic exchange of documents between counterparties in the form of their scanned images has been practiced in companies for a long time - since the advent of various Internet postal services. To do this, you do not need any special programs or connection to EDF operators. However, the ease of using this method of document exchange has a number of significant disadvantages:
This leads to a narrowing of the scope of application of this method of exchanging documents electronically between organizations. The exchange of scanned images is used mainly for those types of documents that are not legally significant for the company. And they are sent electronically to the counterparty only to speed up interaction (fulfillment of the terms of contracts or solving current business problems). At the same time, the paper original is sent by mail or courier service. When do you need an application to connect to electronic document management?Sometimes, for the purpose of external interaction with interested parties, a company needs to fill out an application for connection to electronic document management and a number of other documents using a special form. Most companies are faced with the need to fill out such an application when submitting electronic reports to the Pension Fund. In this case, the participants in the electronic document flow will not be business partners, but the company and the extra-budgetary fund. The application cannot be written in any form - its ready-made template can be found on the Pension Fund website. It should contain the following data:
But one application for electronic interaction with the fund is not enough. It is also necessary:
Electronic information exchange between companies and the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation allows you to provide personalized accounting information without visiting the fund, timely identify and correct errors in reporting, and solve a number of other problems. For more information about electronic interaction with the Pension Fund of Russia, see this material. The company itself determines how to switch to electronic document management with counterparties. But in any case, this is a negotiation process. The proposal to switch to electronic document management can be decided orally, in the form of a written invitation from one of the business partners, or by signing a special agreement. To invite your counterparty in writing to establish electronic document management, you can send a letter to them. Sending out such letters helps a company with a large document flow to invite new and existing partners to electronic interaction. In the text of the letter, you need to inform the counterparty in a concise form:
A sample letter about the transition to electronic document management (excerpt) is presented below.
Without changing the text of the letter and substituting only the details of the counterparties, you can quickly inform them of your desire to organize a mutual electronic exchange of documents. Agreement on the exchange of electronic documents between legal entitiesCounterparties can specify the nuances of paperless interaction in a separate agreement on electronic document management. How to compose it? The legislation does not establish special requirements for the form and content of an agreement on electronic document flow between legal entities. Therefore, its composition and content are determined by its participants. In this case, it is necessary to comply with the style and structure common to such documents (it is necessary to describe the subject of the agreement, validity period, details of the parties and other issues). The figure below shows the main (possible) sections of such an agreement. To establish electronic interaction, it is necessary to agree on its nuances. This can be done verbally, by sending a letter and/or by signing a separate agreement. It will also be necessary to resolve a number of related issues (prescribe the procedure for electronic document exchange, identify responsible persons, provide them with an electronic signature, etc.).
Electronic document management with counterparties: where to startDocuments that were signed with an electronic digital signature under the old Law on Digital Signatures, which will become invalid as of July 1 (Law No. 1-FZ of January 10, 2002), are considered signed with an enhanced qualified electronic signature. In certain industries, for example in jewelry production, it is advisable to transfer through an operator not only external, but also some internal documents of the organization. Info Internal documents usually do not need to be signed with an enhanced qualified signature. At the discretion of the organization itself, a strengthened unqualified or even a simple electronic signature may be sufficient. Important Enhanced unqualified signatures are also issued by certification centers, and they can be cheaper than qualified ones. A simple signature is a cipher or password that allows you to identify the creator of the document. Agreement on the exchange of electronic documentsAll sent and received electronic documents are stored in an electronic archive. And your electronic archive should be organized in such a way that, if necessary, for example, at the request of the tax inspectorate, you can quickly find the requested documents and send them to the inspectorate electronically, the same way electronic reporting is now transmitted. And if the tax office or auditor requests a paper copy of an electronic document, will it be clear that this is a copy of the electronic document and that the electronic document is signed by the parties? I.V. Murashkintsev: You can print the electronic document and get a paper copy. Agreement with the counterparty for the legal exchange of electronic invoicesGovernment of the Russian Federation dated December 26, 2011 No. 1137 “On the forms and rules for filling out (maintaining) documents used in calculations of value added tax”). According to the authors, it is advisable to establish a similar procedure in the agreement for other electronic documents. Attention Secondly, it is advisable to note in the agreement whether companies exchange electronic documents directly (using specialized programs or regular email clients) or by engaging an electronic document management operator (read more below). The exchange of electronic invoices is possible exclusively through the EDI operator (Procedure for issuing and receiving invoices in electronic form via telecommunication channels using an electronic digital signature, approved. by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 25, 2011 No. 50n). Agreement on electronic document flow between legal entitiesAs a rule, companies enter into an agreement or agreement for the exchange of electronic documents or add an additional clause to the existing agreement. There is no need to prepare a new document yourself; just request a template of an agreement or contract from your EDF operator. EDO agreement with counterparty sampleWell, we agreed with our partners, chose an operator or even several operators. What to do next? I.V. Murashkintsev: Now we need to adapt the company’s business processes to the implementation of electronic document management when working with counterparties: develop and approve the procedure for electronic document management; appoint those responsible for its maintenance; organize an electronic archive of received and sent documents; prescribe rules for creation, receipt and storage in the accounting policy electronic documents, appoint those responsible for the formation and signing of electronic documents. Each employee who is authorized to sign electronic documents must be provided with an electronic signature, because you cannot transfer your signature to other persons. Do I need to print and store electronic documents in paper form? I.V. By agreement of the parties, they can be signed either with an enhanced qualified or enhanced unqualified electronic signature. But using a special electronic document management system is more convenient, as it allows you to instantly receive notification that your partner has received the document. He, in turn, can immediately sign it and send it to you. What is the best way to start implementing electronic document management? I.V. Murashkintsev: Typically, companies that have many counterparties and a large volume of external document flow decide to switch to using electronic documents. Federal Law dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ, hereinafter referred to as Law No. 402-FZ). Therefore, if a company decides to introduce an electronic document management and electronic reporting system, such a system must be reflected in its accounting policies. At the same time, it is important to fix: - the volume of electronic document flow; - formats of electronic documents; - the procedure for storing electronic reporting; - cases when, instead of electronic documents, the company draws up documents on paper. 2. The list of electronic document management operators included in the Trust Network of the Federal Tax Service is posted on the Federal Tax Service website. What criteria should you look for when choosing an operator? I.V. Murashkintsev: As a rule, electronic document management operators provide the opportunity to exchange electronic documents with several counterparties in test mode. During such “trial operation” you will be able to understand which interface is more convenient for you and whether it will be easy to combine your accounting program with the operator’s document management system.
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