The document is presented on electronic media. The equivalence of signing documents with an electronic signature and a handwritten one. Simple or unqualified signature

Today, electronic document management boldly breaks into our lives, today almost all companies use electronic documents, use e-mail, electronic declarations, especially since for VAT taxation the mandatory declarations are established by law. Someone moved on and uses in Everyday life electronic document management systems and transferred all reporting and primary documents to electronic form.

The concept of electronic document management and the advantages of electronic document management

Electronic document management is a way to work with documents. Features of electronic document management are that electronic documents signed with an electronic digital signature. Such a document, signed with an EDS, is equal in value to a document on paper.

Electronic document management has its pros and cons.

Table
Pros and cons of electronic document management

Advantages of electronic document management	Disadvantages of electronic document management
The ability to quickly find documents; Availability of a centralized document management structure; Systematized storage of documents in electronic archive; Simplicity in registration and coordination of documents; The ability to sign and send documents via electronic communication channels, which saves time; Possibility of drawing up similar documents; Conducting an electronic audit	The need to purchase an electronic digital signature; Impossibility of use if the counterparty does not use electronic document management; Additional costs for electronic document management; Lack of unified document flow formats; Distrust of some users to electronic documents

At the same time, electronic document management is developing more and more. And there are prerequisites for this.

Firstly, electronic document management is provided for in tax legislation. For example, when reporting on insurance premiums or personal income tax, it must be submitted to in electronic format if the number of the company is more than 25 people. Electronic reporting must be submitted electronically. In addition, explanations, if the reporting is submitted electronically, in 2017 will also need to be given in the form of an electronic document.

Secondly, electronic document management is accepted in accounting. According to Law No. 402-FZ "On Accounting", the primary accounting document is compiled on paper and (or) in the form of an electronic document signed electronic signature.
Thirdly, in 2017, electronic document management will be further developed in legal proceedings. Thus, many are accustomed to the fact that court decisions are published electronically on the Internet. According to article 4 of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, a statement of claim, statement, complaint, presentation and other documents may be filed with the court on paper or in electronic form, including in the form of an electronic document signed with an electronic signature in the manner prescribed by law Russian Federation, by filling out a form posted on the official website of the court in the information and telecommunications network "Internet". Similar provisions are established in the part of the civil process.

Fourth, electronic technology firmly entered our lives in terms of the use of electronic document management in tender documentation, conducting electronic auctions. According to the article of the Federal Law of 05.04.2013 No. 44-FZ (as amended on 03.07.2016) "On the contract system in the field of procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs" under the auction in electronic form (electronic auction) means an auction, in which information about the purchase is communicated by the customer to an unlimited number of persons by placing it in a single information system notices of such an auction and documentation about it, the procurement participants are subject to uniform requirements and Additional requirements, the holding of such an auction is provided on the electronic site by its operator.

The fifth reason is related to the fact that today many companies operate in different regions, with different cities, so for the organization efficient business it is necessary to speed up the document flow and simplify the relationship between the parties. In this regard, intuitively, many companies introduce electronic document management.

How to introduce electronic document management?

At the first stage, it is necessary to make a fundamental decision on the introduction of electronic document management. Such a decision is issued by order of the enterprise. Some companies develop special local acts that regulate document flow and coordination of documents within the company, such features include the coordination of documents between departments, control, signing by management and storage of archival documents.

At the second stage, you need to choose which signature the company will use when processing documents.

A simple electronic signature is an electronic signature that, through the use of codes, passwords or other means, confirms the fact of the formation of an electronic signature by a certain person.

Unqualified electronic signature is an electronic signature that:

1. obtained as a result of cryptographic transformation of information using an electronic signature key;
2. allows you to identify the person who signed the electronic document;
3. allows you to detect the fact of making changes to an electronic document after the moment of its signing;
4. created using electronic signature tools.

Qualified electronic signature is an electronic signature that meets all the features of an unqualified electronic signature and the following additional features:

1. the electronic signature verification key is specified in the qualified certificate;
2. to create and verify an electronic signature, electronic signature means are used that have confirmation of compliance with the requirements (Article 5 Federal Law of 04/06/2011 No. For security purposes, it is the enhanced qualified signature.

The third step will be the selection of a special certification authority. to choose a company specializing in electronic document management, it is important to evaluate the convenience of working with a particular company. It is important to establish the cost of the services provided, the possibility of additional functions, as well as services for electronic document management, it is also important to establish what responsibility the certification center company bears in case of technical failures and problems in document management.

At the fourth stage, it is necessary to provide documents for the conclusion of the contract.

The fifth stage is the conclusion of an agreement with a certification center. According to Article 2 of the Federal Law of April 6, 2011 No. 63-FZ (as amended on December 30, 2015) “On Electronic Signature”, a certification center is a legal entity, individual entrepreneur or a government agency or agency local government performing the functions of creating and issuing certificates of electronic signature verification keys, as well as other functions.

The sixth stage is the introduction of electronic document management in the company, the organization of a specific exchange of electronic documents. Invoices are drawn up in electronic form by mutual agreement of the parties to the transaction and if they have compatible technical means and capacity to receive and process these invoices in accordance with the approved format.

What should the agreement with the certification center contain?

When concluding an agreement with a certification center, it is necessary to pay attention to legal status certification center. Accreditation of a certification center is carried out on the condition, in particular, that it fulfills the requirements for the presence financial support liability for losses caused to third parties as a result of their trust in the information specified in the certificate of the electronic signature verification key issued by such a certification center, or the information contained in the register of certificates maintained by such a certification center, in the amount of at least 1.5 million rubles .

When concluding an agreement with a certification center, it is important to pay attention to the subject of the agreement. According to Article 432 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, these are the conditions that are mandatory for contracts of this type. The contract is considered concluded if the parties, in the form required in the relevant cases, have reached an agreement on all the essential terms of the contract. That is, it is important to prescribe the subject of the contract as clearly as possible.

The subject of the agreement follows from the law "On Electronic Signature".

Verification Center:

1. creates certificates of electronic signature verification keys and issues such certificates;
2. establishes the validity periods of certificates of electronic signature verification keys;
3. revokes the certificates of electronic signature verification keys issued by this certification authority;
4. issues, at the request of the applicant, means of electronic signature;
5. maintains a register of certificates issued and canceled by this certification center for verification of electronic signatures;
6. establishes the procedure for maintaining the register of certificates;
7. creates, at the request of applicants, keys for electronic signatures and keys for verifying electronic signatures;
8. checks the uniqueness of the keys for verifying electronic signatures in the certificate registry;
9. checks electronic signatures at the request of participants in electronic interaction;
10. carries out other activities related to the use of an electronic signature.

The responsibility of the certification center comes in the following cases:

1. non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of obligations arising from the contract for the provision of services by the certification center;
2. failure to perform or improper performance of duties (clause 3 of Article 13 of the Federal Law of 04/06/2011 No. 63-FZ (as amended on 12/30/2015) "On Electronic Signature").

Insurance may be provided as additional terms of the agreement with the certification center.

How to organize electronic document management within the company?

Inside the company, electronic document management should be organized like clockwork. After all, it is important that electronic document management involves scanning documents, signing with an electronic digital signature. And this means that a specialist is needed who is responsible for electronic scanned copies, and a special software, which allows you to sign documents.

Compilation, execution and approval of draft electronic documents is carried out according to general rules office work established in relation to similar documents on paper. An electronic document must have all the details set for a similar document on paper, with the exception of a seal, since a seal is not a mandatory attribute. Within the company, methods can be used to confirm actions with electronic documents in which an electronic digital signature is not used. For example, without an electronic digital signature, documents can be put under control.

If you want to organize document flow with your counterparties, then you need to include the relevant provisions in the contract with the counterparty.

Documents are generated and signed electronically. The means of electronic digital signature used must be certified in accordance with the established procedure.

The easiest way is to organize electronic document management with authorities, for example, with the tax service. for this, it is also necessary to obtain an electronic signature and conclude an agreement with a certification center. Most often, taxpayers submit declarations, explanations, and invoices to the tax authority. As " feedback» documents are generated by the tax authority in accordance with the Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated April 15, 2015 No. ММВ-7-2 / [email protected]“On approval of the Procedure for sending documents used by tax authorities in the exercise of their powers in relations regulated by legislation on taxes and fees, in electronic form via telecommunication channels and on recognizing as invalid certain provisions of the order of the Federal Tax Service dated February 17, 2011 No. ММВ-7 -2 / [email protected]».

These documents include:

1. clarification requirements;
2. notices of controlled foreign companies;
3. notifications about the call of the taxpayer (payer of the fee, tax agent);
4. tax notice;
5. decisions to suspend operations on the accounts of the taxpayer (payer of the fee, tax agent) in the bank and transfers of his electronic money;
6. decisions to cancel the suspension of operations on the accounts of the taxpayer (fee payer, tax agent) in the bank and transfers of his electronic money;
7. decision to conduct an on-site tax audit;
8. other documents.

Thus, if we talk about in-house electronic documents, then their circulation will be regulated by internal local acts, if we talk about relationships with counterparties, then such relationships are regulated by the parties, and if the document flow is organized with the authorities, then the authorities will act in accordance with the procedure for electronic document management adopted for a particular company.

How to organize the storage of electronic documents?

The main regulatory act regulating the storage of electronic documents is the Rules for organizing the storage, acquisition, accounting and use of documents of the archival fund of the Russian Federation and other archival documents in the authorities state power, local governments and organizations (approved by Order of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation dated March 31, 2015 No. 526, hereinafter referred to as the Rules). AT this document For the first time, rules for the storage of electronic documents are established.

How should documents be stored?

Firstly, it is necessary to prepare a nomenclature of affairs of a particular organization. The nomenclature of cases will vary depending on the company, field of activity.

The nomenclature of cases is used to group executed documents into cases, systematize and record cases, determine their storage periods and search for documents. The nomenclature of cases is the basis for compiling inventories of cases of permanent and temporary (over 10 years) storage, as well as for recording cases of temporary (up to 10 years inclusive) storage.

Secondly, it is necessary to form cases. To do this, it is necessary to conduct an examination of the value of documents that will be stored in electronic form. Please note that there are certain time limits for the storage of certain documents. For example, accounting documents are kept for 5 years, and tax documents for 4 years.

Thirdly, it is necessary to put a mark that the data is stored in electronic form in the nomenclature of cases. For example, “Timesheets. Electronic Documents.

Fourth, you need to archive the documents.

Before placing an electronic file for storage, it must:
- unload from electronic system(if the document is created in any special software product);
- protect against possible changes by saving in a suitable format;
- write to a storage medium.

The generally accepted format for storing and archiving electronic documents is PDF/A. It should be distinguished from the usual PDF, with each update of which new possibilities for working with files appear. PDF/A is meant for something else: it is a format for long-term archival storage of electronic documents.

Fifth step is to write descriptions. The inventory includes all electronic files that have been generated in relation to electronic documents. However, instead of the number of sheets, which is indicated when forming cases on paper, the volume of electronic documents is indicated.

The description format might look like this:

Name of the position of the head structural unit
	Signature	Decryption
Signature date
AGREED Job title head of the DOE service
	Signature	Decryption
Signature date
Archive manager (person in charge of the archive)
	Signature	Decryption
Signature date

In general, it is much more convenient to store documents in electronic form, because there is no need to search through a whole room of paper documents when searching for documents. It is also easier to provide documents in electronic form at the request of the tax, pension fund and other inspectors.

In some cases it is necessary to destroy the documents. For example, service notes were stored for a long time, the storage period has expired and it is necessary to destroy them. In this case, an examination of the value of documents is carried out. Such an examination can be special commission. Based on the results of the examination, an act is issued on the allocation of documents for destruction. The form of such an act is developed by the company independently. And on the basis of the act, disks or other storage media are simply destroyed.

In conclusion, it should be noted that, of course, the future belongs to electronic documents. However, it is important to properly organize electronic document management. Many companies are faced with the problems of improper organization of document management, when only one document is connected to the electronic document management system. workplace in a department or even a department, when most of the documents are still kept on paper. Therefore, all issues regarding electronic document management need to be resolved "on the bank" at the stage of system implementation.

Questions about how the form of an electronic document differs from the format have arisen since the Federal Tax Service gave the green light to the use of electronic documents in tax accounting. primary documents. It happened over three years ago. However, these concepts are still confused. Let's figure out which is which.

What are electronic document formats?

To answer this question, let's start with a little classification. The entire list of documents used today in organizations can be divided into two groups:

1. Documents that can be used both in paper and electronic form (consignment note TORG-12, invoice, universal transfer document, certificate of completion, invoice, supply agreement, etc.).
2. Documents that are allowed to be used exclusively on paper (a copy of the invoice provided by the agent to the principal, waybill (TTN), declaration of conformity, etc.).

In this case, we are interested in the documents of the first group, which, according to the law, are allowed to be created, transmitted and stored in electronic form. True, it should be borne in mind that the law imposes strict requirements on the formats of some electronic documents, as well as on the form of a number of electronic documents.

.XML - a single format of accounting documents

ED, the format of which is clearly described and defined by law, are called formalized. These include: invoice, waybill TORG-12 and act of completion.

All other ED (invoices, letters, powers of attorney, transaction passports, etc.) are unformalized. There are no special requirements for their formats. The form of data of electronic documents is also not important.

Formalized documents are created according to the formats of the Federal Tax Service. To date, a single format has been legally approved for electronic originals - .XML, for scanned copies - .JPG, .TIFF, .PDF, .PNG.

Interestingly, there is a mandatory format for an electronic invoice that meets the requirements of the Federal Tax Service - this is .XML. And there are recommended formats for the act and TORG-12, and this is also .XML. Despite the fact that you can exchange primary documents in any format, when claiming in electronic form, the tax office will only accept documents in the .XML format. If you exchange primary documents in a different format, you will have to submit it to the Federal Tax Service on paper. It's uncomfortable, isn't it? Therefore, to avoid confusion, we advise you to use the formats recommended by the Federal Tax Service.

The form of an electronic document is not its format

Step by step, we are getting closer to understanding what the format of an electronic document is. In fact, there can be several definitions of this concept. This is also a structured data set, convenient for storage and automatic processing. The format can also be called encoded text information, which is responsible for the distribution and presentation of data in the ED.

Below you can see what an electronic invoice looks like in .XML format. Its body consists of markup elements and the data array itself. You can get acquainted with the requirements for the format of an electronic invoice in the text of the Order of the Federal Tax Service dated 04.03.2015 No. ММВ-7-6 / [email protected].

Now let's move on to the form. If the format is responsible for the "internal content", then the form of the electronic document is its "face". In other words, what ED looks like on a computer screen or on paper is its form. For some documents, the law defines a rigid form. This primarily concerns the invoice, the form of which is approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 N 1137.

So, let's draw conclusions. Among the entire array of forms and formats, there are mandatory and recommended ones. To understand once and for all the state of affairs with the forms and formats of electronic documents, just read the following table.

Name of ED	Format	Mandatory use of the format	The form	Mandatory application of the form
Invoice	.xml	In accordance with the Order of the Federal Tax Service dated 04.03.2015 No. ММВ-7-6/ [email protected] the .XML format is mandatory.	The form has been developed and approved.	The invoice form is determined by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 N 1137 and is mandatory for use.
Certificate of completion		According to the Order of the Federal Tax Service dated March 21, 2012 N MMV-7-6 / [email protected] the recommended .XML format for use has been approved.	There is no single form of the act.	Federal Law 402 "On Accounting" provides only mandatory details that the form of the act must comply with.
Waybill TORG-12	.XML, .PDF, .DOC, .XLS, .JPEG, .TIFF, etc.	According to the Order of the Federal Tax Service dated March 21, 2012 N MMV-7-6 / [email protected] the recommended .XML format for use has been approved.	The form is approved, contained in the "Album of unified forms of primary accounting documentation for accounting for trade operations." However, since 2013 it is not mandatory to apply it.	Starting from 01/01/2013, the head of the organization has the right to determine the form of the consignment note. At the same time, it must contain a number of mandatory details (FZ 402 “On Accounting”).

Question 5. Classification of documents

Document classification- distribution of documents into groups (types) based on the characteristics of the content, form of compilation, etc., in order to organize and improve the efficiency of working with them.

Classification allows you to develop certain methods of working with each group of documents, fix them in instructions, organize documents in office work. 2. Conventionally, documents can be divided into the following groups: by way of documentation: handwritten; electronic;

Graphic;

film, photo, audio documents;

by area of ​​use: organizational and administrative; financial and accounting; scientific and technical; by labor; reporting and statistical;

at the place of compilation:

Incoming (incoming to the organization);

Outgoing (sent from the organization);

Internal (compiled and used in the organization itself);

according to the access restriction heading:

open (non-secret);

with access restrictions. Documents may have the following stamps:

"For official use" (official information intended only for employees of a particular organization or industry); "Secret", "Top Secret", "Special Importance" (information containing state secrets); "Confidential" (information, access to which is limited by the legislation of the Russian Federation);

"Commercial secret" (information that has commercial value due to its unknown to third parties, to which there is no free access on a legal basis and in respect of which the owner of such information has introduced a protection regime);

by origin:

official (official) (affecting the interests of the organization, drawn up by legal or individual, drawn up in the prescribed manner); personal (concerning the interests of a particular person and being nominal);

south of religious importance:

originals or originals (the first or single copies of official documents, personally signed by the author);

copies (documents that fully reproduce the information of the original document and all its external signs or part of them that are not legally binding);

certified copies (copies of documents, on which, in accordance with the established procedure, the necessary details are affixed, giving them legal force);

duplicates (repeated copies of the original document that have legal force);

in the form of presentation:

individual (the content of which is presented in free form);

template (when the structure, part of the document, standard phrases are prepared in advance, and the other part is filled in when compiling, for example, a certificate of employment);

typical (created to document standard situations, for example, business trips, and used in all organizations);

by shelf life:

permanent storage;

long-term storage (over 10 years); temporary storage (up to 10 years).

1 . Electronic document- a document in which information is presented in electronic form, with the details necessary to recognize it as valid.

An electronic document must comply with the following requirements:

be created, processed, stored, transmitted and received using software and hardware;

be displayed (reproduced) in a form understandable for perception.

Electronic document may be reproduced in shape and form, understandable for perception: on the display screen; paper carrier;

another material object separable from the machine carrier in a form accessible for visual inspection. When using an electronic document, it is not required to provide a copy of it on paper, with the exception of cases provided for by the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation or by agreement of the parties. Advantagesuse of electronic documents:

the computer set of documents is reduced to a minimum when using ready-made samples contained in the PC memory; computer processing of electronic documents (for example, applications for goods) is much faster than the processing of paper documents;

collection, systematization and search of any document or information from documents is accelerated and simplified; by using Email prompt transfer of documents to any distance; storage of electronic documents allows you to save a large amount of information on small media and therefore does not require large areas for archives; the volume of routine technical operations with documents, time is freed up for solving meaningful management tasks;

the number of lost documents, the location of which is unknown, is reduced;

it becomes possible to use the information received to prepare another document (report, summary, review, etc.), thereby increasing the efficiency and quality of the document being compiled.

Approval of the draft electronic document has the following Benefits:

reading a document on a PC screen without outputting to paper; corrections are made to the draft document;

To disadvantageselectronic documents can be: fragility of storage compared to paper documents;

the need for technical means for reading; the possibility of making unauthorized changes (in the absence of an electronic digital signature (EDS) or other means of protection).

3. Electronic document management- the process of movement, processing, storage and exchange of electronic documents. Participants in the exchange of electronic documents - physical and legal entities, public authorities of the Russian Federation, local governments participating in the exchange of electronic documents.

Sender of an electronic document- a participant in the exchange of electronic documents that compiles an electronic document, signs it with his EDS and sends it to the recipient directly or through an information intermediary.

Recipient of the electronic document- participant in the exchange of electronic documents, to which the electronic document was received.

Intermediary in the exchange of electronic documents (information intermediary)- a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur who performs services related to the exchange of electronic documents between senders and recipients of electronic documents.

When exchanging electronic documents, information security tools must be used in accordance with the requirements of regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation.

An electronic document is subject to verification to confirm its authenticity by means of digital signature verification. Authentication of an electronic document is carried out by the recipient of the electronic document using the EDS verification tools provided to him by the sender or distributor of the EDS verification tools. Authenticity of an electronic document is considered confirmed if, as a result of the execution by the recipient of the electronic document of the procedures provided for by the means of verifying the EDS, the invariance of all its details is established. Electronic document managementregulated regulations :

state;

intersectoral;

industry;

local (enterprises).

Legal regulation in the field of circulation of electronic documents sent:

for the implementation of a unified state policy in the field of circulation of electronic documents;

ensuring the security and protection of information during its creation, processing, storage, transmission and reception;

ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of users of electronic documents;

legal support for the technology of creating, processing, storing, transmitting and receiving electronic documents. Work with electronic documents sent by e-mail is carried out likewise working with paper documents. Therefore, electronic document management is also called automated business. Each subscriber in e-mail is allocated an individual mailbox, which is assigned a user code, and the exchange of electronic messages is carried out through these mailboxes.

The sender of an electronic document creates a message file, specifies its name, date, time of sending, and launches the e-mail sender.

Electronic documents are transferred to the addressees in accordance with the instructions for distribution.

The recipient receives the document on the PC screen, which, if necessary, can be transferred to paper. With the help of a PC, electronic documents are registered.

The manager, having received an electronic document, puts down a resolution on it, and the document is sent to the PC to the contractor (executors) via the internal network.

The process of execution of electronic documents similar execution of paper documents. Electronic document management is constantly growing, especially in connection with the development of Internet commerce. Period of storage of electronic documents same, as with paper ones (for example, bank notices and transfer requirements - 5 years). Storing files for such a period can lead to their loss, so it is recommended to create special archives of electronic documents on CDs.

At storage of electronic documents in the electronic archive should be provided:

protection of electronic documents from unauthorized access and distortion;

the possibility of providing interested parties access to stored electronic documents in the manner prescribed by regulatory enactments;

the possibility of confirming the authenticity of electronic documents during the entire period of their storage;

the possibility of presenting stored electronic documents in the form of a copy on paper.

In the future, the development of electronic document management is focused on the maximum use of electronic documents, which involves changing the existing domestic traditions of office work and the gradual abandonment of paper information carriers.

1. Information in electronic form, signed with a qualified electronic signature, is recognized as an electronic document, equivalent to a paper document signed with a handwritten signature, and can be used in any legal relationship in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, except if federal laws or regulatory legal acts adopted in accordance with them establish the requirement that the document be drawn up exclusively on paper.

(see text in previous edition)

2. Information in electronic form, signed with a simple electronic signature or an unqualified electronic signature, is recognized as an electronic document equivalent to a paper document signed with a handwritten signature, in cases established by federal laws, regulatory legal acts adopted in accordance with them, or an agreement between participants in an electronic interactions. Regulatory legal acts and agreements between participants in electronic interaction that establish cases for recognizing electronic documents signed with an unqualified electronic signature as equivalent to paper documents signed with a handwritten signature should provide for the procedure for verifying an electronic signature. Normative legal acts and agreements between participants in electronic interaction establishing cases of recognition of electronic documents signed with a simple electronic signature as equivalent to paper documents signed with a handwritten signature must comply with the requirements of Article 9 of this Federal Law.

3. If, in accordance with federal laws, regulatory legal acts adopted in accordance with them, or business practice, a document must be certified by a seal, an electronic document signed with an enhanced electronic signature and recognized as equivalent to a paper document signed with a handwritten signature is recognized as equivalent to a document on hard copy, signed with a handwritten signature and certified by a seal. Federal laws, regulatory legal acts adopted in accordance with them, or an agreement between participants in electronic interaction may provide for additional requirements for an electronic document in order to recognize it as equivalent to a document on paper, certified by a seal.

3.1. If federal laws and regulatory legal acts adopted in accordance with them provide that a document must be signed by several persons, an electronic document must be signed by persons (authorized officials body, organization) that produced this document, with the type of signature established by the legislation of the Russian Federation for signing the prepared electronic document with an electronic signature.

4. Several interconnected electronic documents (package of electronic documents) can be signed with one electronic signature. When signing a package of electronic documents with an electronic signature, each of the electronic documents included in this package is considered to be signed with an electronic signature of the type that was used to sign the package of electronic documents. The exception is cases when the package of electronic documents by the person who signed the package includes electronic documents created by other persons (bodies, organizations) and signed by them with the type of electronic signature that is established by the legislation of the Russian Federation for signing such documents. In these cases, the electronic document included in the package is considered signed by the person who originally created such an electronic document, with the type of electronic signature with which this document was signed during creation, regardless of the type of electronic signature signed by the package of electronic documents.

Connecting traditional office work with electronic document management is not always easy. In the article you will find answers to the five most popular questions about electronic documents. We will tell you what an electronic document is, when it can and should be transferred to paper, how to make the electronic document exchange legally significant, how to issue an electronic document as an attachment to a paper letter, and how to store electronic documents.

QUESTION 1: WHAT IS AN ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT?

An electronic document spends all of its life cycle- from creation to destruction - in electronic form. A printed electronic document - like a scanned paper one - is just a copy of the original.

In recent years, the theory and practice of office work have been striving to “make friends” between electronic and paper documents in order to keep up with the document flow that is rapidly moving into the online space and at the same time maintain its legal significance. For example, there are several variants of an e-mail, of which only one is a real electronic document:

• a letter signed with an electronic signature is a real electronic document;
• a message sent by e-mail is not a document, but it can be one, provided that the participants in the communication have agreed on this;
• a scanned copy of a letter on paper is not an electronic document, but if the sender and recipient have agreed that the exchange of such copies is legally binding, then such a copy sent by e-mail can be equated to an e-mail. We will talk about this in more detail in the answer to the third question.

QUESTION 2: WHICH MEDIA TO WORK WITH ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS ON?

Work with electronic documents can be carried out both online and on paper. Of course, it is easier and faster to exchange electronic documents using e-mail or an electronic document management system (hereinafter referred to as EDMS), but this is not always possible. The result is paper copies of electronic documents.

print email to work on it, you can, but do not forget: if you are exchanging letters with an addressee on an electronic platform, then the answer to this letter must be electronic. Moreover: a citizen may demand to send him an answer to his appeal by e-mail.

The internal rules of the organization may state that a certain document exists only in electronic form. As a rule, memos are the first to be displayed online. Employees exchange them in EDMS, cloud services or by e-mail.

However, there are rules prescribing that electronic documents be printed out in order to be placed in the case on paper.

QUESTION 3: HOW TO MAKE LEGALLY SIGNIFICANT DOCUMENT FLOW USING ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS?

Electronic documents are signed with electronic digital signatures (hereinafter - EDS). At the same time, only an enhanced qualified EDS, that is, registered in a certification center accredited by the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia, is an absolute analogue of a handwritten one. It can be used in communications with government agencies. Organizations can communicate with each other using documents signed by any type of EDS: enhanced qualified, enhanced unskilled or simple. What kind of EDS to use must be fixed in the agreement.

A fragment of the agreement on the use of electronic signatures by its parties is given in Example 1.

If desired, the parties may stipulate in the agreement that messages in mail clients and instant messengers, sms messages have legal force.

QUESTION 4: HOW DO I ATTACH AN ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT TO A PAPER LETTER?

Packages of documents are sent from the organization with cover letters. Electronic documents are no exception. But sometimes you need to send a cover letter with several paper and several electronic attachments. In this case, you first need to prepare an electronic application: burn it on a CD or flash card. Then write a cover letter. Lastly, place an insert in an envelope with a disk or flash drive.

Main props cover letter- requisite 19 "Application mark".

Let's give examples of designing a cover letter (Example 2) and a disc cover (Example 3).

QUESTION 5: HOW TO STORE ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS?

The main principle of storing electronic documents is no discrimination by media! The archival rules are the same for both paper and electronic files. However, there are some features for storing electronic documents. They are specified in the Rules for the organization of storage, acquisition, accounting and use of documents of the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation and other documents in state authorities, local governments and organizations (hereinafter - the Rules 2015).

An electronic document is unloaded from the program in which it was created and saved in an immutable format before being sent to storage: The 2015 Regulations recommend PDF/A, but the organization will have to purchase software to work with it. The optimal format for saving electronic documents, which is suitable for many organizations, is PDF.

An electronic file is recorded on a separate electronic medium. The best option- CD-ROM with the possibility of one-time recording. The 2015 rules require recording an electronic file on two disks: one copy is a working copy, the second is the main one. This applies only to cases of permanent and long-term (over 10 years) storage periods. If the file has a five-year retention period, then it can be left out of the archive by simply saving it in an unchanged format. If such a file still needs to be transferred for storage, then it will be enough to burn it on one disk.

A cover is drawn up for each case (Example 4).

Electronic cases on disks are transferred to the archive in accordance with the procedure adopted by the organization.

SUMMARY

1. Electronic documents from creation to destruction exist in electronic form.
2. You can work with electronic documents on any medium.
3. Organizations establish the rules for the exchange of electronic documents in an agreement among themselves.
4. An electronic document may be attached to a paper letter. The application is drawn up in accordance with GOST R 7.0.97. System of standards on information, librarianship and publishing. Organizational and administrative documentation. Documentation requirements.
5. Electronic documents are transferred to the archive of the organization on CDs, issued in accordance with the Rules 2015.