What does electronic mean? Types of electronic information: electronic message, electronic signature, universal electronic card
The concept of “electronic document”
With the development of information technology, so-called electronic documents have become widely used, the use of which provides many advantages for users:
- 1. Acceleration of document flow processes;
- 2. The ability to transmit a document via digital communication channels;
- 3. Easily changeable content (editing);
- 4. Theoretical possibility of eternal storage;
- 5. Unlimited copies having legal force and so on.
However, the concept of “electronic document” has not always been unambiguous and is still controversial.
The term “Electronic document” appeared approximately in the early 1990s, but in domestic document science it began to be actively used only in the late 1990s. Before this, in domestic and foreign literature, the terms “machine-readable document”, “Document on machine media” were generally accepted. In particular, the definition of the term “Document on machine media” is given by the current GOST R 51141-98: “this is a document created using media and recording methods that ensure processing of its information by an electronic computer"
It should be noted that an electronic document is machine-readable, but not every machine-readable document is electronic. Development computer technology made the term “machine-readable document” and its main characteristic - suitability for machine readability - unviable in the 1990s: in modern conditions information can be read by machine from any paper document. There is a need for a new concept that relates to documents going through all stages of their life cycle- from creation to destruction or transfer to eternal archival storage - in in electronic format. This became the concept of “electronic document”.
Most existing definitions of the term “electronic document” emphasize the similarity of the concepts “document” and “electronic document”. In this case, the emphasis is on the information component of the concept: an electronic document is defined, first of all, as information. In specific cases to the category electronic documents may include databases (registers, cadastres, lists, etc.) and digitized copies of paper documents.
IN Russian legislation the regulatory definition of an electronic document appeared for the first time in Federal law dated January 10, 2002 No. 1-FZ “On Electronic Digital Signature”: “an electronic document is a document whose information is presented in electronic digital form.” The concept is also given in the Federal Law of July 27, 2006 No. 149-FZ “On information, information technology and on information protection": "electronic document - information presented in the form of a set of states of electronic elements computer technology(EVT), other electronic means of processing, storing and transmitting information that can be converted into a form suitable for unambiguous human perception and having attributes for identifying a document.”
“The peculiarity of electronic documents is that their information is presented in electronic digital form and, as a result, can be perceived by a person only with the help of appropriate hardware and software. However, electronic documents perform the same functions and have the same significance as traditional documents. That is why in the archival legislation of some developed countries in the definition of the concepts “document” and “electronic document” the emphasis is placed not on the form of documents, but on their functions.”
According to this law, the following requirements are imposed on an electronic document: it must be created, processed, transmitted and stored using software and hardware; have a structure established by law and contain details that allow its identification; be presented in a form that is understandable for human perception.
In accordance with the law, an electronic document on a computer medium is equal to a document on paper and has the same legal force. Thus, the law eliminates any uncertainty, placing electronic documents among other technotronic documents and placing emphasis on the generic concept - document.
Thus, according to the definition of the US National Archives, electronic documents are documents containing digital, graphic and text information that can be recorded on any computer media (that is, containing any information recorded in a form accessible for processing only using a computer) and which corresponds to the definition of the concept “document”: “all book, paper, cartographic, photographic, machine-readable and other written materials, regardless of their physical fitness or properties created or received federal agency United States under federal law or in connection with the implementation of government activities and maintained or to be retained by that federal agency or its successor as evidence of activities (organization, functions, rules, decisions, procedures, actions, or other) federal authorities or because of the informational value of the data they contain.”
However, electronic documents, unlike traditional documents, are not physical, but logical integrity. A floppy disk or file cannot be considered an electronic document. An electronic record is recognized as an electronic document only if it is the result and evidence of an activity.
The specificity of electronic documents also lies in the fact that they have their own physical and logical structure, which does not coincide with our previous traditional ideas about the document. It depends on the method of placing data on computer media and on the software and hardware used. The logical structure of electronic documents determines the semantic relationships between parts of documents in the form of data various types: text, tables, graphics, animations, multimedia records, etc. Capturing and reproducing a document is carried out using appropriate information technologies on a modular basis.
Electronic documents are directly dependent on information technologies, which have an irreversible tendency to become obsolete (change) with scientific and technological progress in the field of technology and software. The specificity of electronic documents, as well as the massive use of new information technologies, the invasion of the field of documentation management and archiving by specialists in the field of computer technology has given rise to a certain terminological confusion and confusion of the concepts of “electronic record”, “document”, “videogram”, etc.
In one case, an electronic document is understood as a computer storage medium, in another, a separate file on this medium, in a third, a printout on paper, in a fourth, a certain “matrix in computer memory.” Sometimes an image on the screen, including one obtained via e-mail, from the Internet and other networks (virtual document). I.L. Bachilo writes in this regard that it is possible to classify electronic documents into types according to their target attribute:
“An electronic document is a method of storing a traditional document in electronic form while identifying the identity of the primary document;
Electronic document - as a primary document, created in an electronic system, included in an information and communication system without paper form (computer programs, data along the north-north line, computer-computer)
An electronic document is a method of directly informing the user; display, file, television files, electronic edition- CDROM, etc.;
An electronic document - as a means of expressing the will of a participant in an electronic form of legal relations - a legally significant fact, a legal act (a means of transporting the expression of will) in transactions, exchanges scientific information etc.)".
“Scientific document analysis of this situation in the historical aspect requires, first of all, to turn to the study of the definitions of electronic documents available in the literature. Thus, it was possible to identify over forty such definitions, formulated by specialists and presented in official documents.” Their analysis shows that, despite the diversity of approaches, three main groups of definitions can be distinguished:
- 1. An electronic document is a machine-readable document, a document on machine media;
- 2. An electronic document is a special type of document;
- 3. An electronic document is an electronic form;
Despite the widespread use of the term “electronic document” in literature and practice, as well as its enshrinement in law, the definition has not yet been established. An example of this is the data from a survey of practical archivists conducted within the framework of the VNIIDAD research project “Documentary and archival problems of electronic documents.” These data are of great independent interest for research. At the same time, they indicate the absence in archival institutions of general ideas about the subject of the survey, which is an indicator of the instability and terminological uncertainty of the concept of “electronic document”. A recently published work by specialists in corporate information systems also notes that an electronic document is “a document whose carrier is an electronic medium - a magnetic disk, magnetic tape, compact disk, etc.”
According to A.P. Kurilo, an electronic document is presented as “in a certain way an organizational ensemble of special symbols, codes and electrical signals corresponding to each other, which exists only in a computing telecommunications environment, is physically immaterial and is inaccessible to a person, unless he uses special equipment.” The electronic document, according to the opinion of A.P. Kurilo, unlike paper, lacks its second most important component - a material medium that is in strict accordance with the information contained on it
This understanding reflects only the physical and technical characteristics of an electronic document, leaving outside of it what interests a document specialist and any practical office worker - the goals, objectives, and functions of the document.
You can also consider another definition of an electronic document. S.I. Semiletov understands it as “a written document, executed either in the form of an objective form of recording digital machine code on a material medium included in electronic technical means, or in the form of a physical field of various kinds of signals (electromagnetic, electrical, optical and acoustic) transmitted via a telecommunication channel connections in time and space." The positive thing about this definition is that the author does not extend his own document beyond the definition, but only modernizes the definition of a material carrier of information.
The last point of view on the definition of an electronic document belongs to M.N. Kostomarov, who believes that the essence of this new phenomenon is most accurately reflected by the term “electronic document form”, and “electronic document” is just an intermediate state, temporary form storing the elements that make up a document in computer memory.
So, the text analyzes the concept of “electronic document”. It shows that the following components can be distinguished in them: this is information recorded in a certain way on a medium with the possibility of its identification; electronic documents perform the same functions and have the same significance as traditional documents; electronic documents have their own physical and logical structure.
It also follows from the above that there is still no precise concept of “electronic document”. Along with the traditional document, the “electronic document” has a number of features: massive use of new information technologies; electronic digital signature; lack of rigid binding to the carrier; sending documents to an electronic archive immediately upon completion of work with them in office work.
The level of computerization today requires a transition to “paperless” office work. It is based on an electronic document, which, unlike the traditional one, is characterized by a number of new properties and features. To date, there is no single definition of this phenomenon either in the legislation or in the scientific world of Russia.
The concept of “electronic document” appeared already in the 1970s. This is how they began to call “machine-readable documents”. Their peculiarity is that they must be created using and be suitable for processing on a computer. In this case, the required details are drawn up strictly in the order established for all documents.
An electronic document is informational, consisting of two mandatory parts: 1) details (name, information about the author, time, place of creation, etc.) and an electronic digital signature; 2) the main content part, including textual, graphic and numerical information, processed as a single whole.
An electronic document must be signed, which makes it equivalent to a paper document signed by hand. Information is presented in it in digital (electronic) form. Data can be perceived using a computer, transmitted over information and telecommunication networks, processed - in information systems. If necessary, such a document can take the form of a visual display both on the screen and on paper.
Electronic document management is the life cycle of an electronic company) from their receipt, change of state (agreed, communicated, in progress, signed, closed, etc.) to writing off in the archive. Such document flow is sometimes referred to as “workflow”, which characterizes the movement of documents as a single flow of individual works within a certain business process. Everything includes software, which is necessary to organize and support the life cycle of such documents.
An electronic document and document flow based on it have a number of advantages over traditional ones. They enable employees of the organization to control not only own plot work, but also the whole process. Using an electronic archive is much more convenient than using a paper one. You can find a document in a few minutes, and the time required for its approval and execution is reduced. Overall it is more economical than paper. There are quite a few electronic document management programs (“Motiv”, “E1 Euphrates”, “DocsVision”, “1C: Document Management”, etc.).
Today there is Foreign experience regulation of relations in the field of electronic documents in legal terms. In Russia, the problem of regulating these relations has not received a legislative solution, although attempts to pass a corresponding law have been made (2005). The adoption of a legislative act on this kind of document is one of the current areas of legislative regulation.
Changes are due new edition Government Decree No. 1137 dated December 26, 2011, which was approved by Government Decree No. 625 dated May 25, 2017.
5By order dated January 18, 2017 No. ММВ-7-6/16@, the Federal Tax Service approved the format of the list of documents that accompanies electronic document management between tax authorities and taxpayers.
6The format of the inventory that accompanies them also changes accordingly. The changes were introduced by Order of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation dated November 28, 2016 No. MMB-7-6/643@.
5Starting from 2017, it will be possible to send petitions, statements, complaints, presentations and evidence to the court electronically.
This means that such documents can only be submitted to the tax authorities via the Internet until the end of 2020.
The company is organizing a “Roaming Center” (RC EDC), which should become a centralized hub for operators.
17This will allow the free use of the new invoice format approved at the end of April and removes the last restrictions in the transition to EDI for companies that exchange UPD.
3Previously, four more SKB Kontur programs were included in the register - Kontur-Personnel, Kontur-Salary, “Kontur-Accounting Asset” and “Kontur-Accounting Budget”.
Now companies that use UPD on paper will be able to easily convert it into electronic form.
6On April 7 at 11:00 Moscow time, Oksana Leonova will tell you how Order of the Ministry of Finance No. 174 affected EDF users and answer your questions.
3The document comes into force on April 1, 2016 and cancels the current Order of the Ministry of Finance dated April 25, 2011 No. 50n.
2The Ministry of Finance officially confirmed this by letter dated January 25, 2016 No. 03-07-11/2722.
The Tax Service has updated the previous electronic formats of TORG-12 invoices and work acceptance certificates.
10Legislation regulating electronic document management (EDF) standards is changing rapidly. And 2016 will be no exception; a number of changes will come into force.
The Federal Portal of Draft Legal Acts has published a draft by the Federal Tax Service on approval of the format of the electronic universal transfer document (UDD).
VAT payers must register all invoices in the books of purchases and sales, and intermediary organizations - in the accounting journals. Paper invoices are usually recorded based on the date they are issued. But how to keep records of electronic ones if they have three dates recorded at once: compilation, issuance and receipt? How to deduct VAT if the invoice is received at the junction of tax periods?
Volume of electronic document flow between Russian companies constantly growing. At the end of the third quarter of 2015, 98.2 million documents were transferred through the Diadoc electronic document management system. This is 24.1 million more than in the first half of the year. Therefore, the issue of storing electronic documents is becoming more and more relevant.
2On this moment There are no versions of CIPF for Windows 10 certified by the FSB of Russia yet.
The use of uncertified electronic signature means may cast doubt on the legitimacy of the electronic signature and the documents signed by it.
Paper document flow often causes not only systemic problems that slow down a company’s business processes, but also difficulties with tax authorities. As a consequence, additional taxes are charged and a refusal to receive a VAT deduction. Let's consider how these risks can be eliminated using the electronic document management (EDF) service Kontur.Diadoc (developed by SKB Kontur).
On April 14, a new format for electronic invoices came into force. Our experts analyzed the new format and compiled a comparative list of differences with the previous version.
A new format for electronic invoices comes into force.
It was approved by the Federal Tax Service of Russia by order dated March 4, 2015 No. ММВ-7-6/93@. The previous format had a number of disadvantages that limited companies in the transition to electronic document management (EDF). The new format is designed to remove these restrictions.
3The changes will affect the web version and API of Diadoc.
42The deadline for filing a VAT return using the new form is inexorably approaching, and taxpayers still have a lot of questions. How to present data correctly? Who must submit what information? How to insure against errors? In other words, how to ensure that the VAT return is submitted on time, and the tax authorities do not have any questions or complaints.
1In the new year, VAT reporting will change. Legal entities will have to submit a declaration in an expanded form, which includes information from the book of purchases and sales, and intermediaries will have to submit data from the journals of invoices: both received and issued. The form of such reporting has already been established by order of the Federal Tax Service. Now he is registered with the Ministry of Justice.
Often a product or service is sold in one tax period, and the consumer receives an invoice in another. Current legislation and established practice do not allow the buyer to receive a deduction on an invoice during the period of delivery of goods or provision of services. However, from 2015 the situation will change.
1It is generally accepted that electronic document management (EDF) is the prerogative of large companies. However, statistics show that for one large company There are about 20 small and medium-sized companies in the EDI system. One of the first clients of our system, for example, was an individual entrepreneur with whom we still work.
2The number of electronic documents transmitted during the first half of the year increased sixfold compared to the same period last year.
For the first time in Russia individuals began to display electronic documents in the electronic legally significant document flow (EDF) system Diadoc of the SKB Kontur company.
8According to the Letter of the Federal Tax Service dated October 21, 2013 No. ММВ-20-3/96@ “On the absence of tax risks when taxpayers use a primary document drawn up on the basis of an invoice,” taxpayers have the right to freely use a document that combines an invoice and a primary document .
5SKB Kontur clients have the opportunity to submit to the tax office a log of issued and received invoices and books of purchases and sales under TKS without the need to generate xml files themselves.
The questions asked by representatives of electronic document management (EDF) operators and of concern to all progressive business in Russia concerned the violation of the five-day deadline for issuing invoices, the number of electronic formalized documents, possible incentives for taxpayers who switched to EDI, and the network of trusted EDI operators.
In the “Online Consultations” section on the Klerk.Ru portal, you can again ask the expert any questions about electronic document management.
It has been possible to submit the requested documents under the TKS for just over a year now. More and more different companies are switching to electronic document management with tax authorities. See below for how it works and what major taxpayers and tax inspectors think about electronic submission.
In the first issue, system analyst of the Diadoc project Tamara Mokeeva spoke about submitting documents electronically to the tax office in three steps.
2You can ask a question to an expert on the Klerk.Ru portal, in the “Online Consultations” section.
6According to the amendments made by the State Duma to the Federal Law of 04/06/11 No. 63-FZ “On Electronic Signatures”, the validity of the digital signature will last for another six months after the Federal Law of 01/10/02 No. 1-FZ “On Electronic Digital Signature” is no longer valid.
Question: Good afternoon! The recently published Resolution No. 446 (on amendments to Resolution No. 1137) excluded notification from the buyer from the document flow of electronic invoices. Please comment on how in this case the exchange of invoices will take place now?
The Federal Tax Service of Russia invites everyone to take part in the discussion of the draft form of a multi-purpose primary accounting document that can be used for the purposes of applying VAT and income tax.
1Today, tax inspectors are increasingly asking taxpayers to submit documents via the Internet to speed up their audits. Read below about how to satisfy the tax authorities’ request using the example of the Kontur-Extern system.
The company compiled a package of required documents in the form of scanned images and, together with the inventory, sent it via TKS through a special communications operator SKB Kontur.
With the penetration of electronic documents in Russia, employers are beginning to prefer to hire employees who can work in electronic document management systems.
On January 1, 2013, Federal Law dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ “On Accounting” came into force. Among other things, the law approves some innovations regarding electronic primary documents. At the same time, working with electronic documents is complicated by the presence of several types of electronic signatures: electronic digital signature, unqualified and qualified electronic signatures. Tamara Mokeeva, an expert in the Diadoc electronic document management system, talks about how to sign an electronic “primary document” now.
On January 1, 2013, the Federal Law of the Russian Federation dated November 21, 1996 No. 129-FZ “On Accounting” became invalid. At the same time, federal law dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ came into force. Among other things, the law approved some changes regarding electronic primary documents.
2According to paragraph 3 of Art. 168 of the Tax Code (TC) of the Russian Federation, the seller is obliged to issue an invoice within five days from the date of shipment of goods or performance of work (services). According to the Ministry of Finance (letter of the Ministry of Finance dated August 26, 2010 No. 03−07−11/370), violation of the five-day deadline entails a refusal to deduct input VAT. In an electronic invoice, unlike a paper one, the date of issue is strictly recorded by the electronic document management (EDF) operator; it cannot be changed. However, there are no real grounds for losing the right to deduction, experts say.
At events where electronic document management (EDF) is covered, one often hears remarks from accountants that an electronic document is too expensive compared to a paper one. Accountants and managers who have already switched to electronic document management (the Diadoc system) talk about whether this is true.
After the entry into force of the Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated June 29, 2012 No. ММВ-7-6/465@, taxpayers can send in response to a tax request to the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate not certified paper copies of documents, but their scanned images or XML files of documents in electronic form via TKS.
Tax authorities are actively preparing to receive and process documents electronically. In the meantime, they accept certified copies of electronic documents transmitted through Diadoc.
2This became clear during the SKB Kontur company seminar “Electronic Document Flow (EDF) of Business Entities and Bodies Accepting Reports,” held in the Moscow region from June 6 to 8.
2According to clauses 2.1 - 2.3 of the Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated April 25, 2011 No. 50n, each participant in electronic document management (EDF) must fill out and submit to its operator an application for participation in EDF, in which indicate a list of necessary details, such as: the full name of the organization (or Full name of the individual entrepreneur), location of the organization, information about the owners of the received signature key certificates and details of the signature key certificate, INN/KPP, information about the tax authority with which the organization is registered, etc.
2On April 19, 2012, Order MMV-7-6/251@ was signed, amending Order No. MMV-7-6/535@ of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated November 9, 2010. According to these changes, the unified format of the transport container was updated for information interaction with the reception complexes of tax authorities for TKS using an electronic signature.
How to become an EDF Operator, and why don’t they exist yet? Why temporary rules, and when will the register appear? Read the answers to the questions below.
Order No. ММВ-7-3/83@ dated 02/14/2012 contains a description of the codes for the types of value added tax transactions necessary for maintaining a log of received and issued invoices.
From April 1, 2012, it will be possible to issue an invoice only using a new one printed form, approved by Resolution No. 1137 of January 26, 2012.
We sincerely hope that electronic invoice formats will be approved in the near future.
The Ministry of Finance of Russia sent an official letter to the Federal Tax Service explaining the deadlines for application new form invoices.
The Federal Tax Service has approved the document formats required for issuing and receiving invoices electronically via TKS using an electronic signature.
7SKB Kontur, the developer of the Diadoc system for exchanging external electronic documents, has released a special application that allows accountants to solve the problem with outdated invoice forms.
23With the entry into force of the Resolution, the rules for working with invoices have changed significantly.
The Ministry of Finance of Russia, in a letter dated December 7, 2011 No. 03-07-14/119, reported that a draft resolution is being approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, which provides for new forms of invoices, adjustment invoices, a log of received and issued invoices, purchase books and sales books. It is expected that the document will come into force on January 1, 2012.
ASTANA, November 4 – News Agency-Kazakhstan. The phased introduction of electronic invoices from 2012 will allow Kazakh businesses to save at least five billion tenge a year, Deputy Chairman of the Tax Committee of the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan Argyn Kypshakov said on Friday.
On October 1, 2011, Law No. 245-FZ came into force regarding adjustment invoices. This means that now, if it is necessary to make changes to the invoice, the accountant will need to create new document- adjustment. Note that previously changes were made to the original invoice.
IN Rossiyskaya newspaper Federal Law No. 245-FZ of July 19, 2011 was published, which amends the first and second parts of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In particular, this law establishes the right of companies to issue adjustment invoices.
A formalized unified document standard and process automation (that is, maximum elimination of “ human factor") will help taxpayers reduce the number of errors and, as a result, avoid the risk of additional tax charges. We analyzed the mistakes that are made when preparing and issuing invoices, and identified those that can be forgotten if the company switches to electronic documents.
The south of Russia is a point of enormous potential growth for electronic document management systems (EDMS): the volume of their implementation in our region is still only a few percent. Legislation promotes the development of EDMS in business, and government agencies are simply obliged to use only them
A primary document executed in electronic form and signed with an electronic digital signature may be a document confirming the taxpayer’s expenses.
The Russian newspaper published Federal Law No. 235-FZ of July 19, 2011, which amends the first and second parts of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In particular, this law establishes the right of companies to issue adjustment invoices.
Most likely, electronic invoices will appear in the third quarter of this year. Sergei RAZGULIN, Deputy Director of the Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy of the Russian Ministry of Finance, spoke about what changes in invoices will affect taxpayers.
Until recently, only paper forms were established for invoices. However, Russian companies will soon be able to issue and receive invoices electronically. This opportunity will appear as soon as officials approve the relevant electronic format document. Let's figure out how digital invoices will be exchanged.
The Federal Tax Service, by letter dated 06/22/2011 No. ED-4−3/9868@, sent to the tax authorities for information and use in their work a copy of the Order of the Ministry of Finance dated 04/25/2011 No. 50n on approval of the Procedure for issuing and receiving invoices in electronic form via TKS using EDS.
Businesses know first-hand about electronic documents. Many enterprises have long been using internal EDMS to simplify work with documents within the company. However, the process of exchanging electronic documents has long transcended the boundaries of individual enterprises and has grown into a much larger phenomenon. Now Russian companies have received the legislative right to use electronic legally significant documents in external document flow - when working with clients and suppliers. Contracts, invoices, certificates of completion of work, etc. can be signed electronically and sent to counterparties via the Internet, excluding mail and couriers.
The German Ministry of Finance has decided to simplify the legislation on electronic invoices from July 1 of this year.
Recently, the order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated February 17, 2011 No. ММВ-7-2/168@ came into force, which determines the procedure for providing documents at the request of the inspectorate as part of a tax audit. In practice, it will be possible to send at least some electronic documents to the inspectorate no earlier than the end of 2011. However, it is already possible to exchange an electronic primary document with counterparties without duplicating it on paper.
According to the information we have, the draft order of the Russian Ministry of Finance, which approves the Procedure for the exchange of electronic invoices, should soon be registered with the Russian Ministry of Justice. According to the project, sellers and buyers will send each other electronic invoices through a document flow operator.
The first quarter of 2011 was very successful for the Electronic Invoicing Center postal service Estonia. Compared to the same period last year, turnover in this area increased by almost 300%.
With the entry into force of the new law “On EDS”, we can expect active use of digital signatures by citizens. Including for receiving government services electronically
Will tax inspectorates request originals during audits? in paper form, is it worth having mandatory paper copies in addition to electronic documents, and how to technically submit electronic documents at the request of the inspection? Such questions primarily arise among Russian taxpayers when it comes to digital document management. Diadoc experts answer these questions.
Last Friday, March 25, 2011, the State Duma of the Russian Federation approved in the last reading the draft Federal Law “On Electronic Signatures”.
March 24, 2011 passed round table « Actual problems electronic interaction between tax authorities and taxpayers.”
On March 21, a meeting was held dedicated to the implementation of electronic invoices in Russia
In 2010, the subjects of the Ural federal district began to more actively move from theory on the topic of electronic public services to practice. The first services began to appear that allow citizens to solve problems remotely. However, as experts note, the main obstacle to the development of electronic government services is the state itself.
A number of changes regarding the use of invoices have come into force in Russia. 229-FZ officially recognized them in electronic format, canceling the previously valid wording about the legality of only the paper version of this document. As a result, the electronic invoice logically completed the list of documents used by all Russian companies to document their business transactions.
On October 13, the 6th European Summit, the largest annual event on electronic invoices and other electronic documents (EXPP Summit), ended in Germany.
Interesting results were shown by the survey “Electronic exchange of invoices”, conducted this fall among PC Week/RE readers. As follows from its results (see diagram 1), almost all of our respondents (over 94%) were to some extent interested in the news that electronic exchange of invoices is finally allowed in Russia.
Interview with Petr Didenko, chief strategic development specialist at SKB Kontur
On July 16, the State Duma, in the third reading, adopted a bill allowing enterprises to exchange invoices electronically using the Internet. Three days later it was approved by the Federation Council. Now organizations that have compatible technical means, can send electronic documents to each other by mutual agreement of the parties to the transaction.
At the Tver Forum, Leonid Volkov explained what e-invoicing is and why it is so popular in the world. And how to make e-invoicing work in Russia.
1Today there are many ways to create a copy of a paper document, convert from paper to electronic format, etc. If you only need a photocopier to create copies of paper documents, then to convert a paper document into its electronic format you will need not only special equipment, but also software.
How to create an electronic version of a document?
In order to create an electronic copy of a document, the user will need a scanner or MFP (multifunction device). Of course, if there is no need for an MFP, then you shouldn’t buy one; it’s easier to get by with a scanner. Firstly, it will cost much less, and secondly, it will perform exactly the function that the user needs, namely, scan a document and convert it into electronic format.
To operate the scanner you will need special software - a driver. Usually it comes with the device, but if it is not there, you can always find it on the Internet. You can use the universal ABBY Finereader program, which directly scans and recognizes text.
The entire procedure for converting a paper document into an electronic format comes down to just these two procedures (scanning and text recognition). To make an electronic copy of a document, you need to: go to the “Start” menu, and in the list of all programs, find either the driver for the scanner or MFP, or the ABBY Finereader program and run it. After starting the program and the scanner, you can open the lid and place a paper document on it with the text facing down. The document should be placed on the scanner surface as evenly as possible in relation to the edges of the working surface of the device. Next, you need to press the lid as tightly as possible so that the light does not fall on the work surface. Otherwise, the electronic document will turn out to be overexposed, that is, the part of the text that was hit by the light will not be visible.
Next in the settings you should select optimal parameters scanning, such as color, output size, output resolution, etc. When everything is ready, you can click on the “Scan” button. When the procedure is completed, you should click on “Recognition”, with the help of which the text will be converted into an electronic format, for example .doc, and the document can be opened in a text editor to make changes.
Before listing existing types of electronic documents, let's look at the definition.
What an electronic document is is written in Federal Law No. 149-FZ of July 27, 2006 “On information, information technologies and information protection.” This is documented information presented in electronic form, that is, in a form suitable for human perception using electronic devices. computers, as well as for transmission over information and telecommunication networks or processing in information systems.
Types of electronic documents
There is far more than one classification that distinguishes certain types of electronic documents. Let's look at the most common ones.
By content type. Most often, electronic documents are classified according to the criterion of content type. In this case, allocate text, graphic, animation, sound, multimedia files.
According to availability. Depending on the degree of accessibility, an electronic document can be open And hidden. Open electronic documents are public, accessible to a wide range of people, since they do not contain any secrets. This is usually what information looks like on websites, licensing agreements, price lists, etc. Hidden electronic documents can only be seen by a limited number of people, since they contain confidential information, sometimes constituting a commercial or even state secret.
Based on the presence of an electronic signature. All electronic documents can be divided into electronically signed and unsigned. You probably know that thanks to an electronic signature (hereinafter referred to as ES), you can identify the person who signed the electronic document. Therefore, authorship can be determined. In addition, the electronic signature guarantees the integrity and immutability of the electronic document.
The classification of electronic documents by industry also takes place, especially today, when electronic document management covers more and more areas of our activity. Each industry uses both generally accepted and specific documents. For example, in retail - invoices, acts of completed work, invoices TORG-12, acts of established discrepancy TORG-2, adjustment invoices. In the energy sales complex there is the same primary data plus reconciliation reports, invoices for payment, etc.
Types of accounting electronic documents
Most often, companies exchange primary documents. Let's take a closer look at the types of primary:
- Invoice, according to paragraph 1 of Art. 169 part two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, can be compiled and posted in electronic form. In accordance with the Order of the Federal Tax Service dated 03/05/2012 N ММВ-7-6/138@, an electronic invoice (hereinafter referred to as ESF) must comply with the .XML format. When signed with a qualified electronic signature by the head of the company or an authorized person, the ESF acquires legal significance.
Detailed information You can find information about the use of electronic invoices, their exchange between counterparties and regulatory subtleties in the publication “Electronic invoice. Instructions for use".
- Certificate of completed work (services) To date, it does not have a mandatory electronic format. There is a recommended format for use - .XML. Despite the fact that the law does not provide for a specific procedure for working with an electronic act, exchanging data type of electronic document it is possible without the help of operators.
Use any format convenient for you - for example, .PDF. However, there is an important nuance: if the Federal Tax Service receives a claim in electronic form, then you will have to submit the acts of work performed in .XML format.
- Consignment note (TORG-12) in electronic form is also increasingly used. It is usually compiled in one of three formats - .XML, .JPG or .TIF. In this case, organizations can themselves develop the form of the consignment note. But the main condition must be met: a number of details must be reflected in the document (name of the product and its quantity, VAT and the amount of VAT, etc.). You can read more about this in our material “Electronic consignment note”.
Summarizing the above, I would like to note once again:
Electronic documents have penetrated into various areas of activity
With the advent of electronic documents, people's lives have become much easier, especially in terms of their work activities. Creating an electronic document takes much less time, it is more convenient to store, and search necessary information, presented digitally, takes just minutes. In a word, electronic documents have a lot of advantages, and today people working in the most different areas– from accounting to trade, from energy sales companies to insurance. The main thing is not to get confused, since over time there are more and more types of electronic documents, and the state has strict requirements for the execution of some of them (for example, invoices).
