In his previous intervention in Radio Guerrilla’s “UPDATE” show, Aurel Meiroșu (eIDAS Trust Services Business Development Manager, certSIGN), pinpointed the latest developments of the government systems that enable digital interactions with citizens and small businesses through digital certificates and qualified electronic signatures. This time, our colleague reflected on the information regarding electronic signatures in relation to the state institutions.
1. As a citizen, I purchase a qualified electronic signature. Where can I use it, and how can it benefit me?
“First and foremost, you can go online during a broadcast break, engage in an online acquisition process, undergo video identification, and have your qualified electronic signature ready to use in just 10 minutes. This is the first step.
I believe the first thing you can and should do afterward is register with the National Public Pensions House (CNPP) and check your contributions over time. Also, as a citizen, interacting with the Private Virtual Space (SPV) of the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) is crucial, as there you can find and transmit information regarding your tax situation.
The National Trade Register Office (ONRC) is another institution where you can use the digital certificate for the qualified electronic signature, especially if you intend to start a company,” explained Aurel Meiroșu.
Furthermore, the qualified electronic signature certificate can be used for personal purposes. For example, if you have an apartment for rent, you can sign the contract with a real estate agency or a future tenant. The electronic signature can also be used in your interactions with the bank or for signing a copyright contract, and practically any document can be signed with legal value using a digital certificate for the qualified electronic signature.
2. As an administrator or authorized representative of a company, SME, etc., how do I use the digital certificate for electronic signatures, and how does it help me?
“I think that ANAF remains the most important and prevalent aspect in the life of an SME, where you can file tax declarations, access the Private Virtual Space to verify other information, and, most importantly, starting from January 1, 2024, all invoices issued will go through SPV. To fulfill the legal requirement of transmitting invoices there, you need a qualified electronic signature.”, further clarified Aurel Meiroșu.
For accountants, the digital certificate is an extremely valuable tool as it has practically eliminated the regular trips and long queues to submit declarations and more.
“I would continue to delve into the area of public procurement, where the system mandates that all documentation uploaded for participation in a procurement procedure must be electronically signed. Then, there is the ONRC, where you can perform various operations. We can also consider the ITM (Labor Inspectorate), then the Romanian Customs Authority we discussed last week or applying for European funds.
I would not conclude this overview without 2 mentions: on one hand, we are discussing about a company, an SME, that has the obligation to interact with certain state-owned information systems by using electronic signatures. But on the other hand, in the end, that electronic signature can also be used in the day-to-day life of the company. A company primarily exists through its employees and through partners, collaborators, suppliers, and so on,” our colleague emphasized as a conclusion.