The authorities decided to postpone the last stage of the electronic signature reform to a later date. This was reported by RBC with reference to sources among market participants. It was originally planned that from January 1, 2022, the business will switch to machine-readable powers of attorney – electronic documents confirming that an employee has the right to sign a document on behalf of an organization.
A spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko confirmed that at a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, it was decided that in 2022 a transitional period would be introduced for the use of so-called machine-readable powers of attorney. Over the next year, such electronic documents can be used voluntarily, and accredited certification centers will be able, as before, to issue electronic signatures to employees linked to the organization.
According to Chernyshenko, the transition period will allow companies next year to modernize their business processes and software products to work with a new power of attorney, and voluntariness in the use of a machine-readable power of attorney will allow market participants “to comfortably plan the revision of information systems and the implementation of subsequent integrations”.
An electronic signature is a tool that can be used to identify an individual or legal entity without his personal presence. Before the government’s decision, it was assumed that from 2022, ordinary employees of companies who sign documents, for example, accountants, will not be able to use the electronic signature of the organization, but will have to attach their electronic signature as an individual, as well as a machine-readable power of attorney. This requirement is part of a large-scale reform launched by amendments to the Law on Electronic Signatures, which were adopted at the end of 2019 and come into force in 2021–2022.
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