Digital document preservation is a certain process that allows a company’s documents to be stored in a digital format. Electronic preservation allows those who manage the company, in the cases provided for by law, to destroy the original paper document or to refrain from printing it.
With this electronic storage, therefore, tax and nontax documents saved in digital format acquire the characteristics of authenticity, reliability, integrity, retrievability and legibility, becoming valid for all purposes as those in analog form. There are cases in which the digitization of documents and their storage in this format is mandatory as per Italian regulations and imposed by the Internal Revenue Service.
This is why many companies now cannot escape digitizing documents and invoices. Although sometimes mandatory, digital preservation is by no means an intuitive matter, nor is it a free process, considering that preservation services come at a price.
If you do not wish to outsource preservation, you therefore need a culture on the subject and to be clear not only on the methods, but also on what the law and Agid require. Through this article, we want to quickly clear your mind by explaining the methods for digital preservation of documents in accordance with the law and the rules laid down in the relevant regulations.
The regulations on digital preservation of documents
The rules define electronic document as any content stored in electronic form, especially text or sound recording, whether visual or audiovisual. An electronic document is one that contains the computer representation of legally relevant acts, facts or data.
Based on these concepts, the regulations report that the computer document satisfies the requirement of written form and has the effectiveness provided for in Article 2702 of the Civil Code when a digital signature, other type of qualified electronic signature or advanced electronic signature is affixed to it or, in any case, after computer identification of the author through a process having the requirements established by Agid pursuant to Article 71 to ensure security, integrity and immodifiability, as well as traceability to the author.
The obligations to preserve and exhibit documents are fulfilled in accordance with the law by means of computerized documents if the relevant procedures are carried out in such a way as to ensure conformity with the original documents and comply with the Guidelines. The technical rules and essential requirements that guarantee authenticity and integrity of preserved computer documents are set forth in the DCPM of December 3, 2021.
For tax documents, regulation-compliant storage is regulated by the DMEF of June 17, 2014: these documents must be kept for 10 years. The Digital Administration Code (CAD) requires that preservation be done in a manner that complies with the guidelines of Article 43 Legislative Decree 82/2005 as amended by Legislative Decree 217/2017.
Mandatory electronic storage: for which documents it is necessary
Digital preservation is mandatory for all information and documents that are required to be preserved over time, but not only. Many people believe that only electronic invoices are to be preserved, but in fact all business-related documentation must be digitally preserved. The following documents are subject to digital preservation due to their nature:
- Electronic invoices
- Contracts with digital signatures
- PEC (Certified Mail)
As for other documentation, digital preservation in accordance with the law is only optional, but it is a no small convenience because it gives everyone a way to destroy paper archives and thus also their retention for 10 years. Among the documents for which it is possible to opt for optional digital preservation by getting rid of paper archives are:
- Invoices
- DDT
- Tax returns
- Operating budgets
- Tax receipts
- Tax receipts
- Payments with F23 and F24 forms
- CUD
- Accounting records
- Bids and contracts
How to store documents digitally
Preserving documents digitally means replacing paper documents with the same document but in a digital format that has legal value. The preservation process requires two elements in particular. The first is the digital signature, which is an electronic signature typically applied to computer documents that has the same value as the traditional signature affixed to paper documents.
On the other hand, the second is the time stamp, which is a set of characters representing a date or time to certify that a certain activity has taken place. By combining the digital signature and the time stamp, it is possible to keep the document’s immodifiability, retrievability, legal value, security, integrity and legibility of stored documents unchanged over time.
The difference between document storage and digital preservation
It is very important not to confuse document archiving with digital preservation in order not to opt for the wrong service that then makes digitization substandard. Document archiving is the storage of a digital document on a suitable medium.
Digital preservation, on the other hand, is the replacement of paper-based preservation with digital preservation even for documents that were originally paper-based. The preservation process is therefore subsequent to digital archiving: with digital archiving alone, it is not yet possible to get rid of the hard copy and remain compliant, which is possible after the digital preservation process.
Electronic Storage with DocMio
To carry out digital archiving and electronic storage of documents, it is a good idea to make use of suitable software. To this end, Oltrematica has created DocMio: a digital platform for managing and consulting document archives. Accessing DocMio with one’s credentials allows the user to perform all typical document management activities .
These include scanning and optical archiving of documents, importing digital documents in any format, uploading identifying data through imputation masks, quick database search of a document using predefined keys, consultation, printing, saving and telematic submission of all archived documents. DocMio is a platform developed in responsive format and accessible from multiple types of devices, including smartphones and tablets.
The recipients of the document management service are all companies, public agencies, condominium managers, banks, insurance companies and freelancers. For more information about DocMio and our document retention services you can visit our dedicated page.