What kind of electronic signature is used in LLCs?

New rules for obtaining electronic digital signatures for LLCs are effective from 1 January 2022. Electronic signatures for executives will be issued by the certification center of the Federal Tax Service and trustees of the Federal Tax Service’s CA.

A Designated Agent (DA) is a certification center that has been re-accredited and meets the additional requirements of the supervisory authorities. Currently, there are only three such proxies for the SFT TS:

• Sberbank of Russia, PJSC ;
• Analytical Center, JSC ;
• Bank VTB (PJSC).

Such a certification center can issue EDSs to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. Read more at the blog of the legal expert https://stroyurist.ru/blog/kak-oformit-etsp-v-nalogovoy-dlya-ooo/.

The procedure for obtaining an EDS from a tax agency is as follows:

1. Request that a statement be sent to you. There are two ways to do this:

• In person at the FTS office to fill out a paper application
• On the official website of the Tax Agency in the personal office of the taxpayer (individual) in the “Life situations” section or by making an appointment at the tax office via the Internet.

2. Selection and purchase of the media on which the certificate will be engraved.

Identification of the recipient by the head of the company at the tax office. Personal visit is required, representatives cannot be present on your behalf, including by power of attorney.

According to the law, you can go to the nearest tax office for identification, even if the organization is registered elsewhere. However, sometimes tax authorities require a visit to “their” office, so it is better to just go directly to the FTS, where you registered. A list of FTS offices where you can receive an electronic document is published on the official website of the tax service. Find out if your office is in it!

Documents required:

• Passport of the head,
• SNILS,
• Symbol and the appropriate certificate.

4. Buy CryptoPro CSP or another cryptocurrency provider and install it on your computer. Without CryptoPro on your computer, it is impossible to work with electronic signatures.

If you previously purchased a perpetual license for CryptoPro, the software will continue to work – cryptocurrency providers won’t be affected by the change.

Consequently, signing with the FTS is free. You only buy a token and a cryptoprovider license.

The head of the LLC is given one copy of the electronic signature of the Federal Tax Service. The signature has copy protection. Despite the fact that any cryptoprovider can work with the signature, the main thing is a valid certification. But in practice users face different opinions of regional FTS and even technical problems when connecting, so it will be safer to use CryptoPro to work with EDS.

Each employee who is authorized to sign the company’s electronic documents must obtain a separate ES certificate. The procedure for obtaining employee signatures is described in the article below.

Процедура получения подписи доверенных лиц:

If you have chosen this option, you need to contact one of the Centralized Service Centers of the Federal Tax Service – you will be advised on the procedure. The documents required to obtain a signature are similar – passport and SNILS. However, the token and CryptoPro CSP can be purchased immediately at the DTC, i.e. all the necessary actions are performed in one place.

The methods described above for obtaining a signature are suitable for sole proprietors, sole proprietorships and notaries.

In some cases, officials have to obtain signatures elsewhere:

• Officials of budgetary organizations – Federal Ministry of Finance
• Managers of the banking sector and other financial institutions – Central Bank.

The deadline for implementing the changes is the same – January 1, 2022, i.e. they are already in effect.

How do I use the electronic signature of the manager?

Традиционно ЭП используется для отправки электронных отчетов, но есть ряд других случаев, когда вы можете использовать ЭП:

1. Making changes to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities or Unified State Register of Legal Entrepreneurs: sending documents electronically requires an enhanced qualified signature.
2. Changing information in state databases, e.g. Unified Federal Register of legally significant information on activities of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and other subjects of economic activity (Fedresource).
3. Filing claims and complaints to courts (arbitration, district courts, federal courts) by electronic means.
4. Registration of cash equipment with the tax inspectorate;
5. Participation in state tenders and contracts as a supplier or customer and much more.

The Federal Tax Service’s electronic signatures are not yet compatible with many trading platforms, which require special extensions (OIDs) to work with government procurements. Sites are already moving away from these requirements in accordance with the law, but some still retain them. If you’re working at an ETP where OIDs are still required, you’ll need to use the signature from the previous ATC. We are waiting for clarification from the Federal IRS and trading floors.