Prozorro

According to the current Decree No. 193 dated March 3, 2020, business representatives can use electronic signatures and seals based on qualified public key certificates until March 5, 2022. At the moment, no regulatory document has been adopted that would extend the validity of this possibility. Therefore, business representatives should be ready to replace their electronic signature with QES on a secure medium within the next two weeks.

What Will Change for Public Procurement Providers?

If the period of validity of the provisions of the Decree is not extended at the legislative level, starting from March 6, business representatives are not entitled to use the AES to submit proposals in public procurement. In other words, it will not be possible to use an electronic signature on an unprotected media type (the so-called "file").

Procurement announced after March 5 will be allowed to use only QES on a secure medium, if the text of the tender documentation does not contain a relevant clarifying requirement for the type of electronic signature. The use of another type of signature will most likely lead to disqualification from the bidder and the impossibility of further positive appeal to the AMC.

As for public procurements announced before March 5 and later and containing in the text of the tender documentation a condition on the possibility of using AES - here the bidder can use this right and sign the proposal with an improved electronic signature, even if submitting a proposal after March 5.

In any case, in order to avoid unpleasant situations and prepare for changes in advance, we recommend ordering QES on a protected medium as soon as possible.

What Should Government Customers Pay Attention to?

If, after March 5, AESs are no longer allowed for use, all government customers should begin requiring the use of only QESs on secure media in tender documentation.

What Media Is Considered Secure?

Today, two types of secure media are widely used in Ukraine:

1. A token (or a hardware key) is a physical medium that is a flash drive with a unique inventory number assigned to it, approved before issuance by the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine. The main factors ensuring the security and integrity of the signature on the token:

- - during the procedure for signing a document by a user, the electronic document management service checks not only the signature file, but also the parameters of its carrier;
  - the key is not copied from the token to another device, since the medium is protected from opening data;
  - the maximum allowed number of password entries is set.

2. Cloud storage in a network cryptomodule is a software environment that has the necessary degrees of protection against interference, copying or deletion by unauthorized persons. An electronic signature stored in such a cloud environment is protected similarly to a file on a token and has additional advantages:

- - there is no need to store physical media that can be damaged or lost;
  - the signature file is available to the owner from any electronic device (including a smartphone or tablet) and at any time.

Where to Get QES on a Secure Medium?

QES can be ordered at the selected accredited key certification center (the list).

You can also order such a signature directly on the SmartTender.biz page. The partner of the site, a qualified provider of electronic trust services DepositSign, makes it possible to obtain a QES in the cloud storage. Read more about this here.

Recall that in November 2020, the Law “On Electronic Trust Services” canceled the electronic digital signatures. In this regard, all business representatives had to switch to QES or AES (qualified or advanced electronic signature). In turn, all public procurement customers were required to start using QES on a secure medium.

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