Socraweb

May a business keep its archives in electronic form” The answer is unfortunately still: “Sometimes well, sometimes not”. Already there is hope on a more unambiguous regulation.

A lot of documents must become gearchiveerd because the law that prescribes (invoices for instance) or because they perhaps ever in the courtroom must be shown (contracts, letters). If at that obligation satisfied via electronic archivering, then there is become can a double advantage. The documents its via a missing position on an intranet more easily accessible. And they take no expensive office space more in possession.

In the federal coalition agreement of June 2003, it stands unambiguously: “In the frame of the administrative simplification will the government a frame work out for electronic archivering.” Only so far it is not yet.

What may documents today electronic become gearchiveerd” There is an important difference between documents that in electronic form are arise, and paper documents that in the rear become ingescand, tells Patrick Van Eecke, lawyer by DLA. For that first category there is today actual no problem more. And new legislation sees to may be for it that always more documents purely electronic: invoices, contracts, your fiscal declaration.

Only as the originally on paper stands, is the a little more difficult. “Legally seen make you then actual a copy of an original document, and there squeezes the shoe”, says Van Eecke. “There is no general law that electronic archiveren permit”, regrets he. In of that want to come there, briskly by bit, separate laws for particular situations.

As is there a regulation for the evidences that by a (electronic) fiscal declaration hear - that may electronic be kept, but that must on “CD-WORM” (CD-Write-Once Read-Many-times) Happen. Or an usual CD-R-disk under that antiquated term “CD-WORM” falls, is not totally clear. This fragment air approach sees to for obscurity and legal uncertainty, according to Van Eecke.