Electronic documents in accounting (date of compilation/date of signature)

The primary document is a document that contains information about a business transaction ( paragraph 11 of Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine" , hereinafter - "Accounting Law" ).

Primary and consolidated accounting documents can be drawn up in paper or electronic form and must have the following mandatory details, unless otherwise provided by separate legislative acts of Ukraine:

• the name of the document (form);
• date of compilation;
• the name of the company on behalf of which the document was drawn up;
• the content and scope of the economic transaction, the unit of measurement of the economic transaction;
• the positions of the persons responsible for the implementation of the economic transaction and the correctness of its registration;
• a personal signature or other data that make it possible to identify a person who participated in the implementation of an economic transaction (paragraph 1, part 2, article 9 of the Law on Accounting ).

Primary documents drawn up in electronic form are used in accounting, subject to compliance with the requirements of the legislation on electronic documents and electronic document management (paragraph 2, part 2, article 9 of the Law on Accounting ) .

The position of the tax authorities on this issue is set out in the Letter of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Revenue in Kyiv dated 02.03.2014 No. 1001/10/26-15-11-01-08 "Regarding the legal force of the primary document, which is drawn up in electronic form".

It is important to pay attention to one more important point. Unlike the "paper" primary document, the moment (date and time) of signing the document (imposing an electronic signature) is also recorded in the electronic one. At the same time, it is quite possible that the document is dated (date of drawing up), for example, April 1, 2019, and signed (date of electronic signature) - June 19. The fact that the document was signed on June 19 (and with the exact time of signing to the second) will be visible in the electronic document. However, we must strictly comply with the requirements of the Law on Accounting - economic transactions must be reflected in the reporting period in which they are carried out ( part 5 of Article 9 of the Law on Accounting ). Therefore, in our case, the operation should be reflected in April, and not in June (when the document is signed).

If the enterprise's document management rules provide for the possibility of displaying an economic transaction, in respect of which, at the time of the compilation of the accounting registers for the reporting period, the primary document has not been received from the counterparty within the terms established by law, the basis for transferring information about such an economic operation to the accounting registers is properly executed internal primary document (deed), drawn up by an official responsible for the acceptance and release of goods, works and services (clause 2.6 Provisions on documentary support of accounting records, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 05.24.1995 No. 88 ).

Primary documents created in electronic form are used in accounting, subject to compliance with the requirements of the legislation on electronic documents and electronic document management. At the request of the controlling authorities, the business entity undertakes to provide copies of electronic documents (clause 2.3 of the Regulation on documentary support of records in accounting, approved by the order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 05.24.95 No. 88 ).

In accordance with clauses 25, 38 of the Standard Instruction approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated January 17, 2018 No. 55 " Some issues of documenting management activities "   the exchange log is a separate electronic register as a part of the electronic document circulation system (web module of the interaction system), which is formed from a list of records about the passage of copies of electronic documents through the interaction system. Incoming, internal, outgoing, other documents, regardless of the form of their creation, prepared in the institution, are registered in the electronic document circulation system, and in the absence of it, incoming and outgoing documents are registered in the web module of the interaction system.

In the case of compiling and storing primary documents and accounting registers using electronic means of information processing , the enterprise is obliged to make copies of them on paper media at its own expense at the request of other participants in economic transactions, as well as law enforcement authorities and relevant authorities within the limits of their powers provided for laws (Part 6 of Article 9 of the Law on Accounting ).

 

VAT According to Clause 187.1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the Tax Code of Ukraine), VAT tax liabilities for the supply of services should be recognized on the date of the "first event" , namely:

• date of crediting funds from the buyer/customer to the taxpayer's bank account as payment for goods/services to be supplied, and in the case of goods/services being supplied for cash - the date of posting of funds in the taxpayer's cash register, and in the absence of such - the date of cash collection in a banking institution serving the taxpayer;
• the date of shipment of goods, and in the case of export of goods - the date of issuance of the customs declaration certifying the fact of crossing the customs border of Ukraine, issued in accordance with the requirements of customs legislation, and for services - the date of issuance of the document certifying the fact of supply of services by the taxpayer.

When carrying out transactions for the supply of goods/services on the date of the tax liability, the taxpayer is obliged to draw up a tax invoice in electronic format, subject to the conditions for registration in the manner specified by law, of the person authorized by the tax authority, and to register it in the ЕРПН within the period established by the PKU ( clause 201.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure ).

A tax invoice drawn up and registered in the Taxpayer's Office by a taxpayer who carries out transactions for the supply of goods/services is the basis for the buyer of such goods/services to charge tax amounts related to the tax credit ( clause 201.10 of the Code of Civil Procedure ).

Therefore, among the mandatory requisites of the primary document, defined in Clause 2 of Art. 9 of the Accounting Law , the date of signing the document is missing. Therefore, in the case of the supply of services , the date of occurrence of VAT tax obligations and the preparation of tax invoices for such operations should be determined by the date of preparation of the document (in paper or electronic form) that contains information about the supply of services . After all, such details are defined by the Accounting Law as mandatory for the primary document.

Thus, when the taxpayer (supplier) carries out operations for the supply of services, which were formalized with primary documents drawn up in electronic form, the date of the occurrence of the VAT tax liability and the drawing up of the tax invoice for such a transaction will be considered the date of drawing up the primary document, which contains information about the business transaction , regardless of the date of applying the electronic signature.

Explanation of the DPSU ( letter dated March 17, 2020 No. 112/6/99-00-07-03-02-06/IPK ).

Conclusions:

1. Primary documents drawn up in electronic form are used in accounting, subject to compliance with the requirements of the legislation on electronic documents and electronic document circulation (paragraph 2, part 2, article 9 of the Law on Accounting), i.e. on the condition that (a) all mandatory requisites are present document, (b) compliance with the procedure for compiling electronic documents. Economictransactions must be reflected in the reporting period in which they are carried out ( Part 5, Article 9 of the Accounting Law ).
2. If the enterprise's document management rules provide for the possibility of displaying an economic transaction, in respect of which, at the time of the compilation of the accounting registers for the reporting period, the primary document has not been received from the counterparty within the terms established by law, the basis for transferring information about such an economic operation to the accounting registers is properly executed internal primary document (deed), drawn up by an official responsible for the acceptance and release of goods, works and services (clause 2.6 Provisions on documentary support of accounting entries, approved by the Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 24.05.1995 No. 88 ).
3. Among the mandatory requisites of the primary document, defined in Clause 2 of Art. 9 of the Accounting Law , the date of signing the document is missing. Therefore, in the case of the supply of services , the date of occurrence of VAT tax obligations and the preparation of tax invoices for such operations should be determined by the date of preparation of the document (in paper or electronic form) that contains information about the supply of services . After all, such details are defined by the Accounting Law as mandatory for the primary document. Thus, when the taxpayer (supplier) carries out operations for the supply of services, which were formalized with primary documents drawn up in electronic form, the date of the occurrence of the VAT tax liability and the drawing up of the tax invoice for such a transaction will be considered the date of drawing up the primary document, which contains information about the business transaction , regardless of the date of applying the electronic signature.