NDA first to introduce electronic signatures in public administration under New Széchenyi Plan2011. szeptember 8.
With the introduction of e-signatures to payment processes, the National Development Agency took an important step towards fully paperless tendering.
The digitalization will increase cost-efficiency and reduce procedure time, facilitating the compilation, signing and transferring of the most important certificates between institutions, which would be done electronically in the future. The ultimate objective of NDA is to accelerate the payment of invoices submitted in relation to procurements and developments implemented within the framework of the New Széchenyi Plan.
The e-signature, which is soon to be introduced by the NDA, meets both EU and national expectations. On the one hand, the European Commission’s European eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 indentifies faster evaluation of tenders as the criterion of a more effective and cheaper state operation. On the other hand, Hungary’s new fundamental law taking effect on 1 January 2012 also considers the application of modern technologies and technical solutions in public administration as a criterion of an efficient and strong state.
Moreover, the major advantage of the new service is its ability to greatly facilitate the administration of the use of EU resources for all members. This service will make the printing and transferring of documents avoidable and will shorten the former extremely time-consuming turnaround process in specific matters.
After the introduction of previous facilitations (such as shorter forms, simpler declarations, tenders in CD format), NDA considers it essential to eliminate superfluous administration.
Dányi Gábor, Vice President for IT and Innovations, on behalf of NDA said the major benefits of introducing the new service are reduced time and costs. Virtual documentation transfer will eliminate one-week-long procedures requiring at least 9 signatures of 3 agencies and will significantly reduce paper and mailing costs. Furthermore, the development will greatly speed up turnaround processes of invoice payments, which promotes the better use of EU support framework. The practice of this new monitoring and online application process meets the future expectations of the Commission; in fact, it has a leading position in Europe.
The consolidation of our country depends on the efficient and rapid use of EU funds and ultimately on the quick allocation of resources to national SMEs. All this is unimaginable without easing the administrative burden on entrepreneurs and the funding system.