The Sejm adopted the Act on Electronic Delivery
The Sejm has adopted the Act on Electronic Delivery. The document now awaits the signature of the President of the Republic of Poland. The adoption of these new solutions means that State-Citizen communication will enter a new, digital era. Starting October 1, 2021, every citizen will be able to use the convenient e-delivery service provided by Poczta Polska. This means that instead of traditional paper official letters, the letter will be sent electronically to an individual e-delivery mailbox, which will be managed by Poczta Polska.
The bill passed by the Sejm (lower house of parliament) assumes that each of us will be able to decide whether we want to receive official documents in their current form or whether we will access them on our computers, laptops, or smartphones. The e-delivery service will not only be voluntary but also free for citizens. Importantly, e-delivery will be legally equivalent to sending a traditional registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or personal delivery.
Poczta Polska will implement e-delivery services in compliance with the highest cybersecurity standards, based on the requirements of European regulations – the eIDAS Regulation and ETSI standards. This will guarantee process participants that the company, as a trusted third party, has no access to correspondence transmitted via e-delivery. E-delivery differs significantly from regular email. Poczta Polska will be obligated to ensure the integrity of correspondence. This means that a shipment sent by the sender cannot be tampered with or altered until it is received by the recipient. Furthermore, the e-delivery service ensures unambiguous identification of the sender and recipient, which also distinguishes it from regular email. Compliance with European standards will be confirmed by an external auditor independent of Poczta Polska.
The company will have a special role to play in providing services to individuals who either prefer not to receive correspondence via electronic mailboxes or who, for various reasons, lack internet access. For this group of citizens, the company will implement a hybrid service, which bridges the gap between electronic and traditional delivery. Security and automation are key elements of this process. Printing of the entire pool of digital mail will be automatic, as will its enveloping. Specialized equipment will be used for this purpose in the printing center, which is a separate area with limited access. Compliance with the stringent ISO 27001 standard, among other things, guarantees security.
According to the act adopted by the Sejm, Poczta Polska will be the Designated Digital Operator until 2025. After this period, the designated operator will be selected through a competitive process. The e-Delivery Act comes into force on July 1, 2021, but the first electronic shipments are scheduled for October 1 of next year. Public administration will gradually transition to electronic mail delivery; for example, courts will only begin sending electronic mail from 2029.