Ordinance on Electronic Transmission in Administrative Proceedings (V-ElÜb) - Subject Matter and Scope

1. This regulation governs the modalities of electronic communication between a party and an administrative authority within the framework of procedures to which the Administrative Procedure Act applies.

2. This regulation applies to the transmission of

a) Submissions made with regard to an order or decision as defined in § 20 of the Administrative Procedure Act;

b) Orders and decisions as defined in § 20 of the Administrative Procedure Act;

c) Submissions made in connection with an appeal as defined in § 29 ff. of the Administrative Procedure Act to a department or to the government council.

3. This regulation also applies mutatis mutandis to the transmission of submissions and correspondence in connection with

a) A conciliation procedure pursuant to § 36 of the Information and Data Protection Act (InfoDG) of February 21, 2001;

b) Any other procedure provided for in special legislation that does not conclude with an order or decision as defined in § 20 of the Administrative Procedure Act.

4. This regulation applies to the procedures established by the municipality before a municipal authority, provided the municipality has electronic access as defined in § 2 paragraph 1. This applies mutatis mutandis to special-purpose associations and other public-law organizations serving the cooperation of municipalities.

5. This regulation does not apply to proceedings before administrative courts.

**1. Submissions may be transmitted electronically to a cantonal authority if the authority is connected to the authorities' portal of the Canton of Solothurn (authorities' portal) or another recognized delivery platform.**

2. The electronic transmission is carried out via the authorities' portal or another recognized delivery platform. Other recognized delivery platforms include

a) delivery platforms recognized by the federal government;

b) additional delivery platforms determined by the government council.

3. Submissions to a municipal authority may be transmitted electronically if the municipality has electronic access within the meaning of paragraph 1 and has specified in which administrative procedures electronic submissions are possible. This applies mutatis mutandis to associations of municipalities and other public law organizations serving the cooperation of municipalities.

4. ...

**1. The authorities shall announce in an appropriate manner in which administrative procedures electronic submissions are possible.**

1. The deadline is met if the government portal or the recognized delivery platform has confirmed receipt of the submission before the expiration of the deadline.

1. The authorities shall make publicly accessible the data formats approved for electronic transmission and specify which individual documents must be submitted in paper form if necessary.

1. The Authority may, if necessary, require the submission of documents in paper form, particularly if

a) the documents cannot be opened by the Authority due to technical difficulties;

b) the documents are not readable by the Authority either on screen or in printed form;

c) very extensive documents are submitted.

2. The Authority shall grant the parties a reasonable period for submission.

3. If the electronically transmitted documents and those submitted in paper form are not identical, the paper form shall prevail.

1. Submissions for which the written form is prescribed by law or regulation must be provided with a qualified electronic signature in accordance with Article 2 letter e of the Federal Act on Certification Services in the Field of Electronic Signatures and Other Applications of Digital Certificates (Federal Act on Electronic Signatures; ZertES) of March 18, 2016.

1. If an authority prints an electronic submission for further use in paper form, the paper printout must be marked with the confirmation "Copy of the electronic submission", the date, the first and last name, and the signature of the individual processing it.

2. The authority shall verify the qualified electronic signature (Art. 2 let. e ZertES) of the electronic submission and attach the result of the signature verification to the paper printout.

1. The authority may serve a party with a ruling or decision electronically if the party has consented to this method of delivery.

2. Consent can be given via the authority's portal or another recognized delivery platform.

3. Consent can be granted

a) for a specific proceeding;

b) for regularly recurring proceedings before a particular authority.

4. An electronic submission by a party is deemed consent to the electronic delivery of rulings and decisions in the specific proceeding.

5. Consent can be revoked via the authority's portal or another recognized delivery platform. Revocation is no longer possible for rulings and decisions already made available for collection.

1. Service is effected through the authorities' portal or another recognized service platform.

1. The authority makes the order or decision available for collection on the authority portal or another recognized delivery platform.

2. Once the order or decision is ready for collection, an electronic collection notification is sent to the electronic delivery address of the addressee. The collection notification contains the following information

a) the date of availability;

b) the internet address where the order or decision is available for collection;

c) the seven-day collection period.

3. If the order or decision is downloaded within the collection period, the time of downloading is considered the time of delivery.

4. If the order or decision is not downloaded within the collection period, the seventh day after availability is considered the time of delivery.

1. Documents transmitted electronically by an authority may be provided with a regulated electronic seal (Art. 2 let. d ZertES) or another suitable proof of the authenticity of the document.

2. Orders and decisions are provided with a qualified electronic signature (Art. 2 let. e ZertES).

3. For orders issued in an automated process and, due to their large number, are not individually signed by a representative of the authority (mass orders), the qualified electronic signature (Art. 2 let. e ZertES) is waived.

4. Decisions of the government council are provided with the facsimile signature of the state secretary (§ 8 paragraph 3 of the Ordinance on the Organization of the Government Council and the Administration (RVOV) dated April 11, 2000). Qualified electronic signatures (Art. 2 let. e ZertES) are not applied.

1. At the request of the invoice recipient, invoices may be transmitted as e-invoices.

2. The e-invoices shall be transmitted via the service providers (Service Provider) commonly used for electronic invoice exchange

a) into the accounting system of the invoice recipient;

b) into the e-banking of the invoice recipient.

3. The e-invoices shall be transmitted in PDF format and as a structured file.

1. If no payment is made within 30 days from the dispatch date of an e-invoice with dispositive character, the authority shall resend an invoice to the recipient

a) via the government portal or another recognized delivery platform;

b) as a paper document with acknowledgment of receipt.

2. The e-invoice with dispositive character takes effect at the time of the second delivery.

1. Electronic invoices may be furnished with a regulated electronic seal (Art. 2 let. d ZertES) or another suitable proof of the document's authenticity.

2. The regulated electronic seal (Art. 2 let. d ZertES) may be affixed by service providers on behalf of the authority.

1. The canton assumes no liability for late submissions or other omissions resulting from the lack of functionality of the authorities' portal.

2. In particular, the canton is not liable if

a) electronic transmission via the authorities' portal is not possible;

b) the authorities' portal is temporarily unavailable for technical reasons;

c) the authorities' portal does not confirm the receipt of a submission in a timely manner;

d) the authorities' portal does not issue confirmations of receipt.

3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 apply correspondingly to other delivery platforms recognized by the government council (§ 2 para. 4) that are operated by the canton.