Are you a freelancer? From 2023 you need to have a data box

2023 is approaching and with it the long-awaited changes in the area of data boxes, which we already drew your attention to in our article in October 2022. Many people were concerned about the impact of the mandatory establishment of data boxes for individuals. Now you do not have to worry anymore, as the draft amendment to Act No. 300/2008 Coll., on electronic transactions and authorized document conversion has made substantial changes, especially concerning natural persons.

Currently, data boxes are obligatory for all legal entities registered in the Commercial Register, legal entities established by law, public authorities (authorities, courts, etc.), and persons engaged in the so-called liberal professions, i.e. attorneys, tax advisors, bailiffs, and others.

The amendment to the Act extends the obligation to set up a data box for freelancers and legal entities that do not yet have a data box. These are institutes, societies, unit owners' associations, benevolent associations or foundations, and endowment funds.

According to the current wording of the amendment, data boxes will be established automatically for everybody who needs to have one according to the law. Each person will receive a letter with login details and instructions on how to set up the data box. The letters have already been sent out since January and will continue to be sent until March.” Initially, it was intended that natural persons would be allocated a data box when using their electronic identity. However, such a rule was perceived as too strict and was abandoned. This is because many individuals are not technically skilled enough to manage their own data box and some individuals do not have a permanent internet connection.

After setting up a data box, the authorities will communicate with you only by data box. You will also be obliged to communicate with public authorities via the data box. This will save money that the state typically spends on the delivery of documents. Documents sent by public authorities to the data box will be considered delivered at the moment when the person authorized to use the data box logs into the data box.

New users of data boxes should also pay attention to the so-called fiction of delivery. If the authorized person does not log in to the data box within 10 days from the date on which the document was delivered to his or her data box, the relevant document is considered delivered on expiry of that period.

Be very careful, as the amendment extends these delivery rules to other messages sent by the data box, including messages received from natural or legal persons. The data box is a very convenient tool for communication with public authorities, saving the state's financial expenses.

However, it is clear that it does not suit everyone, and the state should not force individuals to set them up. We, therefore, consider this change to the draft amendment to be appropriate. Freelancers, however, will not escape this obligation. Their data boxes should be established in the first quarter of 2023.