Qualified electronic signature: What you can do on slovensko.sk from the comfort of your home

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In this article, we would like to introduce readers to several services they can use on slovensko.sk from the comfort of their home or from any other place with an internet connection. In practice, three basic components are needed to handle the matters in question successfully:

• Technology device (PC, mobile or tablet),
• Internet connection,
• Qualified electronic signature.

To create a qualified electronic signature that can be used to sign documents on the slovensko.sk portal, a qualified certificate and a signature application are required as standard. One of the options for storing a qualified certificate is an ID card. However, for various reasons, many citizens or entrepreneurs do not currently want to use their ID card containing sensitive personal data in electronic communication.

In this article we will therefore also discuss the possibilities of signing documents on the slovensko.sk portal with an electronic signature without an ID card and a reader.

Digital transformation

Considering the acceleration in digital technology, it is evident to many of us that we are witnessing significant leaps and bounds in this segment over a relatively short period. This process is also referred to by many as digital transformation, and the changes brought about by these paradigm shifts are not avoiding any area of life.

Let’s not forget that…
…the basic purpose of any technology is to make our lives easier, so we can spend the time and money we save on meaningful and useful personal activities and professional projects.

One of the key benefits of digital transformation is the streamlining of corporate processes, which are automated through the use of technology, thereby increasing the company’s productivity. As a result, manpower and human know-how can be used more efficiently and for more sophisticated activities where human emotions, lived experience and other “soft skills” need to be involved. However, technological (r)evolution affects all aspects of our lives and it is therefore a good idea to regularly familiarise ourselves with tools that improve our lives in any way and to integrate them into our daily functioning.

Let’s not forget that…
…as with everything, it is essential that technology remains a good servant for all of us and does not become a bad master.

Slovensko.sk – services for citizens (natural persons)

On the slovensko.sk portal you will find two basic sections, one of which is dedicated to services for citizens (natural persons) and the other for entrepreneurs (legal entities, natural persons – entrepreneurs, other self-employed persons). The clear advantages of any electronic communication are speed, saving time without having to physically visit various offices, institutions, or organizations, and in many cases, it is also a significant cost saving.

In the most cases, the fees for the services provided through the slovensko.sk portal are halved.

In the Citizen section for natural persons, interested parties can find a number of useful and practical services in the following areas:

1. Housing:

• Property tax,
• Land Registry,
• Construction proceedings,
• Rental property,
• Permanent residence,
• Other services.

2. Transportation:

• Road transport and parking,
• Vehicle registration,
• Driving licenses and driving licenses,
• Production and rebuilding of the vehicle,
• Emission and technical inspection and vehicle originality check,
• Other services.

3. Culture:

• Church and religious societies,
• Notification of a public cultural event,
• Monuments and collections of museums and galleries,
• Cultural support.

4. Protection and safety:

• Army,
• Civil Protection,
• Municipal police, informing the municipal police,
• Reporting the need for police patrol intervention,
• Fire, flood and other hazards.

5. Education and sport:

• Leisure centres,
• Preschool,
• Secondary schools,
• Sport,
• Study abroad,
• Recognition of professional qualifications and educational qualifications,
• Other services.

6. Health:

• Outpatient care by a primary care physician,
• Medication care, medical devices, dietetic foods,
• Other services.

7. Travel:

• Travel documents and replacement travel documents, health insurance,
• Emergency aid abroad,
• Other services.

8. Finance:

• Customs duties, property tax, income tax, dog tax, accommodation tax,
• Subsidies,
• Local charge for municipal waste and small construction waste,
• Auctions and foreclosures,
• Other services.

9. Citizen and State:

• Personal data and documents,
• Consumer,
• Legal protection,
• Elections,
• Other Services.

10. Family and relationships:

• Retirement,
• Birth,
• Assistance in material need,
• Social Services,
• Child Care,
• Death,
• Marriage and divorce,
• Disability and the promotion of social inclusion of disabled people in society,
• Other services.

11. Employment:

• Social insurance,
• Labour relations,
• Other services.

12. Environment:

• Waste management,
• Protection of air, water, nature and landscape,
• Hunting and fishing,
• Other services.

Slovensko.sk – services for entrepreneurs (legal entities, natural persons – entrepreneurs, other self-employed persons)

Entrepreneurs and other self-employed persons can use to deal with slovensko.sk the following areas:

1. Administrative and economic running of the company:

• Customs duties, value added tax, corporate income tax. Insurance, other taxes,
• Excise duty,
• Accounting,
• Other services.

2. Business support:

• Subsidies,
• State aid,
• Other services.

3. Starting a business:

• Trade registrations,
• Registration of a legal entity,
• Documents required to start a business,
• Other services.

4. Intellectual property:

• Designs,
• Trademarks,
• Patents and supplementary protection certificates,
• Utility Designs.

5. Business:

• Various electronic services,
• Other services.

6. Closure of business:

• Bankruptcy,
• Closure of the business.

7. Responsible business:

• Waste management,
• Sustainability and other dimensions,
• Other services.

Did you know…
… pursuant to Act No. 305/2013 Coll. on the electronic form of exercising the powers of public authorities and on amending and supplementing certain acts (the e-Government Act) all natural persons, natural persons – entrepreneurs, legal persons, public authorities and subjects of international law must have an electronic mailbox when communicating electronically via the slovensko.sk portal? This electronic mailbox is used by citizens and entrepreneurs to communicate with public authorities and must be activated for delivery.

 

Signing with an electronic signature without an ID card and reader

Citizens and entrepreneurs need a qualified electronic signature (QES) to sign documents in electronic communication via the electronic mailbox on the slovensko.sk portal. The details of this institute are governed by Regulation (EU) No. 910 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC.

If users want to communicate electronically with the authorities, they need an ID card with an electronic chip. For signing with a qualified electronic signature, they are then required to apply for certificates to be uploaded onto their electronic chip. The qualified electronic signature replaces the handwritten signature in digital communication when dealing with various official matters.

Did you know…
…you don’t need an ID card or a reader to sign documents on slovensko.sk?

Cybersecurity is rightly a hot topic resonating in our society at the moment and many citizens and businessmen are therefore reluctant to use their ID card for electronic communication with the authorities for various reasons. If a user does not want to sign with an ID card, they can use the NFQES Virtual smart card service instead.

NFQES Virtual smart card service

NFQES Virtual smart card is a service that provides interested parties with the ability to electronically sign without the need to connect a card reader or hardware USB token. In order for this service to function properly, a remote certificatemust be purchased and stored securely on the NFQES server. Thus, the user does not need to use an ID card or reader when signing electronically.

Thanks to remote signing, documents can be signed with an electronic signature from the comfort of home and any other place where the user has an Internet connection. Video instructions for signing on the slovensko.sk portal without a reader can be found at this link.