The Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine” permits the issuance of delivery notes and other primary documents in electronic format. This article will outline the specifics of electronic delivery notes and the requirements for their issuance.

Features of the delivery note execution

A delivery note is a document used by a supplier to certify the transfer of goods to a buyer.

Currently, there is no approved form of a delivery note. Most companies use sample form No. M-11 for delivery notes. To work with electronic source documents, you can use the accounting system template for the delivery note.

Read also: Goods delivery note — its purpose and proper execution

Mandatory details in the delivery note

Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine” defines the details of a delivery note, which is one of the primary documents. The document must include:
the name of the document (form);

date of issue;

name of the company on whose behalf the document was issued;

content and volume of the transaction, unit of measurement of the transaction;

positions and surnames of persons (except for primary documents, the requirements for which are established by the National Bank of Ukraine) responsible for the transaction and                       the correctness of its execution;
personal signature or other data allowing to identify the person participating in the transaction.

These details are mandatory for both paper and electronic delivery notes.

Signing a delivery note in Vchasno.EDI

Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Documents and Electronic Document Workflow” defines an electronic document as a document in the form of electronic data, including mandatory document details. The creation of an electronic document is completed by the imposition of an electronic signature (Article 6(3) of the Law).

When company employees create delivery notes using electronic data interchange services (EDI services), certain details are automatically added to the document.

In Vchasno.EDI, the positions and names of the individuals responsible for conducting business transactions are retrieved from the electronic signature data at the time of signing the delivery note. It is essential that the electronic signature includes information about the positions of the signatories (authorized representatives of legal entities). This process helps to avoid any issues that may arise when one individual is listed on a delivery note but another signs the document.

As you can see in the example, the delivery note contains the mandatory requisite “position and surname” in the information section of the electronic signature. The signature section also includes details of the company’s EDRPOU code. This enables the identification of the individuals involved in the business transaction.

Determining the validity of electronic delivery notes

In determining the validity of electronic delivery notes, lawyers are guided by the rule set forth in Part 2 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine”. The rule states that minor deficiencies in documents containing information about a business transaction are not grounds for non-recognition of the transaction, provided that:

such deficiencies do not prevent the identification of the individual who participated in the transaction;

and contain information regarding the date of its creation, the name of the entity on whose behalf it was drafted, the specifics and volume of the business transaction, etc.

Furthermore, this is also evidenced by court practice. In particular, the Supreme Court’s ruling dated 28 February 2018 in case No. 806/1033/17 states that the absence of details of primary documents does not mean that they are defective. Therefore, the lack of detail in primary documents is not a ground for recognizing the unreality of business transactions.

The use of electronic delivery notes facilitates the identification of signatories. This enables companies to avoid errors when completing the form and easily find and submit the necessary information for verification.