Court Confirms Validity of Digital Signature in Public Documents

Chamber B of the Federal Court of Appeals of the Province of Cordoba upheld a decision issued by a lower court in the case “Incidente No. 1 - Actor: AFIP-DGI, defendant: Gentili, Ricardo Daniel s/ incidente de falta de acción,” dismissing the defendants’ objection arguing lack of standing based on the fact that the determination ex officio of the Federal Tax Authority (AFIP) issued against the defendant invalid because it lacked a signature. The determination was signed using a digital signature.

In its ruling, the Court quoted Law 25,506 on Digital and Electronic Signatures, which states: "When the law requires a wet ink signature, this requirement can also be met through a digital signature." Furthermore, this law specifies that the Federal State, within the jurisdictions of Law 24,156 article 8 (including entities such as AFIP) will actively promote the use of digital signatures, aiming to advance towards a paperless administration.

The Court also highlighted that Law 27,446, which amends Law 25,506, in its article 7 states: "electronically signed official documents (...) have in administrative procedures and judicial proceedings the same validity and probatory efficacy as those in wet ink." Therefore, the determinations AFIP made ex officio were fully legitimate to file the criminal complaint that initiated the case.

The Court also understood that the absence of an official determination, or its alleged invalidity, could not nullify the criminal complaint filed.

The full decision in Spanish can be accessed through the following link.