From June 30, it will be mandatory for buyers of raw materials to use the Royal Decree 1028/2022, which was developed by the Register of Food Contracts and was approved on December 20, 2022. The Register of Food Contracts is a digital register in which the food contracts that are signed with primary producers and their groups, as well as their modifications, must be registered before the delivery of the product covered by the contract.
Buyers of raw materials can already upload documents to that register, but it's only from June 30 that it will be mandatory for them to use this Register of Food Contracts, with the administrative workload that it will imply.
Failure to comply with this regulation will result in significant penalties that range between €3,000 and €3,000,000.
“There is great concern and uncertainty on the part of many production and marketing companies -especially those that move significant volumes- because the new regulations require they complete the corresponding contract or addendum, digitally sign it, and upload it to the AICA Food Contracts Registry, which could cost them a lot of time and significantly slow down the business,” stated Daniel Cerqueiro, CEO of Docuten Tech.
“This task can be done in seconds thanks to Docuten”
“The administrative procedures of this new regulation will limit these companies' operations pace. Fortunately, this task -which takes approximately 15 minutes per purchase contract if done manually- can be done in seconds thanks to Docuten, a complete solution that we have developed with several of our customers in the food sector,” Daniel stated.
According to the representative of this software, with Docuten you can automate the process, from the digital signing of contracts and addenda to the automatic sending of the documentation and modifications to the registry, guaranteeing compliance with current regulations. “The industry has shown a lot of interest in our product.”
The solution: digital signature + automation of the registration process
The automation process begins with the contract between the buyer and the supplier. Docuten is a tool that allows buyers and suppliers to send contracts and sign them digitally in a totally legal and secure way.
“Companies in the sector must take into account that the Food Chain Law indicates a series of fields that must be included, on a mandatory basis, in contracts with suppliers. It's complex to ensure that, when done physically -on paper, these fields will be completed by the suppliers before the contract is signed and registered in the AICA. Docuten has a template system that favors that these fields are always filled in correctly, through the creation of editable type contracts and the validation of mandatory fields,” Daniel Cerqueiro stated.
The process continues with automatic submission to the food registry:
“After the documents are digitally signed, our solution will allow the user to automatically communicate with the food registry, without having to access the Food Registry website and upload the contracts one by one.
The client will only have to start the process by clicking on an application button and our system will automatically perform these 3 processes,” the representative of the software stated.
“To do this, we'll take care of all the necessary steps to automate that process.
Identification in the AICA.
Uploading the contract and any additional documents that may be necessary.
Obtaining proof of registration: the signature administrator or person who has sent the contract to be signed will receive a reliable notification, by email, in which they will be informed that the process has been completed satisfactorily.
“We guarantee the inalterability of the signed document and its custody for 4 years as indicated by law”
In addition, the regulations include the obligation to keep the contract and the related documentation, including correspondence, for 4 years. Docuten is a Qualified Provider of Trusted Services that will help clients comply with these requirements, as we'll have the digital communications, and annexes, guaranteeing the inalterability of the signed document and their custody for 4 years, as required by law, in a 100% secure and legal platform,” Daniel added.
For more information:
Daniel Cerqueiro
Docuten Tech S.L.,
T: (+34) 655 679 169
daniel.cerqueiro@docuten.com
www.docuten.com