Project implementation guide e-NOTUM

By virtue of the provisions of Law 39/2015, of October 1, the subjects listed in article 14.2 thereof must compulsorily interact with public administrations by electronic means.

This is without prejudice to regulations establishing the obligation to electronically submit notifications for certain procedures and certain groups of individuals who, due to their economic, technical capacity, professional dedication or other reasons, are proven to have guaranteed access to and availability of the necessary technological means.

Outside of the previous cases, at any time interested parties who are not obligated may select the electronic channel as the preferred one for interacting with public administrations.

Some examples of regulations that establish the mandatory nature of electronic notifications are:

• Ministry of Finance and Economy: Royal Decree 1363/2010, of October 29 , which regulates cases of mandatory administrative notifications and communications by electronic means within the scope of the State Tax Administration Agency
• Catalan Traffic Service: Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015, of October 30 , approving the revised text of the Law on traffic, circulation of motor vehicles and road safety
• Others: in the Open Administration Space of the AOC Consortium you can find real cases of administrations that have regulated the mandatory nature of

On the other hand, regarding the specific case of local administrations, they can approve electronic administration ordinances that regulate electronic notification, based on basic state and regional legislation, and which can also contemplate cases of mandatory electronic notifications for certain groups (other than those legally provided for).

It should be noted that the approval of the electronic administration ordinance is optional in the sense that, if there is no specific local regulation in the field of electronic notifications, the general regulation that provides that electronic notifications can be made with the consent of the citizen (unless they are a subject of obligation) will always prevail.

On the website of the AOC Consortium you can find a model of electronic administration ordinance prepared by Localret and the AOC Consortium.

It is optional to register electronic notifications from the outset, under Law 39/2015, of 1 October. When the entity chooses to do so, this can be the general register or an auxiliary register created for this purpose. Whatever the register used, the electronic entries made in the register must have legal validity and, therefore, must be regulated in the regulation creating the register.

The different registration options available to a Catalan public administration are:

• EACAT: The entities that, at the time, adhered to EACAT, accepted the conditions that were to govern communications through the platform and at the same time created an auxiliary electronic input and output register for the reception and transmission of documentation associated with the inter-administrative procedures available on the platform. Therefore, all these entities already have an auxiliary register with legal validity that can be used, if they wish, to register electronic notifications, without the need to make any additional rules.
• ERES: Entities that use the ERES service of the AOC Consortium through EACAT, and therefore already have it regulated as a general register, will also have all the output registers generated by e-NOTUM automatically incorporated into this register.
• Other registers: Entities that have a market registration solution, or that have developed their own custom-made register, have the possibility of integrating the e-NOTUM service with their register through web services, so that all the output registers that require e-NOTUM to be made are made on this register.

Consent is an act by which the interested party, who is not obligated, expresses their will to receive notification of a certain procedure electronically.

The Administration must always obtain the consent of the interested party to be able to notify them electronically, except in the case of obligated parties listed in art.14.2 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, or the mandatory nature of electronic notification has been regulated for certain procedures and/or groups, as we have explained in the previous point.

Consent management is an auxiliary mechanism to the electronic notification process and, therefore, is not included in the e-NOTUM service. For this reason, it must be managed separately by the bodies that carry out electronic notifications, which must verify for each file whether the interested party has given their consent to be notified electronically. To carry out this management in an efficient manner, it is advisable to update the file management systems in order to indicate in each procedure/interested party whether the notification must be made on paper or electronically.

Consent can be given for a specific procedure, or generally for any procedure and, in any case, it must always be guaranteed that this consent can be revoked at any time by the interested parties.

Consent method for a specific procedure

The administration must include in the form that initiates the procedure (both on paper and electronically), the option to accept electronic notification of the acts associated with it, as well as the conditions of the electronic notification service which, among other things, must very clearly detail the mechanisms for access to notifications by the interested party.

It should be noted that acceptance ends with the notification of the resolution of the procedure and is not applicable to any other. For example, if in the application for aid the citizen has marked the electronic notification option, all the events associated with that specific call will only have to be notified via this channel. In future calls, acceptance will have to be collected again, even though it is the same type of procedure.

General consent method

In this case, the interested party gives a general consent to receive electronically the notifications that the administration must send them in the future for any procedure. The administration must create a general consent form (both on paper and electronically), so that the interested party can express their will to receive all notifications from the administration electronically. Also in this case, the conditions of the notification service and its access mechanisms must be clearly stated.

Revocation of consent

It should be noted that interested parties may, during the processing of the procedure, revoke their consent to the practice of notification by electronic means and that subsequent notifications will be made by the means provided for in Law 39/2015, of October 1. To do this, a consent revocation form will need to be enabled.

Example from Terrassa City Council:

Personal Data Protection

In the forms for collecting or revoking consent, a paragraph must always be included informing how to exercise the rights of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition to the data transferred to the administration.

Example:

In accordance with the provisions of Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, on the protection of personal data and guarantee of digital rights, we inform you that, by filling out this application, your personal data will be incorporated and processed in the files owned by………………………………., in order to provide you with the services requested.

Likewise, we inform you of the possibility of exercising, at any time, the rights of access, rectification, deletion, opposition, limitation and portability of your personal data, by means of an email addressed to ………………. or, by means of a letter addressed to …………………….

Electronic notification is established as preferred by the administrative procedure regulations, except in certain exceptional cases foreseen.

Even when the recipients of the notification are non-obligated subjects, it must be made available to them on the entity's electronic headquarters (article 40.1 Law 39/2015, of October 1).

To incorporate electronic notification into the different administrative procedures, it is necessary to previously carry out an analysis to identify all the administrative procedures that are likely to make use of notifications.

In this analysis, it is advisable to also identify which administrative procedures statistically make more intensive use of the practice of notifications, since in the event that the organization wants to approach the implementation of electronic notification in a staggered manner and in different phases, it will be interesting to start with those administrative procedures in which electronic notification can have a greater impact in terms of reducing costs and reducing overall processing time.

And, in the same sense, evaluate the possibility of establishing its mandatory nature, via regulation, for certain groups.

Once the analysis has been carried out, we must adapt the administrative procedures to accommodate the possibility (or obligation, if it is suitably regulated) of practicing notification by electronic means, which will include, among others:

• Modify the application forms to include the box for collecting consent to receive electronic notifications in the case of non-obligated subjects.

The following updates will need to be made to the Electronic Office (or failing that, to the general website) to accommodate all the functionality related to electronic notifications:

• Include a section so that interested parties can access their electronic notifications. In the case of municipalities that have a citizen folder, it is recommended that access to electronic notifications be included within this space. Otherwise, it should be a link visible from the main page of the electronic office. In addition, if in order to access electronic notifications it is necessary to have minimum technical requirements in terms of hardware, software and accepted digital certificates, these requirements must be clearly stated in this section.
• Include in the electronic processing tool a box to collect the consent of the interested party (not required) to receive electronic notifications for that specific procedure. This consent is temporary and expires with the resolution of the procedure.
• Form to collect the consent of the interested party to receive electronic notifications for certain types of procedures. This consent is indefinite until expressly revoked and applies to certain types of procedures (for example, building permits, tenders, etc.) that must be indicated on the form
• Form to revoke the consent of the interested party to receive electronic notifications. This form will be useful for the interested party when they want to revoke the consent they have previously given to be notified electronically, either for a specific procedure or for a type of procedure.
• Publish the conditions of the electronic notification service, indicating in particular that the electronic channel for receiving electronic notifications implies full and unreserved acceptance of the electronic notification system in force at the time of signing the application . This indication must be made visible when the consent of the interested party to receive electronic notifications is collected, whether for a specific procedure or for a specific type of procedure.

An important point to take into account is that the electronic notifications made, as well as their associated electronic evidence, must be preserved for the duration of the preservation of the files, since in the event of an attempt to challenge the procedure due to lack of notification, it will be necessary to demonstrate that the notification occurred at a certain point in time, and that its content was known, or not, by the interested party at another point in time.

Although the e-NOTUM service retains the electronic notifications made and their electronic evidence for a specific period of time (90 days), it cannot be guaranteed that this period covers the lifespan of the files in all cases.

For this reason, each administration must provide for the provision of the necessary computer systems for the archiving and preservation of electronic notifications and their associated electronic evidence.

This section explains the most common use cases for electronic notifications, including the actions that must be taken into account in each case and some example models.

Calls for aid, subsidies or social benefits

In calls for aid, subsidies or social benefits, local entities can include in the regulatory bases the possibility of electronically notifying resolutions with the consent of the interested party, or the obligation in the event that this is conveniently regulated for the groups to whom the call is addressed.

In any case, the following adaptations will need to be made:

• Adapt the regulatory bases of the call, which regulate how electronic notifications and access mechanisms will be made, and whether these will be mandatory or require the consent of the interested party. In the event that they are mandatory, it will be necessary to indicate the rule that regulates their mandatory nature.
• Modify the application form for aid, subsidy or social benefit, so that it includes a box in which the interested party's consent to receive electronic notifications is recorded (if it is optional). This modification must be made both on the paper form and on the electronic form.

Meetings of collegiate bodies

The call for meetings of the collegiate bodies (Governing Board, Plenary, etc.) can be notified electronically and it must be guaranteed that it has been made available to you at least 48 hours in advance.

To do this, it is necessary to inform all members of the collegiate body in advance that the calls will be notified by electronic means, and how they will be able to access them. The administration can opt for voluntariness and collect the consent of each member to be able to notify them of the call electronically, or it can regulate its mandatory nature. In the case of regulating its mandatory nature, the administration will need to provide the necessary means so that all members have the tools and technological resources to be able to access it.

The call for meetings of collegiate bodies (Board of Governors, Plenary, etc.) can be made with the Recipient Group functionality of e-NOTUM since it allows you to create a list of recipients, in this case, the members of the collegiate body and manage the notifications together without the need to process them individually.

You can find more information about the Call for Collegiate Bodies on the Consortium website AOC.

Esplugues Town Hall

The Esplugues de Llobregat City Council approved the modification of its regulatory ordinance on electronic administration in order to manage more efficiently the electronic notification of its administrative acts. In this sense, with the new article, electronic notification could be practiced in any of the administrative procedures that are processed by the city council. Likewise, it is determined that all standardized forms, to initiate administrative procedures or procedures, will include the possibility for the interested person to indicate contact details so that subsequent notifications and communications are electronic. For its part, article 29.10 determines that the power to determine the administrative acts, procedures and procedures in which the notification will be exclusively and obligatorily electronic will be the Mayor's Office. Additionally, the Municipal Office of Electronic Administration has approved a regulation for the mandatory establishment of electronic relations in the scope of action of the Esplugues de Llobregat City Council. Sant Just Desvern City Council

Sant Just Desvern City Council

The Sant Just Desvern City Council approved an Ordinance regulating electronic administration that regulates electronic notifications and establishes the cases in which electronic notifications will always be mandatory. In this way, it will not be necessary to manage the consent of the interested party. These cases are:

1. Mandatory for all legal entities, but companies with fewer than 5 employees may be exempt from this obligation – if they so request.
2. Mandatory for City Council staff, provided that workers have access to appropriate technological resources in their workplace.
3. Mandatory for members of the City Council's collegiate bodies , who will receive the call by electronic means along with the complementary documentation.
4. Mandatory for groups of individuals who, for reasons of economic or technical capacity, professional dedication or other accredited reasons, have guaranteed access to appropriate technological means and the availability of these means
5. Mandatory for individuals who have previously used electronic means for their communications with the City Council, with the same level, or higher, than the technological requirements used previously.

Castellar del Vallès City Council

The Castellar del Vallè City Council approved an electronic administration ordinance . Article 28 of this ordinance regulates notifications by electronic means , which may be made with the consent of the interested party or on a mandatory basis in the cases specified in Annex II of the ordinance.

The ordinance presented an innovation in the management of the interested party's consent, which is regulated in point 5 of article 28: the administration will be able to understand that the citizen consents to receiving electronic notifications when they provide their contact details by electronic means, that is, their email and/or mobile phone.

Reus City Council

The Reus City Council has drawn up a regulation that regulates the use of notifications by electronic means. As a prominent element, this regulation includes cases in which electronic notifications may be made on a mandatory basis to certain groups of natural and legal persons, as permitted by Law 39/2015, of October 1, on common administrative procedure for public administrations and Law 26/2010, of August 3, on the legal regime and procedure of public administrations in Catalonia.

Specifically, the obligation is established in the following cases:

1. Notification of the calls for meetings of the City Council's collegiate bodies .
2. Interdepartmental communications of the city council
3. Notifications of administrative acts to personnel working for the City Council , provided that they have the status of interested parties.
4. General communications to staff at the City Council's service.
5. Notifications and communications in administrative procurement procedures
6. Notifications and communications in public tender procedures, such as subsidies, grants, competitions, competition bases , and in general in those administrative procedures and communications that are possible, will be carried out through the use of electronic means. The regulatory bases will include mandatory nature whenever possible due to the recipients.

Government of Catalonia

Order PDA/20/2019, of February 14 , on the implementation of electronic processing, lists the subjects required to interact electronically:

• Legal entities.
• Entities without legal personality.
• Those who carry out a professional activity for which mandatory membership is required, for the procedures and actions they carry out with public administrations in the exercise of said professional activity. In any case, notaries and property and commercial registrars are understood to be included within this group.
• Those who represent an interested party who is obliged to interact electronically with the Administration.
• Natural persons who carry out economic, professional activity, individual or self-employed entrepreneurs.
  On the other hand, it is worth highlighting Order PDA/21/2019, of February 14 , which determines the electronic notification system of the Administration of the Generalitat of Catalonia and its public sector.

Finally, it is worth highlighting article 73 of Decree 76/2020, of August 4, on Digital Administration , relating to natural persons obliged to interact electronically with the Administration of the Generalitat in the terms established there.

Olot City Council

This city council approved a municipal ordinance on electronic administration and later (in 2018) the regulation of the implementation of electronic notification in the municipality.

In this case, the people who “will be obliged to accept the use of electronic communications and notifications ”, in the terms provided for in the regulation, are:

• The staff of Olot City Council and its autonomous bodies.
• Companies, legal entities, entities without legal personality, professionals with mandatory membership for the procedures and actions they carry out with public administrations and in the exercise of the aforementioned professional activity, including notaries and property and commercial registrars, and their representatives who are related to the Olot City Council and its autonomous bodies.
• Entities that participate in agreements or other types of bilateral agreements with the Olot City Council and its autonomous bodies

Vinay Town Hall

It approved the electronic administration ordinance.

Expands the number of obligated parties, in addition to those in art.14 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on common administrative procedure for public administrations,

• The municipal administration contractors
• Members of the Corporation, of collegiate bodies, management staff, temporary staff and, in general, staff at the service of the Corporation

Garcia City Council

The subjects obliged to receive electronic notifications because they have the obligation to interact with the Garcia City Council through these means, according to the transparency and electronic administration ordinance of this City Council, coincide with those listed in art.14 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on common administrative procedure for public administrations.

Artesa de Segre Town Hall

Approved the transparency and electronic administration ordinance

It follows the model of the Garcia City Council, that is, the subjects obliged to have an electronic relationship with the Artesa de Segre City Council and, therefore, to receive electronic notifications is a reproduction of what is provided for in Law 39/2015, of October 1, on common administrative procedure for public administrations.

Alella Town Hall

In line with what is provided for in Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on the common administrative procedure of public administrations, the Transparency and Electronic Administration Ordinance establishes the preferential nature of the practice of electronic notifications, and the mandatory nature of these when the recipient is one of the subjects obliged to relate exclusively by electronic means with the City Council. It includes:

• Subject to art.14 of Law 39/2015, of October 1.
• Applicants who apply for City Council selection processes.
• Applicants and beneficiaries of subsidies when provided for in the regulatory bases (excluding those of a social nature).
• City Council suppliers
• Trade union organizations of the City Council.

Girona Provincial Council

On May 19, 2020, it approved a modification of the General Ordinance on Electronic Administration to regulate, among others, aspects related to electronic notifications.

Article 42 of said Ordinance, on the electronic notification system, expressly provides that eNOTUM will be the system that the Provincial Council will use.