On January 11, 2024, the draft bill for the "IV. Bureaucracy Relief Act" was submitted to the German Bundestag. Anyone expecting dramatic simplifications will - once again - be disappointed by the draft published by the German Government. Article 41 of the draft provides for an amendment to the Verification Act, stating that the electronic signature in accordance with § 126a BGB (German Civil Code) should in future meet the requirements of the Verification Act. The provisions in §§ 2, 3 NachweisG are to be amended accordingly.
Furthermore - if the authors of the draft bill have their way – there will still be a long way to digitalization, since a printable format of the electronic document is to be handed over to the employees; as already explained in the article by our partner Michael Magotsch Germany's amended Verification Act, the "Nachweisgesetz" from August 4, 2022.
The draft suggests anything but a revolutionary step towards digitalization in Germany: According to the currently applicable Verification Act, violations of hardcopies and wet ink are subject to fines. As a result, fierce criticism from companies and employers' associations will not stop.
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Germany travels back in time while digitalization occurs elswhere: at Mondaq.com