HAERGI

XAdES electronic signature – what you should know?

XAdES electronic signature – what you should know?

Facebook LinkedIn

Electronic signature

XAdES, PAdES – these are not names of Greek gods, but electronic signature formats. According to European and Polish law, a qualified electronic signature is equivalent to a handwritten one. We wrote about the PAdES signature and its advantages in the article PAdES – The Best Electronic Signature Format for SAP E-Folder. Now let's take a closer look at the XAdES signature.

What is XAdES?

XAdES is an abbreviation of the English phrase XAdvan Aced Electronic SSignature. With its help, you can sign PDF and XML files as well as many other documents in formats such as JPEG, DOC., XLS, or ZIP.

Types of XAdES signatures

In the previous article we wrote that PAdES is a signature dedicated to PDF files and placed inside the file. 

XAdES, on the other hand, is a signature that can be embedded both inside XML and can accompany other files as an additional file. There are three types of XAdES signatures:

  1. External – here we do not change the original file; the electronic signature is in a separate file that contains a reference to the source document. This way, you can sign many documents at once. It can be used with various file types (including PDF, JPEG, DOC., ZIP), so it is most often used when we do not want to change the original file. Here a second file with the signature appears.
  2. Enveloping (English: enveloping) – where the original file is “enveloped” by the signature just like an envelope surrounds a letter. This creates a signed XML file inside which our source file is located. This format is also used in communication with offices – like the enveloping signature.
  3. Enveloped (internal) – this is a signature attached to the document (similarly to PAdES in PDF), this signature is “glued” to the file. You can sign only XML files this way. This solution is required for some official files, such as the Standard Audit File for Tax (JPK), the European Single Procurement Document (JEDZ), financial statements, or e-Invoice.

From the user's perspective, enveloped and enveloping signatures are identical, meaning the signature is in the same file. In our product for SAP e-invoices we use the enveloping signature.

Qualified XAdES signature – where will you encounter it?

At the beginning of 2022, the National e-Invoice System (KSeF) comes into force. Our SAP e-Invoice product has been equipped precisely with the XAdES signature. Thanks to this, you can send documents from SAP directly to KSeF. This signature is also used in sending HR e-Declarations and JPK VAT files.

A dedicated SAP team will already launch in your company a platform for e-invoices.

By joining the pilot program, you will receive a product that includes:

You can read more about this on the special page dedicated to SAP e-Invoice.

We also invite you to our blog, where you will find substantive articles about electronic signatures. 

Electronic signature · e-Invoice · electronic signature · qualified signature · XAdES