During the Opinions session, at the ICC Banking Commission meeting held in Jakarta in April 2017, a query was presented that addressed, amongst other issues, electronically generated documents.
At the time it was withdrawn for further clarification, and will be discussed again at the Banking Commission meeting to be held in London in November 2017 (Document 470/TA.865rev). The specific question is whether or not a particular electronically generated document is acceptable on the basis of a barcode only.
However, an Opinion on this narrow question will not solve the wider issue of more generic electronically generated documents.
As such, this issue has been referred to the recently formed Digitalisation Working Group,
The aim will be to create more clarity and guidelines with regard to the acceptance of electronically generated documents with means of authentication being a bar code, a website URL, QR codes and the like.
As further clarification, the initiating ICC National Committee has referred to Regulation (EU) no 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013, requiring mostly electronic means for all documentation between economic operators: (extract) "Means for the exchange and storage of information and common data requirements - All exchanges of information, such as declarations, applications or decisions, between customs authorities and between economic operators and customs authorities, and the storage of such information, as required under the customs legislation, shall be made using electronic data-processing techniques."