Electronic trade documents

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The government announced the ‘Electronic Trade Documents Bill’ in the Queen’s Speech in May 2022. The Bill received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023, resulting in the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 (ETDA 2023) which came into force on 20 September 2023. The operative provisions (sections 3 and 4) apply to paper trade documents and electronic trade documents issued on or after the date ETDA 2023 came into force.

The aim of the legislation is to put electronic trade documents on the same legal footing as paper documents. It is anticipated that this will remove paperwork and bureaucracy as well as raise security and compliance of trade by increasing the traceability of document

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