Since January 2023, the Czech Republic has seen a major expansion of data boxes. The obligation to have them now applies not only to companies and entrepreneurs, but also to some non-business individuals. In this article we will summarise who must use a data box, how it is set up, what it is used for and what you should know about it today.
The state has significantly strengthened electronic communication as of January 2023. The main aim was to make the functioning of the state administration more efficient and faster. The data box has since become mandatory for:
Non-entrepreneurial natural persons (ordinary citizens) are not obliged to have a data box. For them, its establishment is still voluntary, either online via Identity of the Citizen or in person at CzechPOINT. It remains mandatory only for legal entities and all self-employed individuals (self-employed persons).
What a data box is for, a natural person more or less does not need to know if he or she does not want to use it voluntarily. Data boxes are mandated by law only for the aforementioned. However, the use of a data box definitely has its advantages. For example, a data box allows you to file a tax return with a few clicks, so you do not have to go around to different institutions.
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The good news is that you don’t have to take any active steps, go to the authorities or activate it online. As soon as you set up a business or otherwise enter the group of persons covered by the data box obligation, the state will set up the data box for you. When it is set up, you will receive access data, together with basic data for use by the post office. It is compulsory for businesses to set up a data box, but ordinary citizens can also set one up voluntarily, free of charge.
If you are an entrepreneur (sole trader, self-employed person, legal entity) and you do not want a data box, you are out of luck. You will have to start coming to terms with the idea of it. The only possible solution is to entrust a person with the management of the data box and thus avoid the obligation personally.
The only exception is for non-business people, who have two options:
All legal entities registered in the Commercial Register (commercial companies and cooperatives), as well as lawyers, tax advisors, executors and insolvency administrators are obliged to set up a data box. It is also used by the state administration – authorities, courts, etc.
The data box functions as a virtual letter box – documents delivered to it have the same legal weight as a registered letter. If an individual or company is the owner of a data box, the authorities and courts must deliver all documents to them through it. An essential part of communication via data boxes is also the so-called fiction of delivery. After receiving a message in a data box, you have ten days to read it. Thereafter, a legal fiction is created that you have read the document, even if you have not logged in to the data box at all. This has a major impact, for example, on the running of the various time limits for making representations, appeals, etc. As a general rule, it is therefore recommended to check your mailbox and turn on data box notifications that alert you to any new messages.
From 2023, the delivery by fiction is also applied to private messages, i.e. when, for example, two businesses communicate with each other. This typically applies to invoices, pre-action notices and the like.
Hint: We have covered the fiction of delivery in detail in our separate article.
In the opposite direction, however, the obligation to communicate electronically does not yet apply as a rule. Until now, submissions can be sent to the authorities in any way. The only exception in this respect is the tax administration, to which tax returns and other documents must be sent exclusively electronically. This applies to all owners of data boxes established by law (i.e. not voluntarily). If you do not comply with the instruction, you will receive a notice to correct the defect in your filing. And if you do not respect the notice either, a fine may follow. Today, everyone who has a data box set up by law (i.e. legal entities and self-employed persons) must file all returns and other documents with the Tax Administration exclusively electronically. If a citizen has a data box only voluntarily, this obligation does not apply to him/her.
Tip: We have devoted a separate article to the procedure for setting up, managing or cancelling a data box.
The state offers us to set up a data box for free and does not forget to emphasize it. Communication with the authorities is also free. This is certainly an advantage over sending (registered) letters. Only commercial (private) messages are charged. From 2024, it costs 10 CZK including VAT for a regular data message up to 20 MB. Newly, it is also possible to use so-called bulk messages (VoDZ) with attachments up to 100 MB, for which the price is higher (currently CZK 30 per message). Users will thus pay for sending messages to banks, insurance companies, energy suppliers, but also to companies or private individuals. At today’s prices of the Czech Post, however, this is still a steal. If you want to set up a data box, just go to CzechPOINT or do it online via Identity of the Citizen.
Still, using a datacard can cost us a pretty penny. The stumbling block comes when archiving the messages you receive. The messages remain in your mailbox until you delete them or until it fills up. For a maximum of 90 days. After that, you can either archive the messages yourself and save them on your computer, for example. Or you can store them in a so-called data vault, for which you pay 120 crowns (for 20 messages) depending on the number of messages stored – or a surprising 29,500 crowns for 5,000 messages. This price is significantly higher than any commercial data storage.
However, you can also store messages of up to 1 GB in the Citizen Portal for free and for an unlimited period of time. The service must be activated.
Beware – unlike the data vault, however, the use of the Citizen’s Portal does not ensure the long-term verifiability of documents. This is the case with a simple download to a computer. In these cases, you have to maintain the long-term verifiability of the documents yourself. You can check whether a document is still verifiable free of charge directly in the client portal for data boxes, where you can also extend the validity of the time stamp on the message.
Yes and no. It depends more or less on your attitude to data boxes and electronic communication in general. If you know that you will fall into the group of data mailbox owners and you do not consider yourself a computer-savvy “geek”, you can get a data mailbox yourself a little earlier, so that you can get acquainted with it well in advance and even with the help of experts and set everything up in advance. You can then send your tax return at the beginning of the next year without stress and without wondering whether it has been lost somewhere.
If electronic communication in various ways is easy for you, then early preparation is rather unnecessary. Setting up early will not save you any significant money or relieve you of any obligation. But you can, of course, benefit from the advantages offered by a data bank earlier – you don’t queue at the offices, you don’t have to deal with office hours and you don’t pay expensive postage.
A data box is a modern tool for secure communication with the authorities, which acts as a virtual letterbox and has the same legal weight as a registered letter. From 2023, its establishment is mandatory for all businesses, but ordinary citizens can also voluntarily set it up – easily online via Identity of the Citizen or at CzechPOINT. The mailbox is automatically activated 15 days after it has been set up, but it can be activated earlier. Thanks to it, you can avoid queues at the post office, save on postage and get your documents faster. Beware, however, that documents delivered to your mailbox are considered read after 10 days, even if you don’t open them. A sent data message carries full legal weight, so it’s important to check your mailbox regularly or set up alerts.
The data box obligation applies to all legal entities (associations, foundations, commercial companies) and natural persons engaged in business (self-employed persons). Ordinary citizens – non-business individuals – can set up a data box voluntarily, for example online via Identity of the Citizen. If you fall into the group covered by the obligation, you cannot avoid this obligation, but you can delegate the management of the mailbox to another person.
If a data box has been set up for you by law (for example, as a self-employed person), you must file your tax return via a data box or other electronic means. In this case, the tax office will not accept paper submissions. However, if you have a data box only voluntarily, the electronic obligation does not apply to you – you can also file your tax return in paper form.
If you are required by law to have a data box and you ignore it, for example by not filing your tax return electronically or not responding to an incoming message, you may be fined. The Data Boxes Act also introduces a ‘fiction of delivery’ – a document is deemed to have been delivered on the tenth day after it is placed in your mailbox, even if you have not logged in. It is therefore important to check your mailbox regularly.
To avoid missing an important message, it is recommended that you turn on your mailbox notifications. You can set up free email or paid SMS notifications. This way you will know about every document you receive and avoid the inconvenience of fake delivery.
The rules are determined by the Act on Electronic Acts and Authorised Conversion of Documents, often referred to as the “Data Box Act”. It sets out who is obliged to use a data box, how service works, how time limits are calculated and what legal effects the boxes have. If you want to know whether the obligation applies to you, it is this law that is used.
Our team of experienced attorneys will help you solve any legal issue. Within 24 hours we’ll evaluate your situation and suggest a step-by-step solution, including all costs. The price for this proposal is only CZK 690, and this is refunded to you when you order service from us.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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