Hanoi (VNA) - Thenational public service portal will launch its e-notary service on July1, Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said at arecent meeting with agencies to prepare for the roll-out of the servicedesigned to certify electronicallly copies of original documents.

The system is also expected tobe implemented nationwide, he added.

Speaking at the meeting, Dunghailed the move as a major leap forward in the building of e-government.

After six months of launchingthe national public service portal, an electronic platform to connect theGovernment with people and enterprises, at least 41 million people have visitedthe website.

About 159,000 accounts havebeen registered, nine million records sent to the portal and synchronised,and more than 102,000 records dealt with through the system.

So far, the portalhas provided 458 online public services including 203 services forcitizens and 266 for businesses.

"The system has initiallybeen well received and promoted its functions to serve the people andbusinesses," the minister said.

The Government issued a decreeon administrative procedures in the electronic environment, an important legaldocument for the use of electronic documents, electronic and digital signaturesand electronic transactions.

Dung stated it is notappropriate that citizens still have to present hard copies when conductingadministrative procedures on the national public service portal, which is whythe Government is opening the e-copy certification service.

Reports of the Ministry ofJustice found there were more than 102 million documents that needed to benotarised in 2019, and if even 30 percent of the digital certification copieswere reused, an estimated 428 billion VND (18.4 million USD) would be saved.

When the service isimplemented, citizens and businesses will be able to book an appointment fortheir documents to be certified, helping save time, said Ngo Hai Phan,director-general of the Government Office’s Administrative Procedure ControlDepartment.

An e-notary copy also includesthe digital signature and seal of competent agencies to ensure integrity,accuracy and reusability, according to Hai.

The e-copies will have the samevalue as the original documents, he said.

With the e-copies, citizens andbusinesses can conduct most administrative procedures provided on theportal entirely online, eliminating the need to submit certified hard copies.

At the meeting, the head of theGovernment Office also asked agencies to work together to create strongconversion towards electronic transactions and payments.

Agencies are working closely tofine-tune the legal framework and mechanism to ensure standard practice for thelaunching of the service, Dung said./.