Art. 11 Transmission and receipt of the documents | Conduct of certain Commission proceedings | DMA

This article establishes the rules for how documents are to be transmitted to and from the Commission under this regulation and the underlying Digital Markets Act.

The default method is digital transmission, with fallback options available under exceptional circumstances.

The article also deals with the practical mechanics of when a document is considered officially received, and what happens if a transmitted document is defective or cannot be processed.

Important points:

Transmit all documents to the Commission by digital means, using at least one Qualified Electronic Signature compliant with Regulation (EU) No 910/2014.
A digitally transmitted document is only deemed received on the day the Commission sends an acknowledgement of receipt — documents that are inoperable, contain malware, or carry an unverifiable signature are not considered received at all.
Where digital transmission is impossible or exceedingly difficult, registered mail and, as a last resort, hand delivery are permitted as fallback options.

1. Transmission of documents to and from the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 and this Regulation shall take place by digital means. Technical specifications regarding the means of transmission and signature may be published and regularly updated by the Commission.
1. Documents transmitted by digital means shall be signed using at least one Qualified Electronic Signature complying with the requirements set out in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council.(³)
1. Documents transmitted to the Commission by digital means shall be deemed to have been received on the day on which an acknowledgement of receipt is sent by the Commission.
1. A document transmitted to the Commission by digital means shall be deemed not to have been received if one of the following circumstances occurs:
  1. the document or parts thereof is inoperable or unusable;
  2. the document contains viruses, malware or other threats;
  3. the document contains an electronic signature the validity of which cannot be verified by the Commission.
1. The Commission shall inform the sender without undue delay if one of the circumstances referred to in paragraph 4 occurs and give it the possibility to express its views and rectify the situation within a reasonable time limit.
1. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, under exceptional circumstances which make transmission by digital means impossible or exceedingly difficult, documents may be transmitted to the Commission by registered mail. Those documents shall be deemed to have been received by the Commission on the day of their delivery at the address of the responsible Commission service as published by the Commission on its website.
1. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, under exceptional circumstances which make transmission by digital means and registered mail impossible or exceedingly difficult, documents may be transmitted to the Commission by means of hand delivery. Those documents shall be deemed to have been received on the day of their delivery at the address of the responsible Commission service as published by the Commission on its website. The delivery shall be confirmed in an acknowledgement of receipt by the Commission.