With the mandatory introduction of two-factor authentication in governmental administration, accountants are facing a new challenge come 2025. Read on to learn how 2FA for the Client Gate can cause issues in accounting.
Ügyfélkapu and Ügyfélkapu+
Ügyfélkapu, or Client Gate in English, is the online access point for various governmental administrative platforms in Hungary. It lets natural persons take care of various kinds of administrative procedures online, such as applying for a certificate of good conduct, checking their medical records, or submitting tax reports. You can read more about the Client Gate here.
Ügyfélkapu+ is the version of the Ügyfélkapu access that uses two-factor authentication, or 2FA for short. It gives you access to the same platforms, but with an enhanced security feature. To log in, you need not only a username and a password, but also a code generated in an application on a mobile phone. This way even if your login data are compromised, your account cannot be accessed without your phone. You can read more about 2FA for the Client Gate here.
2FA becomes mandatory from 16 January 2025
Since its introduction in June 2022, 2FA for the Client Gate has been optional. Starting from 16 January 2025, however, the use of Ügyfélkapu+ and the 2FA function will become mandatory.
The new requirement is questionable for several reasons.
- It supposes that everyone who wants to take advantage of electronic administration in Hungary has a smartphone. Obviously, this is not necessarily the case.
- According to the latest data, a significant portion of the population is far from digitally literate, which means the new requirement might cause difficulties even to those who do have a smartphone.
The new requirement will put additional burden on accountants, according to the representative of the Hungarian Association of Accountants (MKOE):
- Accountants often help their clients with tasks related to electronic administration. Since the number of digitally illiterate people is very high in Hungary, accountants are worried that they will have to guide their clients through the registration process one by one, which is an inordinate amount of extra work.
- The start of the year is the busiest season regarding accountancy. Creating new tasks for this already strained time period will create more opportunities for mistakes to happen.
- Accounting firms regularly submit reports on behalf of their clients. However, currently clients can give authorization only to specific accountants, not firms. Accountants working for the same firm sometimes have solved this by taking advantage of a loophole in the system, but the mandatory introduction of 2FA for the Client Gate will close this loophole without providing an alternative.
To remedy these issues, the Hungarian Association of Accountants urges the following changes to the plans:
- The mandatory application of 2FA for the Client Gate should be rolled back to August 2025. This way interested parties would have enough time to take care of the required procedures without compromising accuracy.
- A new category of authorization should be created for accounting firms, similar to what already exists for law firms. This way accounting firms could manage reporting without relying on loopholes and creative solutions.
Helpers Finance at your service
Our team at Helpers Finance provides accounting services to small and medium-sized companies in Hungary, focusing on working with foreign owners. If you have any tasks related to the new regulation in relation to the introduction of 2FA for the Client Gate, you will be contacted in due time. Otherwise, you can ask your accountant how to proceed.
Can we help you with accounting in Hungary? Feel free to contact us.
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