Contract no: [complete]  E-mail is deemed to have been received by the receiving party on the day of dispatch of that e-mail,  provided that it is sent to the e-mail address indicated in Article I.8. The sending party must be able to  prove the date of dispatch. In the event that the sending party receives a non-delivery report, it must  make every effort to ensure that the other party actually receives the communication by email or mail.  In such a case, the sending party is not held in breach of its obligation to send such communication  within a specified deadline.  Mail sent to the contracting authority is deemed to have been received by the contracting authority on  the date on which the department responsible referred to in Article I.8 registers it. Formal notifications  are considered to have been received by the receiving party on the date of receipt  indicated in the proof received by the sending party that the message was delivered to the specified  recipient. II.5.3. Submission of e-documents via e-PRIOR  1. If provided for in the special conditions, the exchange of electronic documents (e-documents)  such as requests for services,  specific contracts  and invoices between the parties is automated  through the use of the  e-PRIOR  platform. This platform provides two possibilities for such  exchanges: either through web services (machine-to-machine connection) or through a web  application (the  supplier portal ). 2. The contracting authority takes the necessary measures to implement and maintain electronic  systems that enable the  supplier portal  to be used effectively. 3. In the case of machine-to-machine connection, a direct connection is established between the  parties’  back offices . In this case, the parties take the measures necessary on their side to  implement and maintain electronic systems that enable the machine-to-machine connection to  be used effectively. The electronic systems are specified in the  interface control document . The  contractor (or leader in the case of a joint tender) must take the necessary technical measures  to set up a machine-to-machine connection and at its own cost.  4. If communication via the  supplier portal  or via the web services (machine-to-machine  connection) is hindered by factors beyond the control of one party, it must  notify  the other  immediately and the parties must take the necessary measures to restore this communication. 5. If it is impossible to restore the communication within two working days, one party must  notify the other that alternative means of communication specified in Article II.5.1 will be used until the  supplier portal  or the machine-to-machine connection is restored. 6.  When a change in the  interface control document  requires adaptations, the contractor (or leader  in the case of a joint tender) has up to six months from receipt of the  notification  to implement  this change. This period can be shortened by mutual agreement of the parties. This period does  not apply to urgent measures required by the security policy of the contracting authority to  ensure integrity, confidentiality and non-repudiation of information and the availability of  e- PRIOR , which must be applied immediately. a) is considered as equivalent to a paper document;  b) is deemed to be the original of the document;  c) is legally binding on the parties once an  e-PRIOR  authorised person has performed the  ‘sign’ action in  e-PRIOR  and has full legal effect; and  1.  The parties agree that any e-document, including related attachments exchanged via  e-PRIOR :  d) constitutes evidence of the information contained in it and is admissible as evidence in  judicial proceedings. 2. The parties expressly waive any rights to contest the validity of such a document solely on the  grounds that communications between the parties occurred through  e-PRIOR  or that the  document has been signed through  e-PRIOR . If a direct connection is established between the  16 II.5.4. Validity and date of e-documents  EC - FWC services Dec 2018 