EP1729264A1 - Secure processing procedure for excise stamps - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves printing stamp-duty stamps, where each of the stamps bears an encoded unique authentication number. A statement of the printing operations performed, and a statement of itemized amounts of stamp duty of the printed stamps are periodically established. A connection is made by an authentication service for communicating the encoded authentication number and for registering one item of identity data concerning a purchaser. An independent claim is also included for a system for securely processing stamp-duty stamps.

Description

Field of the art

The present invention relates to a method of secure processing of non-postal stamps, such as tax stamps, in an unsecured environment.

State of the art

The use of stamps for purposes other than postage is well known. Such stamps can be found especially in the fiscal field to pay fines or various rights for the benefit of the State. These stamps are also affixed to various types of official documents to confirm their validity or to certain acts issued by ministerial officers, such as notaries or bailiffs. Stamps with monetary value also exist in the field of insurance or bank loans. In such an insecure environment, that is to say in which these stamps do not pass through a fully controlled network, as is the case in the postal field, it can not be guaranteed that these stamps are many original copies and they are not mere copies.

The use of a specific ink for their printing or an elaborate graphic can provide some security to the issuer by making these stamps more difficult to copy, but it does not in any way provide sufficient protection against organized crime that finds it interesting to participate in the creation and circulation of counterfeit stamps.

It was proposed with the patent US 4,757,187 a method of authenticating tax stamps which is based on the use of a terminal located in the premises of the issuing administration of these stamps and to which the user must connect to receive an authorization to print the stamps he has need on means of local printing which it is provided. This obligation to have a means of printing of its own is a serious drawback of this process which also implies a significant change in the purchasing behavior of the user who generally buys his tax stamps from an intermediary and not directly from the tax authorities.

Disclosure of the invention

The present invention aims to overcome these disadvantages by providing a method of secure processing of revenue stamps that avoids the issuer any loss of income while minimizing the current habits of users.

These goals are achieved by a method of securely processing tax stamps printed by secure printing means connected to a remote computer server in which a purchaser of a tax stamp communicates to an authentication service a unique encrypted authentication number. the said tax stamp and at least one piece of identification relating to it to ensure the validity of the document on which the stamp is affixed.

Thus, each printed stamp can be attached to a specific buyer and only one.

Preferably, the identification data comprises at least the identity and the coordinates of the buyer and the communication is carried out through the Internet network to which said buyer connects via any computer. The identification data may consist in the document on which the tax stamp will be affixed.

Advantageously, the unique coded authentication number is decrypted at the level of digitization and processing means which can thus verify the authenticity of the tax stamp.

• un moyen d'impression sécurisé pour imprimer des timbres fiscaux comportant chacun un numéro unique d'authentification codé,
• un serveur informatique distant relié au dit moyen d'impression sécurisé pour relever périodiquement un état des opérations d'impression effectuées, notamment un montant détaillé des taxes fiscales imprimées,
• un service d'authentification accessible via un réseau Internet depuis un ordinateur quelconque et auquel se connecte un acheteur desdits timbres fiscaux pour communiquer ledit numéro d'authentification codé et enregistrer au moins une donnée d'identification le concernant.

The invention also relates to a system for the secure processing of revenue stamps, characterized in that it comprises:

• secure printing means for printing tax stamps each having a unique coded authentication number,
• a remote computer server connected to said secure printing means for periodically reading a report of the printing operations carried out, in particular a detailed amount of the printed fiscal taxes,
• an authentication service accessible via an Internet network from any computer and to which a buyer of said tax stamps connects to communicate said coded authentication number and record at least one identifying data item.

Advantageously, said authentication service is also accessible via the Internet from any computer of any third party interested in the registration of identification data relating to the documents on which said tax stamps are affixed to ensure validity.

To allow verification of the authenticity of said tax stamps, the system according to the invention may further comprise scanning and processing means.

Brief description of the drawings

• la figure 1 montre un exemple d'architecture de réseau informatique permettant la mise en oeuvre du procédé de traitement sécurisé de timbres fiscaux selon l'invention, et
• la figure 2 est un organigramme illustrant les différentes étapes du procédé de l'invention.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the following description, given by way of non-limiting indication, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

• FIG. 1 shows an exemplary computer network architecture enabling the implementation of the method of secure processing of revenue stamps according to the invention, and
• Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the various steps of the method of the invention.

Mode (s) of realization

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a computer network architecture that can exist between an administration responsible for issuing tax stamps, an intermediary responsible for the distribution of the stamps and a user who receives the stamps, in which the method according to the invention can be implemented.

In this architecture, the printing of the tax stamps is no longer carried out directly by the administration but by intermediaries selected and approved by this administration who each have a secure printing machine 10. These intermediaries who may be semi-public or private bodies therefore have an account open with this administration or an agent thereof and whose operation is governed by a contract between the intermediary and the administration or its agent.

The printing machine is a machine similar to a franking machine allowing the printing of tax stamps on labels or possibly directly on documents. It therefore conventionally comprises printing means and means of accounting for the values of tax taxes corresponding to each of the printed stamps. It also includes encryption means for printing on this stamp, in addition to the value of the associated fee, a unique coded identification number developed from this tax value, the serial number of the machine and any other data d useful information such as the name of the owner of the machine, the number of his contract, etc. Similarly, the labels may comprise, in known manner, fluorescent ink-based security markings or micro-prints.

This machine 10 is connected remotely to a first computer server 12 disposed on a site of the administration or its representative and comprising at least one database 14. This server periodically receives, at least once a day, a report printing operations carried out by the machine (but a report after each printing is also possible), including the detailed amount of tax taxes printed and debits accordingly the account of the holder of the machine. It can also ensure an update of the printing machine, for example by sending new tax values or new types of tax stamps.

The database includes shared access with a second computer server 16 disposed on the site of an authentication service which may be a service independent or not of the administration and which hosts a website whose connection is possible, via the Internet network 18, preferably from any computer terminal, for example a personal computer 20 of the purchaser user of the tax stamp or a personal computer 22 of any third party interested as a bank, an insurance company, a notary office, etc. stamp will have been provided for the payment of a right in respect of a product or service.

The connection to the authentication service that can be done anywhere (at the place of printing or not), makes it possible for all of these people to register or check online printed tax stamps, this recording consisting in associating with the readable information on a stamp, in particular the type of stamp, the value of the tax tax and the unique coded authentication number, personal information relating to these persons or the document on which the stamp concerned will be affixed. to ensure its validity and this control consisting in verifying the information entered. When the document is printed together with the tax stamp, it can be envisaged that this recording also includes the sending to the authentication service of this document or its image.

The administration may also provide a validity check and authenticate the tax stamps issued to it by using digitization means 24 connected to computer processing means, for example a personal computer 26, to read and decrypt the unique number. encoded authentication. It can furthermore provide a connection, via the Internet network 18, to the second computer server 16 providing hosting of the authentication service's website. In an advantageous embodiment, these digitization and processing means can be incorporated in a single module such as a digital personal assistant (not shown) integrating a digital camera and means for decrypting the unique number.

The method implemented in the aforementioned network architecture is now explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2. It comprises several steps. The first is the printing phase of tax stamps which is carried out by authorized intermediaries. This printing which comprises the printing of the stamp with the value of the tax and that of the unique number of coded authentication, is preferably made at the unit at the request of each buyer, the intermediary being then debited at the end of the day that of the amount of the taxes corresponding to the stamps actually sold, but it can also be done globally for example at the beginning of the day, the intermediary then proceeds to printing tax stamps of different amounts of taxes in anticipation of its sales of the day (but then it can be debited with an amount of taxes higher than its real sales because of possible unsold).

The second step is the registration phase 32 in which the buyer user will register with the authentication service the stamp or stamps he has just purchased. This recording is done by means of his computer or a third computer with which he will connect to the website of this service to communicate various identifying information about him, such as his identity and his postal, telephone or other contact information for example electronic and concerning the stamp itself as the amount of the tax to be paid or the type of document on which it must be affixed. All this information is of course associated with the unique coded authentication number which is printed on each stamp purchased from the authorized intermediary and which will also be communicated to the website. By this registration and because of the uniqueness of the coded number, the user avoids any subsequent fraudulent use of a copy of the registered stamp. Indeed, a second recording of the same stamp or a copy will be automatically detected and of course refused by the authentication service.

The third step 34 consists in affixing the tax stamp on the document for which it is intended and in handing it over to the recipient concerned, who can then, if he wishes, check its validity and / or authenticity in a fourth step. If this recipient is a third party other than the administration, he will be able to access the authentication service and, by communicating the unique encrypted authentication number printed on each received stamp, check the data provided by the intermediary and the user. ensure that this number has not been attempted twice or that the data recorded correspond to those of the user handing him the document. He may also communicate, in particular for use by the administration, information concerning him or identification data relating to the document. On the other hand, if the addressee is the administration itself, it may, in addition to all the aforementioned information and data which it will be able to read, verify the authenticity of the tax stamp itself by proceeding to its decryption. Note that in this case, the terminal of the administration may advantageously comprise a software module which from the input of the footprint of the tax stamp provides, via a browser installed on this terminal, a direct connection, through the network Internet to which this terminal is linked, with a uniform resource address (URL) of a dynamic page of the authentication service's Web site on which all the information associated with the coded single authentication number previously entered via and the user and possibly the interested third party.

Claims (8)

A method of securely processing tax stamps printed by secure printing means (10) connected to a remote computer server (12) in which a purchaser of a tax stamp communicates to an authentication service (16) a unique security number coded authentication carried on said tax stamp and at least one identification data concerning it to ensure the validity of the document on which this stamp is affixed. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said identification data comprises at least the identity and the coordinates of the buyer. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that said identification data further comprises the document on which the tax stamp is affixed. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said communication is carried out through the Internet network (18) to which said buyer connects via any computer (20). Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said unique coded authentication number is decrypted at scanning and processing means (24, 26) which can thus verify the authenticity of the tax stamp. System for the secure processing of tax stamps, characterized in that it comprises: . secure printing means (10) for printing tax stamps each having a unique encrypted authentication number, . a remote computer server (12) connected to said secure printing means for periodically reading a report of the printing operations carried out, in particular a detailed amount of the printed taxes, . an authentication service (16) accessible via an Internet network (18) from any computer (20) and to which a buyer of said tax stamps connects to communicate said number encoded authentication and record at least one identifying data item. System according to claim 6, characterized in that said authentication service is also accessible via the Internet network from any computer (22) of any third party interested in the registration of identification data relating to the documents on which said tax stamps are affixed to ensure their validity. System according to claim 6 or claim 7, characterized in that it further comprises scanning and processing means (24, 26) for verifying the authenticity of said tax stamps.

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