On March 25, 2020, a draft regulation of the Minister of Finance was proposed to amend the regulation on cash registers. It provides for the introduction of the possibility of issuing fiscal receipts in electronic form with the consent of the buyer and in a manner agreed with him. What changes can we expect if the project goes live?
Electronic document – definition
Pursuant to § 1 point 1 of the draft regulation, § 2 point 3 of the regulation on cash registers, i.e. the definition of an electronic document, would be changed. This point would read as follows: “it is understood as a set of structured and structured data from fiscal and non-fiscal documents, stored in fiscal memory or protected memory, in the format specified in the data transfer communication protocol in the case of fiscal documents, created by the online cash register”.
Obligations of taxpayers who keep records
In § 1 point 2 lit. a) of the draft regulation, the proposed changes to § 6 sec. 1 of the Regulation on cash registers. This part of the current regulation deals with taxpayers who keep records. According to the draft, the taxpayers keeping the records would not only have to ensure the technical condition of the cash register, which guarantees a legible printout of the fiscal receipt or paper invoice, but also a legible view enabling the buyer to check the correctness of the sale in the case of a fiscal receipt or an electronic invoice – this information would be contained in § 6 paragraph 1 point 9 of the Regulation. If the draft enters into force, point 10 will be added to the described paragraph, according to which taxpayers who keep records will have to remember to check the correctness of the issued document before approving the fiscal receipt or invoice in order to eliminate errors in the records.
Issuing e-receipts with the consent of the buyer
If the draft regulation is approved, pursuant to § 1 point 5, § 19a will be added to the regulation on cash registers. This part of the document will concern the possibility of issuing e-receipts. According to the draft, taxpayers keeping records using on-line cash registers could issue and issue to the buyer – with his consent and in a manner agreed with him – a fiscal receipt or an electronic invoice. In the event that the commenced sale would not be made, the taxpayer could issue a canceled fiscal receipt or a canceled invoice in electronic form.
Advantages of electronic receipts
The introduction of the possibility of issuing e-receipts brings many advantages. First of all, such a solution would reduce the amount of paper used. Additionally, electronic receipts would be a much more durable proof of purchase compared to traditional receipts, which fade over time and are no longer legible. The process of returning purchased goods and making a complaint would also be simplified – there would be no problems with finding an electronic proof of purchase, and the paper receipt is easy to lose.