Receipt mandate 2020

In 2020, retailers and restaurateurs, among others, face new rules for their POS systems – including the receipt mandate (Bonpflicht). Introduced in 2020 by the German Cash Register Act and the Cash Register Anti-Tampering Ordinance, the receipt mandate requires anyone working with electronic POS systems to provide every customer and guest with a receipt for the transaction. Wait – always? Yes. Whether a single item is bought or consumed or a large bill is run up: a receipt must be issued, either on paper or digitally. With the receipt mandate, lawmakers aim to ensure that every single transaction is actually documented. It is a measure to prevent tax evasion, manipulation, and undeclared money. The receipt mandate is laid down in Section 146a (2) of the German Fiscal Code (AO) and applies to all electronic POS systems from January 1, 2020. Importantly, the law requires receipts to be handed to every customer – but customers are not obliged to accept them. This is where the current German rules differ from the legislation in Italy, where customers must take the receipt with them. In Germany, by contrast, the receipt ends up in the bin if the customer does not want it. Wait – even more paper waste, even though Germany is already the world champion in producing it? You decide! anybill is the innovative and sustainable alternative! The law states that receipts do not necessarily have to be handed over in paper form; they can also be provided electronically. Given advancing digitalization, it is expected that 25 percent of all receipts will be issued electronically. While paper receipts are still the rule today, the future – especially for environmental reasons – lies in electronic receipts. As a retailer or restaurateur, you have the choice: offer your customers a digital, environmentally friendly alternative to the paper receipt – with anybill.