As of January 1, 2020, Bon-Zwang rules in Germany. According to the "Law on protection against manipulation of digital basic records", in short Kassengesetz 2020, every buyer must get a receipt from 1 January - mandatory. In case of breach threatens a fine of up to 25,000 euros, writes the "World" in their Monday issue.
The document issuance obligation is to increase the tax honesty. The seamless electronic documentation should help to ensure that in the future no revenue flows past the tax offices.
For the environment the Bonpflicht could have serious consequences
The new law applies to all who sell something or offer services for money. Anyone who does not have an electronic cash register must manually enter each transaction for the tax office in such a way that it is traceable.
The details to be stated on the receipt are: the full name and address of the exhibitor, the date and time of the receipt, and the type and quantity of items or orders purchased. Likewise the invoice number, amount and tax portion as well as the serial number of the security module or cash register system.
For the environment the compulsion to the receipt could have far-reaching consequences. With the amount of receipts printed annually, you could cover 43 football fields. Placed in a row, they would be 2.2 million kilometers long, enough to wrap the equator 50 times with receipts, writes the "Welt".
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Climate change: we pass sinners"We talk about environmental protection and discuss the reduction of coffee-to-go cups, but then on the other hand create waste mountains of coated paper," said Daniel Schneider of the Central Association of the German bakers, the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung". Experts consider receipts to be particularly problematic for the environment.
The Federal Environment Agency advises on its website from dispose of the documents in the waste paper. "Most of them are printed on thermal paper coated with the harmful chemical bisphenol A," writes the Federal Environment Agency. Bisphenol A may affect reproductive ability.
The necessity of the measure is also controversial. Cash register manufacturers do not consider the mandatory receipt as necessary. Already at the start of a sales or order process ask a so-called technical safety device (TSE) a transaction number.
With the electronic request, a transaction is started, as a result of which all further postings of the POS system would be recorded in the TSE. Finally, the bookings would then be signed and printed.
Nevertheless, the legislature insists on the billion-fold note duty. The bon-compulsion applies to anyone who uses an electronic cash register - so it should affect almost every trader.
Vouchers can also be transmitted electronically
The Federal Ministry of Finance justifies the compulsory receipt of the document by making it easier for local tax inspectors to work. Due to the clear assignment of a receipt to the cash register device, the information could be checked at any time, "including short-term cash audits," as a spokeswoman for the "Welt" said.
Receipts can also be issued as e-mail or on the mobile phone. The paper form is not obligatory, but whether the exchange of mail addresses prevails at the bakery remains to be seen.
An exception to the document constraint is possible in exceptional cases. "The obligation to record separately according to sentence 1 does not exist for reasons of reasonableness in the sale of goods to a large number of unknown persons for cash payment," it says in the Tax Code.
Bars or kiosks, for example, which issue many mini bills to passing customers, get rid of the obligation to pay. For this purpose, an application must be made to the responsible tax office. It can be approved, but also revoked at any time.