POS: First fines issued to taxis, street vendors & businesses

Checks have begun on professionals and businesses in the 35 retail sectors which are required to have POS terminals installed and accept card transactions from April 1

No more lies and excuses for refusing card payments, as the Independent Authority for Public Revenue has already imposed the first fines on those who neglected, even though they were obliged, to proceed with the purchase of POS terminals. At the same time, the Ministry of National Economy is intensifying pressure to complete the interconnection of the card acceptance terminal with the cash registers by the end of the month.

With the new data, from May Day until Easter, where a receipt is issued from POS, a retail sales receipt will automatically be issued and sent to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue. According to the Ministry’s data so far, 90% of businesses have either interconnected their systems or are scheduled to do so by the end of April, as they have committed to carrying out scheduled appointments with installation technicians.

In addition, fines have already begun to be imposed on businesses that have not taken any action. Since last week, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue has been conducting checks on businesses with turnover exceeding €1 million, and the first 5 fines of €10,000 and €20,000 have already been issued.

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue is continuously sending mass emails to businesses that have not interconnected their systems, and in the coming days, inspections will be extended to all other businesses, regardless of turnover. Already, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue has made telephone calls to 2,900 businesses with turnover below €1 million that have not complied with the deadlines, to determine whether the delay in the interconnection process is due to force majeure or negligence. In 10% of cases, unsatisfactory justifications were found, and further inspections are expected.

At the same time, checks have begun on professionals and businesses in the 35 retail sectors (taxis, street markets, kiosks, etc.), which are required to have POS terminals installed and accept card transactions from April 1. In the checks already conducted by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue:

• 27 out of 1,132 taxis were found not to have POS terminals.

• 102 out of 1,592 street market stalls either did not have POS terminals or had not scheduled an interconnection appointment.

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Interconnection deadlines for POS – cash registers:

– It is reminded that until April 30, 2024, there is a deadline for interconnection:

• Businesses that have not proceeded with the interconnection of their systems by the end of March but have a scheduled appointment with an installation technician by the end of April.

• Businesses that have registered in the POS Registry that they will replace their cash register system with one of the new available “all in one” solutions, which do not require additional interconnection actions, despite conducting transactions.

CAUTION: Those who have purchased an all-in-one solution but have not carried out transactions are considered “not interconnected”! It is noted that seven providers of electronic invoicing with such solutions have been approved.

– Specifically, businesses using cash register systems with ERP software that must follow the basic interconnection rule of A.1155/2023 for their POS terminals are reminded that they have until May 31, and in the case of a scheduled appointment for interconnection by June 2024, they have until the end of that month to comply.

– Finally, the cash registers of businesses that are closed for any reason (e.g., seasonality) and will reopen after the end of the above timeline must be interconnected with the POS terminals they have from the first day of business resumption.