Overview
- A Finance Ministry draft would require businesses with annual sales above €100,000 to use tamper‑proof electronic cash registers from January 2027 to make VAT and wage tax evasion harder.
- The proposal would lift the universal paper receipt rule for small purchases by exempting transactions under €30 and encourages digital receipts such as customer QR codes to cut paper waste.
- Sanctions would be stepped up with fines of up to €25,000 for refusing to comply and criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for offering or using cash‑register manipulation software.
- The ministry estimates a one‑time transition cost of about €99 million for affected firms and projects roughly €89 million in annual net relief from digitalisation while saying consumer prices should not rise.
- The draft, reported by multiple outlets from a Referentenentwurf seen by Reuters, is not yet law and must clear consultation and parliament; the tax union DSTG has warned the timing and a €100,000 threshold could weaken controls on small cash businesses.