Cash registers – the most important changes in the law in 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult for many businesses to function normally. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance extended the deadlines for implementing online cash registers for taxpayers who entered into this obligation on 1 July 2020 and on 1 January 2021 – these are the most important changes in the law that 2021 brings. What will it look like in practice?

Entrepreneurs who originally had time to implement online cash registers until July 1, 2020, now have to do so until January 1, 2021. This applies to entities that:

· provide catering services (stationary facilities) gastronomice, including those operating seasonally),

· provide short-term accommodation services,

· they sell solid fuels, such as briquettes or coal, which are produced from hard coal, brown coal, coke and semi-coke and intended for heating purposes.

Entrepreneurs who were to introduce online cash registers on January 1, 2021, also gained an additional six months to meet this obligation. According to the decision of the Ministry of Finance, they have until July 1, 2021, to implement the new cash registers. The amended deadline applies to entities providing the following services:

·        hairdressing,

·        cosmetics and cosmetology,

construction,

·        legal,

in the field of medical care provided by doctors and dentists,

· related to the operation of facilities designed to improve physical fitness, including gyms, fitness clubs, swimming pools – but only in terms of admission.

Postponing the implementation date of fiscal cash registers in these industries only slightly delays the government's plans to systematically replace the existing recording devices with paper and electronic copy recording. Ultimately, the change will apply to all entrepreneurs who are obliged to record sales and tax amounts due using a cash register.

Devices with paper copies of receipts were available for purchase until August 31, 2019. They are no longer available on the market. Cash registers with electronic copies are still available, but they, too, are becoming obsolete. From January 1, 2023, only online devices will be available for sale. So do owners of old cash registers have to replace them with new ones by then?

No. They will only have to do this if the fiscal cash registers with a paper copy of the record are completely worn out, and in the case of devices with an electronic copy – if the fiscal memory is exhausted and it becomes necessary to replace it.