Penalty for lack of a cash register – selling without a cash register: penalties!
July 10, 2020
Modern cash registers for business
July 15, 2020
Cash register sale cancellation protocol - how to cancel a receipt?
Errors made when issuing sales documents do not necessarily have to result in unpleasant consequences, such as financial penalties. Legislators have provided special procedures for canceling incorrectly issued receipts.
Contrary to appearances, making a mistake isn't as easy as it might seem. Rush, unclear information, selling a large number of items – sometimes it only takes a moment for incorrect information to appear on a receipt.
What mistakes are made most often? These typically involve incorrect sales amounts, tax rates, and even dates. While a transaction can't be corrected once it's saved, there is a way to cancel the receipt.
Liquidation of the cash register – some basic information
Not every business requires a cash register. The following businesses are exempt from the requirement to have one:
selling goods or providing services only to companies and state and local government administration bodies,
· whose turnover did not exceed PLN 20,000 in the tax year.
Importantly, if the turnover limit is exceeded, some businesses still have the option to make sales without a cash register. Businesses providing telecommunications, financial, or insurance services, or those delivering goods by mail order (under certain conditions), are exempt from installing equipment despite exceeding the applicable threshold.
Sales records - regulations
Pursuant to the VAT Act (Article 111), the obligation to record sales at the cash register applies to taxpayers who make sales to natural persons who do not conduct business activity, as well as to flat-rate farmers. Therefore, they must record all transactions at the cash register and issue receipts.
It is worth emphasizing here that the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of 23 December 2019 also indicates the obligation to enter data from daily or monthly reports into the KPiR. All entries should be corrected for values that affect the amount of revenue – not only from complaints and returns, but also from incorrect receipts with the wrong VAT rate.
Record of obvious errors
Another obligation imposed on taxpayers is related to maintaining records that will contain information on returns and complaints, as well as the above-mentioned errors on receipts – in the latter case, it concerns records of obvious errors. This is where an incorrectly stamped fiscal receipt must be reported.
What should such an entry contain? First and foremost, a description of the error and its cause, the original receipt, as well as the tax and gross value of the incorrectly recorded sale. Of course, before this happens, the sale must be recorded again, this time correctly.
But that's not all. Information about the invalidated receipt must also be included in the revenue and expense ledger, as part of the daily or monthly report. It must include all revenue from that period, including the incorrect records, and include the amount from the invalid receipt.
It is worth arranging the information presented above. So what is the step-by-step process for canceling a receipt?
1. After detecting an error (e.g. entering the wrong amount on the receipt), we record the transaction again and provide the customer with a correct receipt.
2. We make an entry in the register of obvious errors, indicating the date of issue of the incorrect receipt, the gross amount, the tax value, the receipt number and a description of the cause of the error.
3. We also include the original of the cancelled receipt in the records.
4. We make an entry in the revenue and expense ledger based on the daily or monthly report – we enter the date, description of the event, and the sales value from the erroneous transaction.
Receipt cancellation protocol in the event of a return or complaint
Cancellation of a receipt also applies to situations in which the buyer wishes to return or file a complaint. Such events should be reported in records of returns and complaints. What information must we include? Primarily, the receipt issue date, the return date, the receipt number, and the return reference number. Additionally, the name of the product or service, the gross sales value, and the VAT rate. We must not forget about the original fiscal receipt and the document confirming receipt of the return.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the latest changes in regulations that came into force with Regulation of the Ministry of Finance of April 21, 2020 on cash registers. This applies in particular to taxpayers who keep records using ONLINE checkout. From now on, they can issue cancelled fiscal receipts in paper or electronic form. However, this must be agreed upon with the customer.
