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You're closing your business - what to do with your cash register?
Step-by-step checklist
Closing down a business involves a lot of paperwork. Without proper liquidation of your cash register, you risk problems with your tax return, and in the worst-case scenario, you might be required to repay a tax credit you've already forgotten about. Fortunately, the entire liquidation process is simple and can be completed in just a few days. You just need to know the correct sequence of actions.
For example, if you own a small shop, service center, or office and have been recording sales with a cash register for years and are now closing your business, be sure to read this guide. Here are five steps you need to take to properly decommission your cash register.
- Step 1: Prepare a daily and settlement fiscal report
- Step 2: Have the fiscal memory read by an authorized service technician
- Step 3: Deregister the cash register at the tax office - you have 5 days to do so
- Step 4: Check if you have to return the PLN 700 relief
- Step 5: Decide what to do with the physical device
Step 1: Prepare fiscal reports before turning off the cash register
The first thing to do—before the cash register is turned off or disconnected—is to prepare and print fiscal reports. Once the cash register is taken out of fiscal mode, you will no longer be able to print reports.
Here are the reports to print:
- Daily fiscal report - print for the last day of sales.
- Fiscal settlement report (closing) - a summary of the entire period of cash register operation from the date of fiscalization to the date of liquidation.
- Online cash registers - additionally: monthly report for the last month of work
- Keep all printouts – these are documents that you keep for at least 5 years.
Remember:
- Do not turn off the cash register before preparing the reports.
- Once the fiscal mode ends, you will no longer be able to print them - the data will be blocked.
- Do this on the last day of the sale, before you close the premises.
Step 2: Reading of the fiscal memory by the service technician
This is a crucial step—and the only one you can't do yourself. The fiscal memory reading and report must be performed by an authorized cash register technician, who holds a technician ID issued by the Ministry of Finance.
What does a service technician do during a reading?
- Reads the contents of the fiscal memory – all sales data for the entire period.
- Prints a fiscal settlement report (this operation can only be performed by a service technician with appropriate authorization).
- Prepares a reading report – this is an official document required by the tax office.
- In the case of an online cash register, the service technician sends the data to the Central Cash Register Repository.
Important reading details:
- If you have multiple cash registers: each requires a separate reading and a separate report.
- The report is signed by the service technician and the cash register owner (you).
- Keep the original report - the tax office may request it.
- The cost of a reading is approximately PLN 350–600 net.
The Cashier's Center will perform a fiscal memory reading at its branch. It is best to make an appointment a few days before the planned closing date of your business. — then you only have 5 days to deregister the cash register at the tax office.
Have questions? Ask our expert!
Step 3: Deregistering the cash register at the tax office - 5 days
After the service technician closes the module, prepares the settlement report and provides you with the protocols, it is time to deregister the cash register. You have exactly 5 days to submit an application to deregister your cash register at the tax office (US).. This is a statutory deadline – it cannot be extended.
How does the deregistration of a cash register take place at the office?
- Go to the tax office appropriate to your company's registered office address (in Warsaw — the appropriate tax office according to the address, check podatki.gov.pl).
- Submit an application to deregister the cash register (form available at the Tax Office or online at podatki.gov.pl).
- Attach to the application: the fiscal memory reading report prepared by the service technician, proof of purchase of the cash register, service book and all printouts provided to you by the service technician.
- The Tax Office removes the cash register from the register and confirms the liquidation - keep this confirmation.
DEADLINE: 5 days from the end of using the cash register - NOT from the date of closing the company in CEIDG.
These are two different dates. If you stopped using the register on June 15th, you must submit your application by June 20th.
Ideally: submit your application on the same day or the day after your fiscal memory is read.
Step 4: Check if you have to pay back the PLN 700 relief
This is the most frequently skipped step—and the most costly if overlooked. If you took advantage of a tax break (up to PLN 700) when purchasing a cash register and you close your business within three years of the fiscal date, you must repay that amount.
| When did you purchase/fiscalate the cash register? | Do you have to pay back the relief? | How to return? |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 3 years ago from the fiscalization date | YES - return is mandatory | Enter the amount in item 34 of JPK_V7 or submit a correction |
| More than 3 years ago since fiscalization | NO - the relief is non-refundable | No extra steps |
| You did not use the PLN 700 tax relief | Not applicable | No extra steps |
How to technically return relief?
- If you are an active VAT payer: enter the refund amount in item 34 of the declaration part of the JPK_V7 file for the period in which the cash register was liquidated.
- If you are a VAT-exempt taxpayer: submit a correction to your previous declaration or consult an accounting office.
- Refund amount = the amount of relief you actually deducted (max. PLN 700).
If you have any doubts about the refund of the relief, please consult an accounting office or tax advisor.
Each situation may have nuances, and incorrectly calculating the correction may lead to interest.
Step 5: What to do with the physical device after decommissioning?
Once a cash register is deregistered with the tax office, the device loses its status as a cash register and becomes a standard electronic device. You have several options:
Option A: Stop the device
You can keep the device—you are not obligated to return or destroy it. However, remember that a deregistered cash register cannot be re-registered as a new cash register—the fiscal module is assigned to a single Tax Identification Number (NIP) for the life of the device. If you want to use the same cash register in a new location, you must: replace the fiscal memory (which often involves significant costs—purchasing a new cash register is more cost-effective), and, when introducing the cash register into circulation, it must have a current approval (lack of approval prevents legal use of the cash register).
Option B: Sell
You can sell the device, but the buyer cannot register it as their new cash register. The market value of a deregistered cash register is low—the device is only valuable as spare parts or electronic scrap.
Option C: Take it to a collection point for electronic waste (WEEE)
The cash register contains electronics and should be taken to a WEEE collection point. Many cash registers accept old devices for recycling.
Option D: Exchange - you close one location, open a new one
If you're closing one business and opening a new one under a different Tax Identification Number (NIP) or after a break, you can purchase a new cash register. The Cash Register Center will advise you whether you're eligible for tax relief upon new registration (e.g., for a completely new business) and will assist you throughout the process.
Note: Closing and reopening of business and the cash register
If you're planning to reopen your business after a break, remember this important rule: closing and reopening your business doesn't exempt you from the obligation to maintain a cash register. Even if the new business had a turnover of less than PLN 20,000 per year, the obligation to maintain a cash register automatically returns – regulations prevent you from avoiding sales records by formally closing and reopening.
The Cash Register Center helps with cash register liquidation — Warsaw, Gdańsk, Łódź
Cash register liquidation involves a few steps, all of which should be completed efficiently and error-free. The Cash Register Center handles this process comprehensively:
- Fiscal memory reading - a service technician visits your premises in Warsaw, Gdańsk, Łódź and other cities in Poland.
- A reading report will be prepared - necessary for deregistration at the Tax Office.
- Will help in preparing documents for the application to deregister the cash register.
- It will remind you of the obligation to return the PLN 700 relief and advise you on how to do it correctly.
- When replacing: we advise you on a new device and help you register it
Need help with cash register liquidation? Contact us with us.
