Cash registers - what should you know about them?

From the beginning of 2017, the Regulation of the Minister of Development and Finance on exemptions from the obligation to keep records with the use of cash registers on exemptions from the obligation to keep records using a cash register of December 16, 2016. The regulation specifies changes regarding entities subject to the obligation to keep cash registers. Which entrepreneurs should have cash registers in their companies? How can they be introduced? We advise!

Cash registers - registration obligation

Pursuant to Art. 111 sec. 1 of the VAT Act, taxpayers selling to natural persons who do not conduct business activity and flat-rate farmers are required to keep records of turnover and amounts of tax due using a cash register.

However, in accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Finance on exemptions from the obligation to keep records using cash registers, it is possible to be exempt from the obligation to record sales with a cash register. According to § 3.1. paragraph 1 of the regulation, this exemption applies to taxpayers whose turnover for natural persons who do not conduct business activity and lump-sum farmers did not exceed the amount of PLN 20,000 in the previous tax year. However, in the case of taxpayers starting the supply of goods or services to natural persons who do not conduct business activity and lump sum farmers, if the turnover on this account did not exceed, in proportion to the period of performing these activities, the amount of PLN 20,000.

Of course, this exemption cannot be used by all entrepreneurs. Pursuant to § 4.1 of the Regulation, exemptions from the obligation to record do not apply in the case of:

1. delivery:

a) liquefied gas,

b) engine parts (PKWiU 28.11.4),

c) internal combustion engines of a kind used for propulsion of vehicles (PKWiU 29.10.1),

d) bodies for motor vehicles (PKWiU 29.20.1),

e) trailers and semi-trailers; containers (PKWiU 29.20.2),

f) parts of trailers, semi-trailers and other vehicles without mechanical drive (PKWiU 29.20.30.0),

g) parts and accessories for motor vehicles (excluding motorcycles) not elsewhere classified (PKWiU 29.32.30.0),

h) internal combustion reciprocating internal combustion engines of a kind used in motorcycles (PKWiU 30.91.3),

i) radio, television and telecommunications equipment, excluding electron tubes and other electronic components as well as parts for apparatus and devices for operating sound and image, antennas (PKWiU ex 26 and ex 27.90), j) photographic equipment, excluding parts and accessories for photographic equipment and equipment (PKWiU ex 26.70.1),

k) articles made of precious metals or with the participation of these metals, the supply of which cannot benefit from the exemption from tax referred to in Art. 113 paragraph. 1 and 9 of the Act of March 11, 2004 on tax on goods and services, hereinafter referred to as the "Act",

l) recorded and unsaved digital and analog data carriers,

m) products intended for use, offered for sale or used as motor fuels or as additives or admixtures to motor fuels, regardless of the PKWiU symbol,

n) tobacco products (PKWiU 12.00), alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content above 1.2% and alcoholic beverages containing a mixture of beer and non-alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content exceeding 0.5%, regardless of the PKWiU symbol, excluding goods delivered to on board airplanes,

o) perfumes and toilet waters (PKWiU 20.42.11.0), excluding goods delivered on board airplanes;

2.provision of services:

a) passenger transport in road communication, with the exception of transport mentioned in item 15 and 16 of the Annex to the Regulation,

b) transport of people and their hand luggage by taxis,

c) repair of motor vehicles and mopeds (including tire repair, fitting, retreading and regeneration),

d) as regards replacement of tires or wheels for motor vehicles and mopeds,

e) in the field of tests and technical inspections of vehicles,

f) in the field of medical care provided by doctors and dentists, with the exception of services provided by persons listed in item 51 of the Annex to the Regulation,

g) legal, with the exception of the services specified in item 28 of the Annex to the Regulation,

h) tax consultancy,

i) related to catering (PKWiU 56), only: - provided by stationary catering establishments, including seasonally, and - food preparation services for external recipients (catering),

j) hairdressing, cosmetic and cosmetology.

Establishing business during the tax year

The exemption from having a cash register applies to entities whose turnover for the benefit of natural persons not conducting business activity or lump-sum farmers in the previous or current year did not exceed PLN 20,000.

If the company starts its operations during the year, it does not have to register sales from the first day (except for shops selling articles subject to excise duty and electronics). The entrepreneur has two full calendar months from the date of the first sale to implement the cash register system.

Example 1.

If the company was established on March 19, and the first sale was recorded on March 23, the entrepreneur is obliged to use the cash register from June 1, because during this period two full months elapse. Nothing prevents you from having a cash register before this date.

Pursuant to the regulation, the personal exemption from the obligation to record sales at the cash register does not include the sale of:

• fixed assets,
• intangible assets subject to depreciation,
• real estate.

In these cases, the entrepreneur is obliged to issue an invoice documenting this economic event.

Untimely application of the cash register

The Ministry of Finance has provided for sanctions for entrepreneurs not meeting the deadlines for implementing the cash register. Pursuant to Art. 111 sec. 2 of the VAT Act, for entrepreneurs who are required to install a cash register, and it will not be done within the prescribed period, fiscal penalties are provided or they will lose the right to reduce the amount of tax due by an amount equivalent to 30% of the amount of input tax charged on the purchase of goods and services.

It should be remembered that cash registers must be implemented on time - the delay makes it impossible to obtain a refund of the costs incurred for its purchase.

Cash registers and online sales

In the case of online sales, the taxpayer is obliged to issue an invoice if the buyer is a business entity or a receipt in the case of sales to private persons. Of course, at the customer's request, the seller is obliged to issue an invoice for the receipt.Therefore, the seller is obliged to register sales at the cash register when online sales are directed to natural persons who do not conduct business, after exceeding the limit of exemption from the cash register.

The exception is when online sales are only mail order, with all payments going to the seller's bank account. Also, from the records and proofs of payments that document the payment, it is possible to clearly determine which activity the payment relates to and for whom it was made. If the entrepreneur meets these conditions, then he can still benefit from the exemption from the sales records at the cash register.

However, it should be remembered that any sale to private persons will be made by cash payment, in which case it must be registered at the cash register.

A marketplace and having a cash register

Marketplaces are still a very popular place for buying and selling transactions, especially in small towns. In many cases, when purchasing goods in such places, you do not get a proof of purchase. These entities are also required to have a cash register if their turnover exceeds PLN 20,000. In many cases, income is understated in order to avoid the obligation to have a cash register. Although you do not receive a proof of purchase, goods purchased at marketplaces are guaranteed, it is enough for a witness to confirm that we have made a given transaction.

Cash registers - information obligations and fiscalisation

Having a cash register is also associated with the obligation to report it and fiscalisation. The entrepreneur is obliged to complete all formalities up to two months from the moment of exceeding the limit to install and keep records at the cash register. These activities can be summarized in three steps:

1. reporting the number and place of use of cash registers,

2. fiscalisation of the cash register,

3. notification of the cash register.

Step 1.

Before you start using the cash register, you should report this information to the head of the tax office. In the application, specify the number of cash registers that we will use in our business and indicate the places of use of the cash registers.

Step 2.

Fiscalization, i.e. the preparation and use of a fiscal cash register in the fiscal mode. It is a one-time operation, but necessary. These activities must be performed in the presence of a service technician. Within 7 days from the completion of fiscalisation, both the service technician and the entrepreneur must report this fact to the tax office.

Step 3.

After receiving the necessary documents, the head of the office is obliged to give the cash register a registration number. It is an individual number assigned to a specific device, the taxpayer is obliged to permanently put this number on the cash register.

It should be remembered that only compliance with the deadlines and rules for installing cash registers give you the opportunity to take advantage of the discount for the purchase of cash registers. If you have more than one cash register, the limit applies to each cash register separately. In order to obtain a refund, it is required:

• having a proof of purchase,

• a written notification was submitted to the head of the Tax Office regarding the number of purchased cash registers and the place of their use,

• reporting information to the Tax Office on the installation of a cash register,

• the start of the records took place within the prescribed time frame.

Relief for the purchase of a cash register may reduce the VAT due in the case of active VAT payers, if such is payable or the taxpayer may receive a refund to the bank account. In the event of an exemption from VAT, the refund for the purchase of a cash register is transferred to the taxpayer's bank account, after writing a declaration of reimbursement of expenses for the purchase of a cash register. This return may not amount to 90% of the value of the purchased cash register, but may not exceed PLN 700, both for active and VAT-exempt taxpayers.