The obligation to issue receipts will not be abolished.

The German cabinet has approved the law introducing mandatory cash registers. From 2028, digital receipts will be issued instead of paper receipts. This is a bitter disappointment for the skilled trades sector, as the federal government is once again breaking a promise.

This article is part of the special topic "Cash register management: What do businesses need to pay attention to?"

The German government aims to reduce bureaucracy in the retail sector and combat tax evasion with the recently passed law introducing mandatory cash registers. The obligation to issue paper receipts will be abolished from 2028 onwards. However, the receipt requirement will not be completely eliminated; instead, receipts will be provided digitally. Customers could access them, for example, via a QR code on the cash register display, a download link, or directly in their customer account. 

"The aim of the draft law is to simplify everyday sales for retailers and their customers. The Federal Government intends to combine technology with a reduction in bureaucracy in the retail sector. Modern technologies in digital point-of-sale systems should become standard, as should digitally generated receipts," the Federal Government explains. It promises businesses a noticeable reduction in bureaucratic and administrative burdens and anticipates a decrease in compliance costs of €106 million. At the same time, the measure is also considered a step forward for environmental protection.

With the planned mandatory electronic cash register system for businesses with an annual turnover exceeding €100.000, the government also aims to reduce the risk of tax evasion. "In Germany, there are still approximately 115.000 open cash registers, some of which do not record sales at all or only manually. This can facilitate tax evasion. Using modern electronic cash register systems will limit opportunities for abuse," the government explained. Taxpayers with annual cash sales of less than €12.000 are exempt from the requirement. Further exemptions are expected to follow.

Paper receipts are not supposed to disappear completely.

At the express request of customers, retailers must continue to issue paper receipts even after the mandatory paper receipt law expires. This is intended to ensure that digital receipts take precedence in the future and paper receipts remain the exception. "Digital receipts will become the standard. This means less bureaucracy for everyone – both citizens and businesses. Digital cash registers record all sales. This prevents tax evasion and creates fair competition," explains Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD).

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The skilled trades sector vehemently disagrees: This reform places an undue burden on businesses. "Instead of implementing the abolition of mandatory receipts promised in the coalition agreement, this is being replaced by a requirement to provide digital documentation," says Holger Schwannecke, Secretary General of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH). "This is an additional burden due to necessary retrofitting. The fact that a binding agreement on relief is once again lacking is more than just a matter of additional bureaucracy. It's about the reliability of political commitments."

This weakens trust in politics. "After the failure to implement comprehensive relief on the electricity tax, we now have the receipt obligation being maintained. Both directly impact the skilled trades. Especially when it comes to bureaucracy and government control, the principle should be to create new obligations only where they are truly necessary and not to impose more control on businesses than is required. Issuing receipts upon request – in paper or digital form, as already envisaged in the original 2016 draft legislation on the receipt obligation – would comply with this principle," said Schwannecke.

ZDH fears significant costs

Should it become apparent in practice that further regulations are necessary, the legislature can adjust its course at any time. Combating tax fraud more effectively is in the interest of the skilled trades. However, the chosen path of mandatory electronic cash registers primarily burdens honest craft businesses, especially those that conduct little cash and predominantly invoice their services. It is therefore appropriate that the federal government adjusted its position before the cabinet decision and included an exemption in the draft legislation for businesses with annual cash sales of less than €12.000. 

Schwannecke: "The mandatory use of cash registers is thus more closely aligned with the actual volume of cash transactions and does not place all businesses under a general suspicion of tax evasion. Further practical exceptions must follow in the legislative process. A reference to later exceptions by statutory order does not provide sufficient planning certainty. The planned implementation date of January 1, 2028, is rushed. The mandatory use of cash registers must first be coordinated with the technical specifications for cash register systems and the requirements for e-invoicing."

The German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) also anticipates "considerable costs" associated with the digital provision of receipts, including the acquisition of suitable point-of-sale systems and ongoing follow-up costs. Added to this would be the burden of sanctions and increased bureaucracy. "The stated compliance costs for businesses in the draft legislation do not even begin to realistically reflect the actual additional burdens that will arise from the planned reform. The planned requirement for at least one digital payment option must also be aligned with the newly proposed obligations," demands the ZDH Secretary General. 

Implement the abolition of the receipt obligation

Open cash registers must continue to be used without additional bureaucracy or documentation requirements. The federal government should design the mandatory use of cash registers in a targeted, practical, and proportionate manner. Instead of burdening all businesses with new, costly requirements, the frequency of inspections should be increased where tax fraud occurs. At the same time, the abolition of the receipt obligation, agreed upon in the coalition agreement, must be implemented. The mandatory use of electronic cash registers, the abolition of the receipt obligation, and the requirement to offer digital payment options form a package that should be implemented together in a single law.

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