nothing post? There is a double penalty for merchants who decline an ATM or credit card

From June 30th, the double fine will be applied to establishments that do not accept debit or credit card payments. The fine is 30 euros, plus 4% of the value of the refused transaction. The novelty was introduced by Decree-Law no. 36, published in the Official Gazette on April 30, which anticipated, from January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2022, the fines for those who refuse payments with Pos. The obligation is one of the measures to reduce the use of money provided in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr). This decision was introduced to combat tax evasion, in parallel with reducing the cash usage limit. The sanction applies to all those who do not accept electronic payments, therefore credit and debit cards, within their activities, whether to offer services or sell products to the public. Therefore, it will not only apply to shopkeepers, but also to taxi drivers and other freelancers. The “Foundation for studies of labor consultants” explained in a circular of June 7, 2022 that in cases of “objective technical impossibility”, on the other hand, the general rules on administrative sanctions provided for in law n. 689/1981, with regard to procedures and deadlines, with the exception of article 16, which regulates the payment in a reduced form.

Another novelty introduced by Decree-Law no. 36 is the extension, as of 1 July, of the obligation of electronic invoicing for taxpayers covered by the benefits regime (art. 54 to 89, law 190/2014) and taxable persons (amateur sport associations and third sector entities ) who have opted for the special regime for VAT purposes (articles 1 and 2, law 398/1991) and who in the tax period of the year recorded income of up to 65 thousand euros.

It is certainly not the first time that there has been talk of introducing penalties for those who do not have a POS and refuse payments with cards and ATMs: the last attempt was made with the “Fiscal Decree linked to the 2020 Budget Law”, which in a first version provided for the introduction of the same sanctioning discipline now provided for by the law that converts the PNRR decree n. 152/2021. A measure that has been underway for some time, strongly contested, but that will soon be definitively operational. In the event of non-compliance with the POS obligation, it will not be possible to make a reduced payment that allows, within 60 days of the immediate notification or notification of non-compliance, the payment of an amount equal to one third of the maximum fine or, if more favorable and if the minimum legal sanction is established, equal to twice the relative value, in addition to the costs of the procedure. Furthermore, the sanction will apply regardless of the value of the transaction whose payment with traceable instruments has been refused.