On June 30, the devices for compulsory electronic payments in Italy
From Thursday, all traders and professionals concerned must have a card payment terminal, under penalty of fines for those who do not accept them. The goal: to fight against tax evasion in Italy.
The obligation to have a POS, ie a terminal allowing electronic payments (debit, credit or prepaid card), has already been in force since 2014 in Italy. But it is only from June 30, 2022 that sanctions will now apply. And they could be authorized each time an electronic payment is refused to the consumer. The administrative penalty will be 30 euros (per electronic payment refused), increased by 4% of the value of the transaction concerned.
The obligation does not apply to merchants (also itinerant), but to all those who have an “activity of sale of products and services, even professional”. Craftsmen, restaurateurs, doctors, lawyers and even notaries are therefore also concerned.
The new rules were issued by the last PNRR decree six months in advance, with the aim of combating tax evasion at all levels.
Whether the threat of fines will actually be effective remains to be seen. And for good reason, the sanctions will undoubtedly be difficult to apply. The assessment of the breach of the obligation will have to be carried out by the “bodies responsible for monitoring compliance with the provisions” (judicial police). But this also assumes that the customer takes the time to report the merchant who refused the card payment.