The main purpose of tax-certified online cash registers is to enable transparent and reliable recording of cash transactions, with one of the effects being a reduction in grey economy.

They are expected to contribute to the prevention of evasion and fraud in the payment of value added tax (VAT), corporate income tax, personal income tax and other taxes as well as to better consumer protection, according to the government.

The action plan defines two basic systems of tax-certified online cash registers modelled after the countries that have already introduced them.

The first system envisages providers keeping data on issued receipts themselves, with the national Financial Administration (FURS) checking the data by means of inspection on the ground, while the second system envisages a direct link between cash registers and FURS's computer system.

The Finance Ministry has proposed to the government to pick the second option. State Secretary Mateja Vraničar told the press after the government session today that this was a better option both from the aspect of costs and effectiveness of supervision of cash transactions.

The cost of the introduction of tax-certified online cash registers for FURS has been estimated at EUR 2m, as the agency will need to install a special IT system. On the other hand, the state can expect to save money as the need for the inspection service on the ground will be reduced, Vraničar said.

Costs for businesses have meanwhile been estimated to no more than EUR 300. Those who are already using computerised cash registers will have no costs, while the other businesses will need to buy a computer with the internet access and a special software for cash transactions.

According to Vraničar, a special tax relief will be recognised for the purchase of tax-certified online cash registers.

The action plan sets 1 January 2016 as the target date, but if the government manages to procure the entire IT support as a single contract, it will be possible to introduce it already on 1 October this year, she added.

The exact date will be known at the beginning of March, when the Finance Ministry is expected to draft a relevant bill. The bill will also determine which businesses will be exempted from introducing tax-certified online cash registers.

The new system is expected to bring an additional EUR 50-100m a year to the budget, the bulk of it in VAT.

Vraničar noted that a version that bans the use of software that allows a subsequent deleting of receipts was introduced in mid-2013, resulting in an estimated EUR 100m in additional receipts.

However, inspectors have established that businesses operating with cash are still evading tax by tampering with receipts. This practice is most widespread in hospitality, hairdressing, construction, transport, taxi service, dentistry, ticketing, etc.