Electronic receipts have brought many benefits to both businesses and consumers. Issuing electronic receipts instead of traditional paper receipts reduces the costs associated with purchasing technical paper, toners and inks, and also saves energy.The fewer receipts printed, the greater the environmental benefits and the less paperwork on accountant’s desk. With e-receipts, customers don’t have to keep a paper copy to file a potential return or complaint in the future, and they don’t have to worry about the ink fading or an illegible receipt preventing them from exercising their right to make a return or complaint. Electronic receipts are a convenient solution, but it is important to remember that there may be costs for businesses to implement them within the company.

Electronic receipts and the obligation to prepare and issue a receipt to the buyer

Regulations in Poland require sellers who sell to individuals not running a business or to fixed-rate farmers to keep sales records using cash registers. According to the current rules in Poland, sellers selling to individuals who do not carry out business activities or farmers with a fixed rate are required to keep records of sales using cash registers. In accordance with Art. 111, section 3a, paragraph 1 of the VAT Law, taxpayers who record sales using cash register equipment are required to issue and transfer to the buyer a fiscal receipt or invoice for each sale:

  • in paper form or
  • with the consent of the buyer in electronic form, by sending this document in a manner agreed upon with the buyer, including using the ICT system of the Head of the National Fiscal Administration, which mediates the issuance of fiscal receipts in electronic form to the buyer, without the need to provide his personal data.

What are e-receipts?

Currently, sellers have the opportunity to issue and issue, with the consent of the buyer, electronic receipts, which are recognized as full proof of purchase. Electronic receipts, i.e. The so-called Electronic Receipts are a digital form of fiscal receipts and are intended to replace existing fiscal receipts. They are therefore proof of purchase documents sent to buyers electronically. An electronic receipt, according to information provided by the Ministry of Finance, is any fiscal confirmation of a purchase sent electronically.

Electronic Receipts – HUB Receipt Available September 15th!

Receipt HUB is a nationwide e-receipt distribution platform that enables widespread use of e-receipts in Poland. Receipt HUB allows you to:

  • link anonymous customers with checks issued by the cash register;
  • receive electronic receipts issued by different cash registers;
  • distribute receipts among clients.

Thanks to the platform provided by the Ministry of Finance, customers will be able to anonymously upload e-receipts using a unique identifier. A unique identifier allowing the receipt of an electronic check can be obtained without the need to provide any customer identification data.

Electronic receipts and mobile applications for customers

One of the elements of the system is mobile applications, which allow, in particular, to store electronic receipts and manage your expenses. The e-Paragony 2.0 app released by the Ministry of Finance is free and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and App Store. In conjunction with the introduction of the Receipt Center, the e-Paragony app has been updated to include a feature that allows you to upload e-receipts. The new version has the ability to generate a unique identifier, which allows you to assign an electronic check to a specific person. In practice, the first cash registers with the function of sending receipts to Receipt HUB appeared on the market in October 2023.

To receive an electronic receipt from the seller confirming the purchase, the buyer first needs to download and install the appropriate mobile application on his smartphone, for example, the e-Paragony application provided by the MoF. The application, upon request of the buyer, connects once to the e-paragons distribution system to download a generated unique identifier, which the buyer will use when making a purchase at the checkout, requesting an electronic receipt. The customer presents the identifier to the cashier in the form of a bar code, expressing a desire to receive an electronic receipt, after which the cashier scans it using a reader, and the cash register sends the receipt to the distribution system. After this, the buyer can download his receipt from the system using the mobile application. The time during which the buyer can pick up the check is limited and is 30 days from the date of purchase.

Are e-receipts required after changes?

The changes do not mean that sellers are required to issue and issue electronic receipts to customers. The decision introduced by the Ministry of Finance is voluntary, it is up to the merchant to decide whether or not to use the option of issuing checks electronically using the electronic check distribution platform provided by the Ministry of Finance.

Providing customers with the opportunity to download a receipt in the e-Paragony application provided by the Ministry is due to the need to have cash registers that support the new form of issuing receipts through the receipt HUB. To do this, sellers, depending on the cash registers they use, need to update the online cash register software or purchase new devices with this function.

However, merchants are not required to update or replace their cash registers, as use of Receipt HUB is voluntary. In practice, this means that merchants can continue to document transactions using paper receipts, or use their own apps or loyalty programs where they allow customers to receive electronic receipts. Also keep in mind that the seller’s consent is required for the seller to issue an electronic check to the buyer, so the buyer still has the option of receiving a paper check.