Cash register reporting obligation to start in 2024 in Germany

Germany has decided to suspend the declaration requirement (Mitteilungspflicht) under §146a (4) AO for electronic record-keeping systems until 2024 due to the lack of a nationwide digital option for implementing the declaration. The declaration requirement was originally supposed to come into force on January 1, 2020, but was then extended to March 31, 2021, and then to September 30, 2023.

The declaration requirement obliges taxpayers who use electronic record-keeping systems, such as cash registers, to notify the tax authorities of the type, serial number, and software version of their systems. The purpose of the declaration is to enable the tax authorities to identify and audit the electronic record-keeping systems more easily and effectively.

However, the implementation of the declaration requirement has faced several challenges, such as the lack of a uniform technical standard for the declaration, the insufficient availability of certified technical security devices (TSEs) for cash registers, and the varying digital readiness of the federal states. Therefore, the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) has announced that the declaration requirement will be postponed until 2024, when a nationwide digital option for the declaration is expected to be available. The German government is looking to enable the "ELSTER" platform (online tax office) to be used for cash register reporting.