Schillerová explains the new EET to Vietnamese traders in Prague

On Tuesday afternoon, Finance Minister Alena Schillerová visited the Vietnamese market Sapa in Prague, nicknamed Little Hanoi. Together with representatives of the ministry and the Financial Administration, she continued her “EET 2.0 roadshow” — a tour of the country in which entrepreneurs are told how the revived electronic sales registration works and how to prepare for it.

The Vietnamese entrepreneurs had prepared for her visit: the hall was decked out with a red carpet, red tablecloths and Vietnamese flags, and stands with products lined the room. “I greet Finance Minister Alena Schillerová, known in our community as Aunt Alena,” one of the businessmen welcomed her from the stage. The deputy prime minister began her speech in Vietnamese, reading a few words from a sheet of paper, and the hall applauded. “I am happy to be among you again. To feel the atmosphere of Vietnam, you do not have to fly for hours — it is enough to come to the edge of Prague,” she said.

“Even the best leaflet cannot answer everything, so personal contact matters to us,” the minister noted. According to her, besides a detailed seminar on EET there will be a separate block of tax questions: “Nobody will check you for anything. There are no stupid questions”.

A walk through Little Hanoi

After the speech, Schillerová, surrounded by bodyguards, community representatives and journalists, set off through the alleys of Sapa. Oncoming cars stopped to let the group pass. She looked into a Buddhist temple, where a monk welcomed her, climbed the temple steps barefoot and took part in a modest ceremony. Asked whether she meditates, she answered: “I had such a period, but not so much anymore.”

In a shopping gallery with very narrow passages, where shoes, bags, toys and sweaters are sold, the minister picked up a pink sweater and judged by eye whether it would fit. She shook hands with every vendor she met. When one of them answered a question about business with “so-so”, she tried to cheer them up: “It will surely improve now, Christmas is coming.” Four teenage boys asked: “We know you are Mrs Schillerová, but what is going on here?” — “EET 2.0 training, we are on a roadshow,” the minister replied cheerfully.

Earlier in the visit she had been handed a plush cow: if you scratch it between the ears, it starts to “run”. Schillerová did just that, and the cow began moving its legs.

How entrepreneurs are preparing for EET

According to a survey by Visa and Global Payments from mid-October, most entrepreneurs know about the return of sales registration, but 56% of them have not yet started preparing for the new obligations. More than a third of the self-employed with an annual turnover below 300,000 crowns expect a negative impact on their work, as do roughly a fifth of those with a turnover above one million.

The government of Andrej Babiš had been trying to push EET through since about mid-May; in August the Senate returned the law with amendments, but the coalition still passed its own version. The ministry began its regional visits on 17 September — the day President Petr Pavel signed the law. Besides Prague, the team has visited Liberec, Pardubice, Jihlava and Karlovy Vary, and the last stop will be Hradec Králové on 2 December.

Schillerová had invited the Vietnamese community in a video in mid-October, including one in which she spoke Vietnamese, wearing a blue costume and holding the country’s flag: “Of course, I wanted to attract attention.” According to Interior Ministry data, 70,000 people with Vietnamese citizenship live in Czechia — the third-largest minority after Slovaks and Ukrainians. In May Schillerová already signed a memorandum of cooperation with the community in Brno.

The government expects EET to bring 14 billion crowns a year into public budgets. At the same time, new tax breaks are being introduced: a student tax credit, a school-enrolment credit (školkovné) and a discount on buying new cash register systems. The size of the discount depends on the tax base, it can be claimed only once, and the state will contribute at most five thousand crowns. The law takes effect on 1 January and will apply to all entrepreneurs — restaurants, retailers, service providers and tradespeople. The only exception goes to flat-tax payers whose annual income does not exceed one million crowns, but if they opt into the “EET OFF” regime, they will have to pay a higher flat tax of 1,500 crowns a month.

Some critics warn that the large number of exemptions and tax breaks may harm the business environment and bring another wave of inequality. The final amount the new system will bring in is not certain either.

Around Prague guide on the topic: 9 Michelin-starred restaurants in Czechia: where to find fine dining from Prague to Moravia

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz