The Czech Senate on Wednesday sent the bill on reinstating the electronic sales records system (EET) back to the Chamber of Deputies, but the governing coalition of ANO, SPD and the Motorists is expected to override the decision as early as September. The system was mandatory from late 2016, was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was scrapped altogether at the start of 2023.
According to a recent survey, businesses' understanding of their new obligations remains patchy: 35% of respondents said they lack sufficient information, and only 17% consider themselves well informed about the details of the system's return.
The return of the sales-records system itself doesn't seem to worry entrepreneurs too much. Four out of ten respondents don't expect it to have a major impact on their business, 33% view its return positively, and 22% negatively. The main concerns center on higher administrative burdens and the cost of upgrading equipment. Still, 62% of business owners said they would support a simplified version of EET, and the same share believe the system generally helps create fairer competition in the market.
The biggest challenge could turn out to be technical preparedness. Only 29% of entrepreneurs are confident their systems will be ready without any modifications, while seven out of ten expect the changes to affect their cash registers or payment terminals.
The Financial Administration has already started technical preparations, publishing documentation and, since July, giving developers access to a test environment. As Miloš Toman, head of Global Payments in Czechia, noted, businesses today expect technology not just to meet regulatory requirements, but to genuinely simplify their day-to-day operations.
Source: novinky.cz