From peak customer numbers to group bookings: the 5 per cent threshold avoids penalties
The National Audit Office: the number of ancillary penalties imposed is rising, but they remain low
Key points
A broad tolerance threshold. Broader than administrative penalties alone. So broad, in fact, that it acts as a safety net against the risk of business suspension for repeated breaches. The Omnibus Decree (Legislative Decree 148/2026) – which amends certain previous implementing measures under the enabling act – sets out in Article 33 a safeguard against ‘minor errors’ arising from discrepancies between POS data and electronic till records for receipts.
The call to action
The bundling requirement came into force in January (and became fully operational in March) and is generating a significant effect of bringing undeclared income to light (see *Il Sole 24 Ore* of 24 July): over 9 billion in additional amounts processed from January to mid-July (see *Il Sole 24 Ore* of 24 July). The Omnibus decree’s provision therefore stems from strong pressure from the majority parties, which had already attempted – during the conversion of last spring’s decrees – to include ‘penalty protection’ and subsequently proposed it to the Government in their opinions on the Omnibus legislative decree. This was an attempt – as requested by trade associations – to curb unintentional discrepancies between POS data and receipt figures. Consider, for instance, typing errors in bars and restaurants during peak times at lunch or breakfast. Or cases of split payments, such as a group lunch where, despite a single receipt, diners pay in different ways: some in cash and others by card or app.
This guideline has been adopted by the delegated legislator, who has thus introduced a 5 per cent margin of tolerance should a discrepancy arise between the number of transactions (the technical term for transactions recorded on receipts) registered and stored, and the number of electronic payments accepted. For example, 98 receipts and 100 POS payments.
How the tolerance threshold works
The margin of tolerance operates in two ways. On the one hand, it limits the risk of administrative penalties for traders and business owners. The matching requirement set out in the 2025 Budget Law stipulated that the penalty already provided for in the event of failure to submit, late submission, or submission of incomplete or inaccurate data regarding daily takings would also apply to this scenario: whilst the penalty does not affect the settlement of tax liabilities, the fine is €100 for each submission, subject to a maximum limit of €1,000 per quarter. And this is the first area where the grace period applies, meaning that the penalty protection ‘covers’ a discrepancy of no more than 5 per cent between the number of transactions settled by electronic payment – recorded and stored for the purposes of submitting daily payment data – and the number of electronic payments accepted.
When does the risk of closure arise?
However, the 5 per cent threshold also acts as a safeguard against the risk of an additional penalty, which could lead to the suspension of business operations. The general rules stipulate, in fact, that if, within a five-year period, four separate breaches of the obligation to issue a receipt or tax receipt, committed on different days, the licence or authorisation to carry out the business, or the business itself, shall be suspended for a period of between three days and one month. And if the total amount of the payments in question exceeds 50,000, the suspension shall be for a period of between one and six months. These rules also apply to the POS-receipt link.
