New squeeze on electronic payments. From 1 January 2022 there will be penalties for those who refuse payments by debit or credit card both for the sale of products and for the provision of services, even for minimum amounts. The decree law on the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr) intends to bring it under fire in the fight against tax evasion omitted invoicing and non-issue of tax receipts. The fine will be 30 euros with an increase of 4% of the value of the transaction for which the digital payment has not been accepted.
To date, despite the imposition of the pos passed with the Monti government's decree law in 2014, no fines or sanctions have ever been imposed against those who refused to accept electronic payments. A gray area, which continued to legitimize merchants to collect in cash. The Conte government also proposed the introduction of new administrative sanctions in the tax decree linked to the 2020 maneuver, but the measure was immediately rejected. But things will soon change and this time Mario Draghi succeeded.
E the news it concerns the amounts: whoever wants pay for a coffee with the ATM he will be able to do it without problems and if the shopkeeper refuses he will have to pay the fine of 30 euros plus 4% of 1 euro, for a total of 30,04 euros. Obviously, for larger amounts, the fine will increase: the higher the value of the good or service, the more the amount of the fine increases.
The amendment was approved on Monday 13 December by the Budget Committee of the Chamber, specifying that the obligation to accept payment cards is fulfilled with reference to at least one type of debit card and at least one type of credit card, identified by the trademark of the circuit to which it belongs". In a nutshell, the consumer must be able to pay either by credit card or by debit card or another debit card.
Of course, there are already controversies. There Confcommercio he underlined that "the impulse to spread electronic payments must be pursued by putting in place decisive choices to reduce commissions and costs borne by businesses and consumers, starting with the strengthening of the tax credit instrument on commissions paid by the merchant , and providing for the free of charge of the so-called micropayments”. On the sanctions envisaged, he explained that “focusing asymmetrically on fines does not help the processes of modernization of the payment system, processes, moreover, which are already in full development. We therefore ask the parliament and the government for a change of course".
Furthermore, the problem for merchants, in addition to the charges related to commissions, would also be the lack of adequate coverage in many areas of the country. The debate on this matter will certainly continue over the next few days.
