From June 30 they start the sanctions for those who do not accept the Pos. Merchants and professionals who refuse their customers the possibility of paying by credit card or debit card will risk a fine regardless of the size of the transaction: even for a few euros (or euro cents), the door to electronic payment must be open.
Sanctions for those who do not accept the Pos: early term
The term from which to trigger the sanctions for those who do not accept the Pos was originally set at 2023st January XNUMXbut it was then anticipated at the end of this month by article 18 of the Pnrr2 decree. The provision, however, is finishing the parliamentary process for its conversion into law and it is not yet excluded that the chambers may further modify the date: some amendments calling for the postponement of the sanctions have already been presented.
The question of the Recovery plan
However, it would be a risky intervention, because the early start of sanctions for those who do not accept the Pos is one of the objectives set by the Italian recovery plan and it must be achieved by the second quarter of 2022. June 30 would therefore be the latest useful date for respecting the commitment made with Europe.
How much are the penalties for those who do not accept the Pos?
But how much are the penalties? In truth, it is not exactly a bloodletting: 30% of the transaction value must be added to a fixed amount of 4 euros for which payment by debit or credit card has been refused. Some critics of the measure argue that the negligible amount prevents the measure from functioning as a deterrent, since many merchants or professionals could consider the risk of such a mild fine acceptable in order to force customers to use cash.
The technical cases in which the sanctions do not apply
Moreover, the law establishes that the sanctions for those who do not accept the Pos do not apply in cases of objective technical impossibility to receive payments with debit credit cards: the list of actual problems has yet to be written, but it will certainly include situations such as lack of connection or technical malfunctions of the POS. The problem will be to identify a way to prevent these circumstances from being used as a pretext to circumvent the obligation and avoid sanctions.
The verification of the violations will be carried out by the officers and agents of the judicial police.
