The taxation administration in Poland is launching a fresh installment of the social run "Take a receipt", which aims to affect citizens in the fight against the grey zone. This initiative is transforming from a simple educational action into a mass social control movement, highlighting the key function each of us plays in ensuring fairness on the market. It turns out that the seemingly innocent motion of leaving a receipt in the store can become a tool in the hands of criminals and lead to serious financial fraud.
The basic instrument of this run is the fiscal receipt – a paper which for many Poles is just an unnecessary part of paper. In fact, it is the foundation of the taxation strategy and the key to combating unfair practices. Any correctly issued receipt is proof that the transaction has been registered and the taxation due will go to the state budget. Failure to collect it opens up a field of abuse that can cost not only the owners of shops, but the full economy.
Why is simply a receipt more crucial than you think?
Legal grounds for the work to issue receipts are clearly defined in Polish law. According to VAT Act, each seller has an absolute work to registry sales on the cash registry and issue a receipt to the customer. This applies to transactions with natural persons who do not conduct business activities and is independent of the client's will or acquisition value.
Although the client has no legal work to take receipts, his active attitude is of large importance. Left on the counter or in a peculiar receipt box, it becomes a possible tool for dishonest workers or organized criminal groups. It can be utilized to make fictitious returns of goods, which leads to cash out of the store's cash register. This is simply a simple way to financial losses for the entrepreneur and distort the image of his actual turnover.
It's worth remembering that a receipt is besides only full proof of purchase. It is essential to submit a complaint, to return the goods or to assert its rights in the event of acquisition of a defective product. Confirmation of payment by card is not the same and is frequently not adequate to settle the case.
How do cheaters usage their receipts?
The fraud mechanics is simple, but highly effective. This shows an example from Zyrardów, where the cashier systematically collected receipts left by customers. Then, utilizing these documents, she did fictitious returns of goods, taking cash from the register. In this way, she managed to extort about 2 1000 zlotys before being discovered.
Cheaters exploit a gap in cash registers that frequently do not verify whether the individual returning the goods is its first buyer. With a real receipt in his hand, a criminal can “return” a product that in fact never left the store shelf. This action is hard to detect without detailed inventory and analysis of surveillance recordings.
Another serious threat is the so-called. empty invoices. Unfair entrepreneurs can collect the receipts left behind to issue invoices on friendly companies. specified an invoice does not reflect the actual transaction, but allows the buyer company to overstate the cost of obtaining gross and deduct VAT, which straight reduces the gross to the state budget.
Fiscal receipt and waiting receipt. How can you identify a actual document?
Not all printout we get is simply a fiscal receipt. Especially in gastronomy you can find the so-called. waiting receipts or preliminary accounts. These are only information documents, interior to the premises, which do not constitute evidence of sales recorded in the taxation system. The presentation of specified a paper alternatively of fiscal is an effort to hide the transaction from the taxation office.
To be certain that we have received the correct document, check that it contains all the required elements. A real fiscal receipt must have:
- Clear string ‘FISCALY PARAGON’ at the central point.
- The seller's NIP number.
- Full name and address of the point of sale.
- The unique number of the cash registry that printed it.
- Characteristic logo (usually the letters ‘MF’ in the circle).
It should besides be remembered that printing from the payment terminal is not a fiscal receipt. It only confirms payment by card, but does not contain details of the goods purchased or of the taxation credit. Both papers must always be requested: payment confirmation and fiscal receipt.
Report the fraud anonymously. How does the e-Paragon app work?
The Ministry of Finance made available a free mobile application to aid citizens respond to irregularities e-Paragons. It is simply a simple and anonymous tool that allows you to rapidly study any suspicious situation associated with receipts.
The application may include:
- Refuse to issue a receipt by the vendor.
- Receive an incorrect paper (e.g. waiting receipt).
- The practice of collecting receipts left by customers.
The e-Paragon application besides has an educational function. Users can manage their expenses, check that the receipt is correctly registered in the strategy and learn how to admit different types of fraud. It is simply a powerful tool that gives control to consumers and allows for an immediate consequence to unfair practices.
More than taxes. How does the fight against the grey region affect all of us?
The "Take a receipt" action is more than just taking care of the gross for the budget. This is simply a fundamental conflict for Honesty and Justice in the Economy. A grey zone, or activity carried out without the taxation system, harms us all. It leads to unequal competition in which honest entrepreneurs, paying taxes and contributions, must compete with those who do not.
Every euro that does not go to the state budget due to taxation fraud is little money to finance public services – hospitals, schools, roads or security. Taking the receipt, we not only defend our rights as consumers, but besides add a tiny brick to the construction of a just and well-functioning state. It is an act of civic work that has a real impact on the quality of life of all of us.
The culture of receipts, promoted by the taxation administration, is an investment in the future. It builds awareness that honesty in economical trade starts with the simplest, regular activities. Each of us, leaving the receipt shop, becomes a guardian of financial transparency in Poland.
More here:
You leave a receipt at the store? The IRS is warning. You can unwittingly aid cheaters
