TSE in case of a rebranding or transfer

In this article we clarify how to deal with TSEs in the event of a change of name or if the TSE is transferred to another company.

Assignment to specific company

In principle, TSEs / TSSs are being assigned to a specific company via its certificate serial number. The BMF or the respective tax authorities have to be notified in the form of the official notification procedure. According to the current status (08/2021), the notification procedure is suspended until the introduction of an electronic notification procedure. (Cf. also: https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/BMF_Schreiben/Weitere_Steuerthemen/Abgabenordnung/2020-08-18-nichtbeanstandungsregelung-bei-verwendung-elektronischer-aufzeichnungssysteme.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1)

Change of assignment

If the company assignment changes because the company which previously operated the TSE

• has changed its name or legal status (new company name, new legal form,...) 
• dissolution proceedings have been initiated
• no longer operates a cash register and wishes to resell the TSE
• or a similar case occurs in which the TSE changes hands,

the TSE can in principle continue to be operated by the new (or third) company. However, a few organisational and technical things have to be taken into account.

Organisational measures

The following organisational steps are necessary for this:

• A decommissioning notification must take place within one month via the official notification procedure.
• Furthermore, all TSE data must be backed up by the previous user of the TSE.
• The login information (admin PIN, PUK,...) must be transferred from the old user to the new user together with the hardware.
• The new user must document the status of the transaction counter and the signature counter at the time of transfer. It is recommended to document the status of the transaction counter and signature counter in the transfer contract.
• The new user must also indicate the start-up via the notification procedure.

Technical steps

• When transferring the TSE to a new owner, no (technical) "decommissioning" may be carried out! This would be a permanent and irrevocable decommissioning of the TSE. Which will basically render the TSE useless for further use.
• The TSE will "simply" continue to operate in the new user's POS systems. 
• It is also recommended to delete the data from the TSE after the data backup.