Cash register inspection Austria

In Austria, the so-called cash register inspection is usually carried out by the financial police. However, the cash register system and the cash register data are also inspected in the course of a larger tax audit.

During the cash register inspection, it is checked whether the company has recorded all relevant data completely and correctly.

The following documents essentially provide information on this:

• zero-amount receipt ("Nullbeleg"),
• data collection log according to § 7 RKSV ("DEP7") [1],
• cash register journal - also according to Cash Register Directive 2012 ("Kassenrichtlinie 2012") ("DEP-131").

Zero-amount receipt

According to § 19 of the Cash Register Security Ordinance (RKSV), an entrepreneur must be able to issue a so-called "zero-amount receipt" to the tax authorities [1]. A zero-amount receipt is a cash receipt for a cash turnover with the amount zero. The zero-amount receipt is part of the "chain of receipts", but because of its amount (zero) it does not influence the grand total counter of the cash register. It is used by the tax official to check the receipt signature (by scanning the QR code). This makes it possible to check whether:

• the signature or seal certificate used is assigned to the respective company and whether
• the document signature is formally correct.

Furthermore, the auditor can later check whether the corresponding zero document is also found in the data collection log.

Data collection log

The data capture protocol according to § 7 RKSV represents the so-called signature journal and contains all signed data in JSON notation (JWS-KOMPAKT string). Since the electronic receipt signature does not contain all data of a receipt, but only the following data are included in the signature,

1. cash register ID,
2. sequential number of the cash transaction (= "receipt number"),
3. date and time of receipt issue,
4. amount of the cash payment, separated according to tax rates,
5. encrypted status of the grand total counter,
6. serial number of the signature or seal certificate,
7. signature or seal value of the preceding cash transaction ("chaining value"),

the cash journal must also be provided, which contains quasi "all" other receipt data (e.g. quantity and customary designation of the goods or the service, etc.), which are not included in the receipt signature.

The RetailForce Cloud Archive is used for the secure storage of POS data for the duration of the legal retention period (7 years in Austria [2]). The following linked article contains instructions for exporting data from the RetailForce Cloud.

The data collection log shall be exported and handed over on an external data carrier for the period specified by the auditor.

At the end of the cash register inspection, a transcript is drawn up in which the results of the inspection are recorded.

References:

[1] Registrierkassensicherheitsverordnung - RKSV: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20009390

[2] § 132 Bundesabgabenordnung: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10003940&Artikel=&Paragraf=132&Anlage=&Uebergangsrecht=