Major changes underway in Hungarian shops: here is what to look out for

Plans to reform the current cash system have been on the table for years, and now concrete legislation has been drafted. Using the new e-cash register system, it will be possible to issue receipts electronically, which consumers will be able to access via an app. In addition, from March, it will be compulsory to indicate when a product is in a smaller pack than before.

New electronic receipts

The essence of the new eCashRegister (e-pénztárgép, ePG) system is that it will no longer be possible to use only physical, hardware-based cash registers in shops, but also software or even cloud-based systems for receipting, Pénzcentrum reports. This way, the receipt is produced electronically and customers can access it via a special application. A paper copy is only issued in shops if the customer specifically requests it.

E-receipts will have to be issued with a much broader range of data than at present. And, like invoices, receipts will be able to be issued with a correction receipt.

“Based on the tax package, […] these procedural rules will come into force from 1 July 2024, but the new rules on e-receipts, which are included in the VAT Act, will only apply from 1 January 2025. So for the time being, there are still uncertainties on the date of entry into force,” said Dorottya Fábián, partner in Deloitte’s tax department.

Packaging changes to be indicated

From March, food retailers with a turnover of more than HUF 1 billion (EUR 2.64 million) will be obliged to indicate if the packaging of the products they sell has become smaller than before, according to the Hungarian Gazette published on Tuesday evening, Index reports.

According to the government’s decree, from March, retailers will be obliged to indicate that the packaging of a given product has changed for a new, smaller packaging than the one produced by the manufacturer between 1 January 2020 and 1 July 2023. The information will have to be indicated for a period of 2 months from the start of marketing of the new, smaller packaging.

This also applies to products placed on the market between 1 July 2023 and 1 February 2024. It has been pointed out that the display of the information can be omitted if the trader continues to market the previous packaging units alongside the new, smaller products.

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