Who is affected?
The obligation applies to businesses subject to VAT that record payments from consumers with cash register software or a system. That covers most shops, restaurants and leisure venues in France. If your situation is specific (VAT exemption for small businesses, sales only to professionals), check it with your accountant.
The four conditions to meet
Article 286 of the French General Tax Code imposes four cumulative conditions on cash register software:
- Inalterability: a recorded sale can no longer be changed or deleted without leaving a trace; corrections go through visible operations, such as a credit note.
- Security: data is protected, with periodic closures.
- Retention: sales data is kept.
- Archiving: data is archived so it can be presented to the tax authorities.
Certificate or publisher’s attestation?
To prove that their POS met these conditions, businesses had until 2025 to provide either a certificate issued by an accredited body or an individual attestation from the software publisher.
The 2025 French Finance Act abolished the publisher’s attestation and required certification; the deadline had been pushed back to 1 September 2026. The 2026 Finance Act (Law no. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026, Article 125) finally restored the publisher’s individual attestation, applicable since 21 February 2026. The tax authority publishes an official template.
Today, businesses can therefore present either a certificate or the publisher’s attestation, which must in particular identify the software and its version and state the date of acquisition.
What are the penalties?
A business that cannot prove its POS is compliant faces a €7,500 fine per cash register software or system concerned.
How to check your POS
- Ask your publisher for its certificate or individual attestation in your company’s name.
- Check that the software produces daily, monthly and annual closures.
- Make sure you can export and keep the archives.
- File the attestation with your accounting documents, and review it with your accountant.
And with Lago?
Lago is designed to meet these four conditions: numbered receipts, credit notes and duplicates, sealed daily, monthly and annual closures, an integrity check, an event log and archives to keep. A seven-step wizard guides you through compliance, and the publisher’s attestation is generated on the official template. Discover compliance in Lago.
Sources (in French): Legifiscal, WebLex, French Senate, written question no. 06482. This article is general information and does not replace advice from your accountant.