The Italian Revenue Agency has clarified new POS-cash register linking rules effective 1 January 2026. Bars and restaurants must comply, while SIAE-managed bowling and coin-operated entertainment activities are exempt. 

RF Report

The Italian Revenue Agency has provided detailed guidance on the mandatory connection between point-of-sale (POS) devices and electronic cash register systems, effective from 1 January 2026.

This requirement, introduced by the 2025 Budget Law, aims to ensure alignment between fiscal certification and electronic payments, enabling the Agency to detect discrepancies between reported turnover and actual transactions.

Which businesses must comply

The linking obligation applies specifically to businesses required to issue fiscal receipts and electronically transmit daily receipts data. Bars and restaurants fall under this category and must connect their POS devices to telematic cash registers (registratore telematico) according to AdE’s operational guidelines.

However, certain activities are exempt. Bowling operations managed through SIAE (Italian Society of Authors and Publishers) automated ticketing systems are not required to link POS devices, as ticket data is already processed through the existing SIAE framework.

Similarly, entertainment activities such as arcade games, billiards, and ping pong that use coin- or token-operated machines are excluded from the electronic transmission requirement and therefore have no POS-linking obligation.

Practical implementation guidelines

Businesses can use a single POS device across multiple activities, provided that payments for activities requiring fiscal receipts are properly recorded through the electronic cash register. Portable POS solutions, including smartphone-based devices like SumUp, remain acceptable provided they comply with registration and association requirements.

The integration process is completed through the Revenue Agency’s online portal, where merchants must register their POS identification data and pair it with their previously activated certification tool.

Businesses must also register the physical address where electronic payment instruments are used to facilitate future inspections. While the “Amount Exchange” protocol helps prevent manual errors by automatically transferring transaction amounts from the register to the POS, it is not legally mandatory for meeting the linking requirement.