Prohibition of systematic printing of tickets (cash, card, etc.)

Verified 19 February 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Printing and distribution systematic cash receipts, credit card and vouchers is forbidden, with exceptions. They can be printed at the customer's request.

It is forbidden to print systematically the following tickets, regardless of the amount or nature of the transaction:

  • Credit Card Tickets, for all companies
  • Receipts, in sales areas (grocery stores, restaurants, etc.) and institutions receiving from the public (ERP)
  • Vouchers and tickets for promotion or price reduction of sales articles, in sales areas

This also applies to tickets printed by automatic machines.

It is possible to offer the consumer the sending of a dematerialized ticket (for example by email), instead of the paper ticket. If the buyer refuses, the only trace of the purchase will be the cash display of the transaction amount.

FYI  

In sales areas and establishments receiving the public, it is compulsory to display in a legible and comprehensible manner that, ‘save where otherwise provided by law, the printing and delivery of receipts and bank cards shall be carried out only at the consumer's request’.

An example of a legal exception is the systematic printing of the ticket during a canceled credit card payment transaction.

The systematic printing of tickets is authorized where any of the following occurs:

  • Where the receipt or invoice indicates the existence and legal duration of compliance.
  • Where the receipt or invoice is printed by a non-automatic weighing instrument (e.g. for weighing loose fruit and vegetables).
  • When making a credit card payment transaction:
    • Canceled
    • Not Successful
    • Subject to a pre-authorization scheme
    • Appropriated
  • Tickets issued by machines whose preservation and presentation are necessary to benefit from a product or service. This ticket may then allow, if relevant, the calculation of the amount due in return.