Europe’s shift to electronic receipts: Regulations, timelines, and compliance impact

You've probably grabbed a crumpled receipt at the supermarket, thrown it in your bag, and forgotten about it by the time you reach the parking lot. But what seems like a small piece of paper is now at the center of a quiet transformation. Across Europe, governments are systematically dismantling the paper receipt as we know it and the shift is happening faster than most businesses realize.

The push toward digital receipts is tangled up with tax compliance, consumer data, environmental toxins, and one of the most contentious legal disputes currently facing the European Court of Justice. By the end of 2026, the receipt you casually toss away could be part of a highly regulated digital trail, or it might vanish into a digital only form.

Let's break down what's happening in each corner of Europe, and what it means for your business.

🇫🇷 France: Digital receipts by default

Status: Automatic printing of paper receipts banned

Effective date: January 1, 2023

Legal basis: Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law (AGEC)

France didn't wait for permission, it simply banned the automatic printing of paper receipts. Effective January 1, 2023, under the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy law (AGEC), retailers stopped printing sales receipts by default. Customers can request a paper copy, but the presumption has flipped: digital first, paper only by exception.​

Why did France do this? Because thermal paper receipts, which cover over half of all receipts in Europe, contain toxic chemicals like BPA or BPS that make them non-recyclable and hazardous. One of the key arguments is that holding a thermal receipt for more than 10 seconds can expose you to these harmful chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and hormonal disruption. Retailers alone produce an estimated 10,600 thermal paper rolls annually, each generating about 2.5 grams of carbon emissions across its lifecycle.​

French customers now receive receipts via SMS, email, QR codes, or banking apps. In such cases GDPR compliance is often becoming a sticking point, which required additional research, operational adjustments and overall headache. Retailers collecting email addresses or phone numbers to send digital receipts face strict data protection rules. They can only use this data for receipt transmission, cannot use it for unsolicited marketing, and must delete it after transmission.​

Key takeaway

France proved it could be done. The real test is whether businesses adapted or simply ignored the rules.

🇩🇪 Germany: Legal uncertainty pending ECJ ruling

Status: Digital receipts permitted under strict conditions

Key regulations: Belegausgabepflicht (2020), KassenSichV, TSS requirements

The situation in Germany is also lightening up for the e-receipt. Under the 2020 Belegausgabepflicht (receipt issuance obligation) and the KassenSichV (Cash Register Security Ordinance), retailers can issue digital receipts, but with strict requirements around security and tamperproofing. Every transaction must be recorded with a certified Technical Security Element (TSS), digitally signed, and made verifiable, which traditionally, was understood as requiring a printed receipt.​

The new practice with displaying a QR code for a digital receipt download naturally triggered discussions amongst legal experts. In August 2025, a German grocery store offered customers a choice: paper receipt or QR code that links to a digital receipt. The Lower Saxony State Office for Metrology objected, citing the Measuring Instruments Directive, which seems to require printed, permanent receipts. The case went to the European Court of Justice, which must now decide whether QR codes satisfy EU legal standards.​ This case matters tremendously, as the ECJ's decision will set the tone for all of Europe.

Meanwhile, adoption is accelerating but still has a way to go.

The recent survey “Germany at the checkout” by fiskaly, conducted by the market research institute Appinio (November 2025) found that consumer acceptance of e-receipts is mixed but generally positive: 43.1% of respondents consider digital receipts a sensible alternative to paper receipts and would use them themselves, while another 22.5% also see them as a good alternative but would not personally use them.

As of January 1, 2025, businesses are now required to report their electronic POS systems to tax authorities, including TSS certification details, with stiff penalties for non-compliance. Come July 31, 2025, all existing systems must be registered or face fines.​

Key takeaway

Germany has the legal framework and the opportunity to already offer e-receipts, eventually even going for a combination with the move to e-invoices. The QR code ruling may confirm that e-receipts via QR code are legally the same unlocking the option to go 100% paperless and solely offer e-receipts.

🇮🇹 Italy: Phased mandatory transition

Status: Gradual ban on automatic paper receipts approved

Legal basis: Parliamentary Resolution No. 7-00286 (June 2025)

Italy is moving deliberately but decisively. In June 2025, it approved Resolution No. 7-00286, introducing a phased ban on automatically printed paper receipts. The timeline is staggered:​

• January 1, 2027: Large-scale retailers must transition to digital receipts
• January 1, 2028: Businesses above a defined turnover threshold must comply
• January 1, 2029: The mandate extends to all merchants​

Like France, paper receipts remain available upon request, but digital is now the default. Receipts will be transmitted via SMS, email, or mobile apps, sent directly to customers at the point of sale.​ Retailers will have to upgrade POS systems in a way, that the transaction data is reported (as already required) and in addition the transaction data is provided in the form of a receipt to their customers.

Key takeaway

Italy is committed to completing the shift by 2029, giving businesses time to prepare.

🇧🇪 Belgium: Infrastructure-first approach

Status: Paper receipts optional; no direct ban

Strategic focus: VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA)

In 2023, Belgium made paper receipts optional for retail transactions. No ban, but a clear policy shift supporting digital alternatives. The government didn't create a dramatic legislative moment. Instead, it signaled the direction and let market forces do the work.​

More significantly, Belgium has positioned itself as a testing ground for the EU's broader ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age) initiative. Since January 1, 2026, all B2B invoices must be issued electronically and this infrastructure is being built with e-receipts in mind. By January 1, 2028, Belgium will implement near real-time e-Reporting, meaning tax authorities will receive invoice data as it's transmitted between businesses.​ With the adoption of ViDA in March 2025, Belgium deleted conditional language from its legislation, making the mandate irrevocable.​

Key takeaway

Belgium is building the digital infrastructure that will make paper receipts obsolete, rather than just focussing on banning receipts.

🇦🇹 Austria: Voluntary digitalization

Status: Optional digital receipts explicitly permitted

Legal basis: Cash Register Package 2026 (December 10, 2025)

Effective date: October 1, 2026

Austria just released its "Cash Register Package 2026" (December 10, 2025), which takes a deliberately permissive approach to digital receipts. Effective October 1, 2026, Austrian businesses will be allowed to issue optional digital receipts via QR codes or web links with no transaction value limit.​

Austria is removing barriers to digital adoption while keeping the choice voluntary. Paper receipts remain available upon customer request, but retailers now have explicit permission to go digital.​

Importantly, Austria's core RKSV (Register Cashier Security Regulation) framework introduced in 2017 remains unchanged: transactions must still be securely recorded, digitally signed, and verifiable through QR-coded receipts. This ensures continued transparency against VAT and tax fraud.​

Key takeaway

Austria is permitting digital adoption without mandating it, positioning the country as business-friendly, while gradually shifting toward digitalization.

🇸🇪 Sweden: Fully digital-first environment

Status: Paper receipts no longer required

Effective date: July 1, 2024 (accounting reform)

Sweden took an entirely different angle. Rather than regulating point-of-sale receipts, it reformed its accounting requirements. Effective since July 1, 2024, Swedish businesses are no longer required to keep paper receipts once they've been digitized. 

The implication is profound: businesses can now scan a receipt and discard the paper, provided the digital copy is secure and unalterable. You must still retain the information for seven years, but it can exist purely digitally.​

More radically, the Swedish Tax Agency updated its position in late 2024, declaring that retailers are now permitted to offer only digital receipts and are not required to offer paper as a fallback. A customer refusing to accept a digital receipt doesn't exempt the retailer from the receipt obligation; if a customer cannot or will not receive a digital receipt, that's their decision, the retailer did fulfill its obligation.​

Key takeaway

Sweden decoupled receipts from paper, creating a truly digital-first environment.

🇪🇸 Spain: Technical foundations without a mandate

Status: Paper receipts still permitted

Key systems: Verifactu, AEAT-approved digitization platforms

Spain is building elaborate infrastructure for electronic transactions rather than mandating receipt digitalization per se.​ For now, Spain hasn't banned paper receipts. Instead, it's allowing businesses to legally digitize and discard paper receipts once scanned through approved platforms, compliant with AEAT (the Spanish tax authority) regulations. The process requires capturing receipts or full invoices directly via mobile camera (not uploaded from storage), ensuring certification and audit compliance.​

The Verifactu system, with its QR code verification requirements and digital signature mandates, is preparing the ground for mandatory digital receipts, but there's no official date set yet.​

Key takeaway

Spain currently facilitates the use of paperless receipts and invoices by building the technical and legal scaffolding for a digital-receipt future without announcing a hard deadline.

What the digitization of documents means for your company

Here's what ties all of this together: Europe is building real-time tax compliance infrastructure. By centralizing receipt and invoice data, from B2C, B2B and B2G transactions Europe is building towards continuous transaction controls rather than relying on periodic audits.

France's ban sent a clear signal, but now it's clear that each country is choosing its own path based on local priorities, tax collection challenges, and business culture. The ECJ's German QR code ruling could change everything; if the court says digital receipts satisfy EU standards, we can expect follow-up reactions.

The question for your business isn't whether to go digital, but when. Investment in POS systems, data collection infrastructure, and GDPR-compliant customer communication channels isn’t just an option anymore.

Do you have a service provider equipped to help you navigate the labyrinth of country-specific regulations while protecting customer data and ensuring tax compliance?