Most Czech businesses have yet to prepare for EET’s return, survey finds

Most Czech entrepreneurs know electronic sales reporting is returning next year, but more than half have yet to start preparing, according to a survey presented Wednesday by Visa and Global Payments.

The survey found that 56 percent of businesses had not begun preparations for the system, known by its Czech abbreviation EET. The smallest businesses expressed the greatest concern about its impact and felt insufficiently informed about their obligations.

The findings come ahead of EET’s return on Jan. 1, 2027. The system requires businesses to report sales electronically to the tax authorities, reviving a requirement that was suspended during the pandemic and subsequently abolished.

Among businesses with annual turnover of up to CZK 300,000, 38 percent expected EET’s return to have a negative impact. That compared with 21 percent among those turning over more than CZK 1 million annually.

Administrative work was the most common concern: 44 percent expected their paperwork burden to increase. Another 32 percent anticipated higher spending on technology and software, while 27 percent feared technical problems.

The government estimates the restored system will bring approximately CZK 14 billion into public budgets. Its stated purpose is to improve tax compliance and create fairer conditions for businesses.

According to the official EET website, businesses will be able to access the system through the MOJE daně portal and generate certificates from Nov. 1. A free web application for small businesses is scheduled to launch Dec. 1, ahead of regular operations in January.

The new version will not require businesses to print receipts. It will cover payments made during in-person sales, including cashless transactions, while remote payments, such as those made through online stores, will fall outside its scope.

Some self-employed people using Czechia’s flat-rate tax regime, with annual sales of up to CZK 1 million, will be eligible for an exemption called EET OFF.

However, opting out will mean paying a higher income-tax component within their monthly flat-rate payment: CZK 1,500 rather than CZK 100. These figures refer to the tax component, rather than the entire payment, which also includes insurance contributions.

Only 15 percent of eligible respondents said they would use the exemption, while 43 percent were not interested. The remainder lacked sufficient information to decide.

EET was originally introduced in 2016 under Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka’s government, when current Prime Minister Andrej Babiš was finance minister.

Reporting was suspended in spring 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government then abolished the system effective from the beginning of 2023. Its January return will therefore end a period of nearly seven years without active reporting requirements.