From 1 January 2026 the fight against tax evasion enters a more “technical” and, precisely for this reason, more incisive phase: telematic cash registers and electronic payment tools (Pos and others) they will have to be connected. A combination that aims to make immediate, but above all automatablethe comparison between what is paid at the cash register and what is perceived with cards and ATMs. In the same package of interventions, the Tax Office is also preparing to speed up two traditionally delicate levers: the payment of VAT in the event of omissions and seizures by third parties, which could become faster thanks to electronic invoicing data.
The obligation to register the connection between the electronic recorder and the POS is done online
From 1 January 2026, the obligation for merchants to register the combination between the electronic cash register and electronic payment instruments (Pos and similar) with the Revenue Agency, i.e. formally indicate which payment terminals are used with which cash register. There procedure does not require any physical connection between devices: at the end of October 2025 the Agency, with a provision signed by the director, established that the operation is done via an online service in the reserved area of the site. In concrete terms, the merchant (also through an intermediary) enters the platform, selects the serial number of the electronic register already registered in the Tax Registry and associates it with the identification data of the POS or other electronic payment instruments registered in his name.
Simplified procedure
To make the operation faster, the procedure shows the merchant the list of electronic payment instruments attributable to him, communicated in advance to the Agency by the financial operators. And if the daily fees are not transmitted via electronic recorder but through the Agency’s web procedure, the connection can be made within the same platform.
Payment data
The provision also establishes the rule of merit: electronic payment data must be stored through payment certification tools, register at the time of the operation and reported in the commercial document with the form of payment and related amount. This information is then transmitted electronically to the Agency in aggregate form on a daily basis, with the technical methods already in use for electronic payments.
The windows for registering new Pos
For activated or modified POSs, the timing rule is precise: registration on the portal between the 6th day of the second month following activation and the last working day of the same month. For instruments already in use on 1 January 2026 – or used between 1 and 31 January 2026 – a 45 day deadline starting from the provision of the online service to complete the registration. Those who are already operational will have to monitor service startup and move quickly to get back on schedule.
VAT liquidation and foreclosure sprint
On the VAT side, a sort of “sprint settlement” is described: if a taxpayer does not submit the declaration, the Agency will be able to use the electronic invoice and receipt data to calculate the tax due. In case of failure to respond within 60 days, the tax would be registered with a penalty of 120% (as reported by the Messaggero in the reference text). Then there is the chapter on foreclosures. The 2026 Budget introduces what is called “sprint seizure”: the Collection would have access to electronic invoicing data and could identify the customers of the debtor companiesactivating a rapid foreclosure by third parties. In concrete terms, the objective is to block payments arriving from the customer before they pass through the account of the debtor company (this reconstruction is also attributed, in the text, to Messaggero).
Evasion recovery of 26.3 billion in 2024
The Deputy Minister of Economy Maurizio Leo also linked the fight against the undeclared economy to dynamics of the labor marketarguing that the end of citizenship income and the strengthening of active policies would have favored the emergence of regular work, with an effect on
“compliance” and on revenue. Leo also indicated that in 2024 the overall recovery of tax evasion reached 26.3 billion, of which 22.8 billion from ordinary control activities and 3.5 billion from extraordinary measures.
