What documents are needed in the store to check the ECR/PECR?

ECR/pECR Inspection: What Documents Must Be Available at a Retail Location

Legislation does not establish a single document that the tax authority must always request first. A retail location must do more than simply have a registered ECR or pECR. It must properly document sales, issue fiscal receipts, ensure that the cash available corresponds to the cash register data, confirm the lawful origin of goods, properly employ workers, provide a cashless payment option and hold the required licences for regulated goods.

Not all of an entrepreneur’s documents must be permanently kept in the store. An extract from the Unified State Register, a lease agreement, an acquiring agreement, notification form No. 20-OPP and original employment documents may be stored centrally. At the same time, the Goods Inventory Record Form and the related source documents of Sole Proprietorships required to maintain such records must be available directly at the place of sale. Certain registration documents for a hardware ECR must also be kept at the retail location, while licensing and product documentation must be displayed or provided in accordance with special rules.

Documents That Must Be Available at the Retail Location

For Sole Proprietorships required to maintain goods inventory records, source documents and the Inventory Record Form must be kept at the place of sale until the last unit of goods recorded in those documents has been disposed of. If the originals are not available at the point of sale, copies may be provided. If the supervisory authority requires the originals, they must be submitted before the relevant inspection is completed. Electronic documents must be available for visual review and copying.

For a hardware ECR, the registration and application procedure expressly requires the registration certificate and the latest sealing certificate, or copies of them, to be kept at the place where it is used. The Book of Settlement Transactions and settlement receipt book are required only if the business has registered them and chosen to use them in the event of an ECR malfunction or power outage.

Documents That Do Not Have to Be Permanently Kept in the Store

Legislation does not impose a general obligation to keep paper copies of the following documents at every retail location:

• an extract or statement from the Unified State Register;

• a lease agreement or document confirming ownership of the premises;

• notification form No. 20-OPP and the receipt confirming its acceptance;

• an acquiring agreement with a bank or another institution;

• documents concerning the purchase of a POS terminal;

• original employment orders;

• original written employment agreements;

• employment, payroll and tax documents for all periods of business activity;

• a separate universal «cashier appointment order».

These documents must be properly prepared and retained by the entrepreneur, the accounting department or in an electronic archive for the prescribed periods. When documentary confirmation of a particular matter is required, they must be provided in accordance with the procedure and within the time limits established by the Tax Code or a special law.

It is advisable to have quick access to an extract from the Unified State Register, but the state registration of an entrepreneur is verified using the register data. Resolution No. 833 requires state registration and the licences and permits prescribed by law, but it does not require a paper extract from the Unified State Register to be permanently kept in the store.

Registration of a Retail Location and Form No. 20-OPP

A store, kiosk, warehouse, salon, cafe, collection point, office or another facility through which business activities are conducted must be reflected in tax records. Notification form No. 20-OPP must be submitted within 10 business days after the facility is registered, created, opened or acquired, or after the right to use it is obtained. The information must also be updated if the address, name, type of right or status of the facility changes.

An ECR or pECR must be registered for the correct business unit. The fiscal receipt must display the seller’s current details and the address of the place where settlement transactions are conducted. Closing a business unit or changing its status requires the registration details of the ECR, pECR and licences to be checked at the same time.

A copy of form No. 20-OPP does not have to be permanently kept beside the cash register, but the entrepreneur must retain confirmation that it was submitted and ensure that the information held by the tax authority corresponds to the actual place of business.

Main Requirements for ECRs and pECRs

An ECR or pECR must be used when conducting settlement transactions unless the particular transaction is covered by an exemption established by Article 9 of the ECR Law, the Tax Code or Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1336.

The entrepreneur must:

• process the full purchase amount through an ECR or pECR;

• generate a settlement document in the prescribed form;

• provide the customer with a paper and/or electronic fiscal receipt;

• correctly specify the payment method;

• process refunds through an ECR or pECR;

• ensure that the cash available at the place of settlement corresponds to the data in the daily report;

• use an ECR or pECR only at the registered business unit;

• prevent persons whose electronic signatures have not been entered in the pECR Register from operating the pECR;

• programme the names, prices and quantities of goods;

• specify the product subcategory code under the Ukrainian Classification of Goods for Foreign Economic Activity for excisable goods;

• transmit the numerical value of the excise duty stamp barcode for alcoholic beverages in cases prescribed by law;

• control the opening and closing of cash register shifts and the transmission of fiscal documents to the State Tax Service server.

The fiscal receipt must be provided to the customer no later than the moment when the goods are handed over or the service is provided. This rule also applies to orders placed online. An electronic receipt may be sent to a telephone number or email address, provided through a QR code or delivered in another way that allows the customer to receive the document.

A sales receipt, delivery note, bank receipt or POS terminal receipt does not replace a fiscal receipt when the transaction must be processed through an ECR or pECR.

Is a Separate Cashier Appointment Order Required?

The ECR Law does not establish a universal document called a «cashier appointment order» that every Sole Proprietorship must have.

For a legal entity, an employee’s authority may be established by an order, job description, employment agreement or another internal document. A Sole Proprietorship may also issue an instruction authorising an employee to work at the cash register and define material liability and the rules for using a qualified electronic signature. This helps separate responsibilities but does not replace proper employment registration or the registration of a cashier for the pECR.

To work with a pECR, the State Tax Service must be notified of the cashier’s electronic signature or electronic seal certificate using form No. 5-pECR. Transactions may be conducted only by a person whose information has been entered in the pECR Register. An employee’s private key must not be transferred to another salesperson.

Goods Inventory Records and Documents Confirming the Origin of Goods

The obligation to maintain the Goods Inventory Record Form under Ministry of Finance Order No. 496 does not apply to all entrepreneurs.

It must be maintained, in particular, by:

• Sole Proprietorships under the general taxation system that are subject to paragraph 12 of Article 3 of the ECR Law;

• Sole Proprietorships paying the single tax and registered as VAT payers;

• Sole Proprietorships paying the single tax and selling technically complex household goods subject to warranty repair;

• Sole Proprietorships selling medicinal products and medical devices;

• Sole Proprietorships selling jewellery and household items made of precious metals and stones.

As a general rule, Sole Proprietorships paying the single tax that are not registered as VAT payers and do not sell the listed special categories of goods are not required to maintain the Form under Order No. 496. At the same time, they must comply with other requirements concerning product documents if such requirements are established by tax, customs, licensing, sanitary or industry-specific legislation.

Records must be maintained separately for each place of sale. If goods are transferred between a warehouse and a store or between two stores belonging to one Sole Proprietorship, a source document for the internal transfer must be prepared. This document becomes part of the goods inventory records of the relevant location.

The receipt of goods must be entered in the Form before their sale begins.

Source documents may include:

• delivery notes;

• supplier delivery notes;

• purchase certificates;

• acceptance and transfer certificates;

• customs declarations;

• transport documents;

• fiscal or sales receipts if they confirm the purchase of goods;

• a description of opening inventory balances;

• internal transfer documents;

• other documents that make it possible to identify the supplier, recipient, transaction date, name, quantity and value of the goods.

A consignment note does not always independently confirm the purchase of goods. Its primary purpose is to confirm transportation. To confirm the business transaction, it is advisable to also have a delivery note, certificate or another document confirming the transfer of the goods.

Documents issued only to an unspecified «individual», without making it possible to identify the Sole Proprietorship acting as the buyer or the goods, quantity and value, may not satisfy the requirements of Order No. 496.

Employees at the Retail Location

An employee must not be allowed to begin work until an employment agreement has been concluded and a notification has been submitted to the State Tax Service. The notification must be submitted before the employee begins work. A written employment agreement is mandatory when the employer is a Sole Proprietorship.

The set of employment documents depends on the employer’s legal form and the working conditions, but it usually includes:

• a written employment agreement;

• an order or instruction concerning employment;

• confirmation that the notification was submitted to the State Tax Service;

• a job or work instruction;

• a timesheet or other working-time records;

• documents concerning payroll calculation and payment;

• occupational safety documents;

• a full material liability agreement if there are legal grounds for one;

• a personal medical record book if the employee belongs to a category subject to mandatory medical examinations.

There is no general rule requiring the originals of all employment documents to be permanently kept in the store. However, the employer should provide access to electronic copies or properly certified copies of documents concerning employees who are actually working at the retail location.

POS Terminal and Cashless Payments

Most merchants must provide customers with an opportunity to make cashless payments. This requirement also applies to distance selling. It does not mean that every store must use only a traditional POS terminal: payments may be accepted using an electronic payment instrument, payment application, payment device or another solution permitted by law.

A deferral until three months after martial law is terminated or cancelled is provided for:

• first-group single-tax Sole Proprietorships;

• sales through vending machines;

• mobile and outdoor trading;

• the sale of products personally grown or raised by the seller.

A separate exemption applies to merchants operating in territories affected by hostilities, temporary occupation, encirclement or blockade, as well as for three months after the relevant circumstances cease to exist.

The acquiring agreement and documents concerning the POS terminal must be properly prepared, but there is no general requirement to permanently keep paper copies beside the cash register. The employee must know how to process payments and refunds, and the bank transaction data must correspond to the fiscal receipt.

Payment terminal details must be included in the fiscal receipt to the extent prescribed by Ministry of Finance Order No. 13, including when the terminal is connected to or integrated with an ECR or pECR.

Customer Information Corner and Store Information

Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 833 remains in force until the new Law of Ukraine «On Consumer Rights Protection» No. 3153-IX and the new Retail Service Rules enter into force. The current procedure requires a customer information corner to be placed in a visible and accessible location.

The customer information corner must contain:

• information about the name of the owner or the body authorised by the owner;

• the addresses and telephone numbers of authorities responsible for consumer rights protection;

• other information mandatory for the particular type of trade.

The facade of the retail facility must display a sign containing the name of the business entity. Information about opening hours must be placed near the entrance. At the customer’s request, the responsible employee must provide access to the retail service rules, consumer protection legislation, sanitary standards and rules governing the sale of particular types of goods.

Premises, Equipment, Labelling and Storage of Goods

The premises, building, equipment and place of trade must satisfy requirements concerning:

• the safe storage of goods;

• the sale of the relevant products;

• sanitary standards;

• occupational safety;

• fire safety;

• the technical condition of equipment;

• temperature conditions;

• compatible storage of goods;

• verification of measuring instruments if they are used.

Price tags, menus, labels and product information must be prepared in accordance with legislation. Before purchasing a product, the consumer must receive the necessary, accessible, accurate and timely information about it.

Special requirements depend on the type of goods.

A licence does not replace documents for the goods, and documents for the goods do not replace a licence.

Online Trading, Delivery and Cash on Delivery

An online store must provide the customer with information about the seller, goods, price, payment conditions, delivery, returns and warranties. The electronic order and confirmation of its acceptance must make it possible to determine the terms agreed between the seller and the customer.

The need to use an ECR or pECR is determined not by the name of the delivery method but by whether a settlement transaction takes place:

• card payments made through online acquiring are generally associated with a settlement transaction;

• when a courier accepts cash or a card payment, it is necessary to determine who accepts the funds and generates the fiscal receipt;

• for cash-on-delivery payments through a postal or logistics operator, the obligations of the seller and operator depend on the payment arrangement and the concluded agreements;

• when the seller’s fiscal receipt is required, it must be provided to the customer no later than the moment when the goods are handed over;

• the carrier’s consignment note does not replace the fiscal receipt or the documents confirming the purchase of the goods.

Licences and Termination of Licences

The sale of alcohol, tobacco products, liquids used in electronic cigarettes and fuel is regulated by Law of Ukraine No. 3817-IX. A licence is issued for the relevant type of activity and, in the case of retail trade, with regard to the particular place of trade and the information submitted to the licence register.

A licence may be terminated only on grounds expressly prescribed by law. Depending on the type of licence, these grounds include:

• an application from the licensee;

• termination of the legal entity or the business activity of a Sole Proprietorship;

• the death of the Sole Proprietorship owner;

• a court decision;

• failure to pay the next licence fee;

• establishing that information submitted to obtain the licence was inaccurate;

• the business entity being absent from the declared location in cases prescribed by law;

• the sale of goods at a location not entered in the licence register;

• repeated or other violations of the rules governing excisable goods expressly specified by Law No. 3817-IX.

A tax violation or an error in a receipt does not automatically invalidate every licence. Termination is possible only when the specific ground is provided for by special legislation and formalised by a decision of the authorised authority.

Main Financial Risks

Sanctions for violations of ECR rules are established by Articles 17 and 20 of Law No. 265/95-VR. Liability for unregistered employees is established by Article 265 of the Labour Code.

Operational Checklist for a Retail Location

Before the store begins operating, it is advisable to check that:

• the retail location has been reported using form No. 20-OPP;

• the ECR or pECR is registered for the correct business unit;

• the seller’s address and name on the fiscal receipt are current;

• cashiers are registered to work with the pECR;

• all goods are correctly programmed;

• excisable goods have the required Ukrainian Classification of Goods for Foreign Economic Activity codes and other mandatory details;

• the customer is provided with a fiscal receipt;

• a cashless payment option is available unless a lawful exemption applies;

• the hardware ECR user has a registration certificate and sealing certificate;

• the Goods Inventory Record Form is maintained if mandatory;

• goods are recorded before their sale begins;

• source documents for the goods are available at the point of sale in paper or electronic form;

• transfers of goods between stores and warehouses are documented;

• employees are properly registered before they actually begin work;

• licences are valid and addresses and other registration information are correct;

• goods have proper labelling, prices and conformity documents;

• the premises and storage conditions comply with the requirements for the relevant products;

• the customer information corner, store sign and opening hours have been properly displayed;

• electronic and paper documents are archived regularly.

How These Tasks Are Implemented in Torgsoft

Torgsoft supports quantitative and warehouse inventory records, incoming and outgoing delivery notes, internal transfers, returns, write-offs and inventory counts. The software can store information about suppliers, product batches, quality certificates, Ukrainian Classification of Goods for Foreign Economic Activity codes, storage locations and the movement of each product item. This helps compare actual stock with goods receipt documents and control transfers between retail locations.

The additional «Goods Inventory Record Form» option is designed to generate records based on the product documents entered in the software. The option does not replace suppliers’ source documents: delivery notes, certificates, receipts, customs documents and transport documents must be obtained, checked and stored separately. Torgsoft also supports the connection of a software ECR, fiscal register and bank terminal. The software supports the generation of fiscal sales and return receipts, work with cashiers and sending the customer a link to an electronic receipt.

For remote retail locations, Torgsoft Hybrid supports sales, returns, stock checks, printing standard and fiscal receipts and working with a pECR. Some operations may be performed without a permanent connection to the main server and synchronised later. The pECR, fiscal register and POS terminal are connected through the corresponding additional options.

Official Sources

1. Law of Ukraine «On the Use of Registrars of Settlement Transactions in the Field of Trade, Public Catering and Services» dated 06.07.1995 No. 265/95-VR
   Key provisions: Article 3 — processing settlements, issuing receipts, programming goods and maintaining goods inventory records; Article 9 — exemptions; Article 17 — sanctions for violations involving settlement transactions; Article 20 — liability for unrecorded goods.
   https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/265/95-%D0%B2%D1%80

2. Tax Code of Ukraine dated 02.12.2010 No. 2755-VI
   Key provisions: Article 44 — source documents and their retention; Article 63 — registration of taxable facilities; Articles 75 and 80–86 — tax control; Articles 117 and 121 — liability for particular violations.
   https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/2755-17

3. Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 03.09.2021 No. 496 «On Approval of the Procedure for Maintaining Goods Inventory Records by Individual Entrepreneurs, Including Single-Tax Payers»
   Key provisions: Sections I–II; Goods Inventory Record Form.
   https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/z1411-21

4. Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 21.01.2016 No. 13 «On Approval of the Regulations on the Form and Content of Settlement Documents/Electronic Settlement Documents…»
   Key provisions: mandatory fiscal receipt details, payment methods and payment terminal details.
   https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/z0220-16

5. Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 14.06.2016 No. 547
   Key provisions: registration and use of ECRs, pECRs, Books of Settlement Transactions and settlement receipt books; documents kept at the place where the ECR is used.
   https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/z0918-16

6. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 15.06.2006 No. 833 «On Approval of the Procedure for Conducting Trading Activities and the Rules of Retail Services in the Consumer Goods Market»
   Key provisions: paragraphs 5, 10–13, 21–23 and 32–35 — state registration, premises, the customer information corner, store sign, opening hours and service rules.
   https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/833-2006-%D0%BF

7. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 29.07.2022 No. 894
   Key provisions: time limits and exemptions concerning the provision of cashless payment options.
   https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/894-2022-%D0%BF

8. Labour Code of Ukraine dated 10.12.1971 No. 322-VIII
   Key provisions: Article 24 — employment agreements and admission to work; Article 265 — employer liability.
   https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/322-08

9. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 17.06.2015 No. 413
   Key provision: notification of the State Tax Service that an employee has been hired before the employee begins work.
   https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/413-2015-%D0%BF

10. Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 09.12.2011 No. 1588 «On Approval of the Procedure for Registering Taxpayers and Fee Payers»
    Key provisions: Section VIII, form No. 20-OPP and the time limits for reporting taxable facilities.
    https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/z1562-11

11. Law of Ukraine dated 18.06.2024 No. 3817-IX «On State Regulation of the Production and Circulation of Ethyl Alcohol, Alcohol Distillates, Bioethanol, Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco Products, Raw Tobacco, Liquids Used in Electronic Cigarettes and Fuel»
    Key provisions: retail licensing, places of trade, records, supervision, financial sanctions and termination of licences.
    https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/3817-20

12. Law of Ukraine «On Consumer Rights Protection» dated 12.05.1991 No. 1023-XII
    Key provisions: Articles 8, 9, 15 and 17 — customer rights, product information, purchase documents and seller requirements.
    https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/1023-12

13. Law of Ukraine «On Electronic Commerce» dated 03.09.2015 No. 675-VIII
    Key provisions: Articles 7–13 — seller information, electronic agreements, orders, payments and confirmation of transactions.
    https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/675-19

14. Law of Ukraine «On the Basic Principles and Requirements for Food Safety and Quality» dated 23.12.1997 No. 771/97-VR
    Key provisions: state registration of facilities, operating permits, traceability, hygiene and food safety procedures.
    https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/go/771/97-%D0%B2%D1%80