Structural and organizational changes often occur in retail business: a Sole Proprietorship reaches its income limit and closes, a store is re-registered to another person, or a customer brings goods for return to another store in the chain where a different cash desk and another PECR are used.
The main issue was that previously the system strictly required a fiscal return to be processed only through the same PECR through which the original sale was made. This created a deadlock: if the old Sole Proprietorship was closed and its PECR was deactivated, it was impossible to return the goods fiscally. To solve this problem, Torgsoft introduced a special mode that allows correct fiscalization of sales returns and prepayment returns through another active PECR.
Below is information on how this mechanism works, how to configure it correctly, and what nuances you may encounter.
How does the program determine through which PECR to process the return?
The principle for determining the PECR for a return is based on linking payment transactions to a specific «Enterprise» (Sole Proprietorship) in Torgsoft. The algorithm works as follows:
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If the system does NOT use a link between the enterprise and the PECR. The return receipt will be fiscalized through the PECR set as the main one for this workstation (cash desk).
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If the link between the enterprise and the PECR is used. A flexible mechanism for determining the PECR applies depending on the payment method:
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For a cash return: the program uses the enterprise from the return document itself, which is automatically determined when the goods are added to the return.
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For a non-cash return (to a card): the program uses the enterprise linked to the selected settlement account (or the enterprise from the document if the account is not linked). That is, if you return funds from the account of a new Sole Proprietorship, the program will automatically select the PECR of this new Sole Proprietorship.
An important nuance for orders: when returning a prepayment for a customer order through the «Customer order for an item» mode, the enterprise of the payment is used to determine the PECR — the one specified when the prepayment was made. For non-cash prepayments, the settlement account rule applies.
What is transmitted to the tax authority (STS) during such a return?
To ensure that the tax authority correctly processes the return of a receipt issued at another cash desk (or by another Sole Proprietorship), Torgsoft transmits an extended set of data to the STS server:
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The number of the receipt being returned.
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The date of the PECR receipt from which the return is being made.
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The number of the fiscal registrar (PECR) on which the original sales receipt was issued.
All these data are also encrypted and displayed in the information available via the link from the QR code on the return receipt.
Critical limitation: due to the specifics of transmitting these data to the STS, it is strictly prohibited to add goods from different PECR receipts to one return document. If a customer brings two items purchased under different receipts, you will need to create two separate return documents.
Step-by-step algorithm for processing a return through a new PECR
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Identifying the sales receipt. Go to «Document» — «Return». Scan the barcode from the customer’s original receipt with a scanner or enter the barcode manually. If there is no receipt, find the customer by discount card or full name and select the goods from the list of their sales.
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Checking the return period. Make sure that the maximum return period, usually 14 days, has not expired. If the goods return period exceeds the allowed period set in the program, the program will notify you and offer to confirm the return. To complete the operation, the seller must confirm their decision.
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Selecting the enterprise and account. Click «Return money».
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If you return cash, make sure there is enough money at the cash desk in the shift of the new PECR.
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If you return funds to a card, select the settlement account that belongs to the new active Sole Proprietorship.
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Fiscalization. Be sure to select the «Print return receipt» checkbox in the payout window. This checkbox initiates the request to the PECR. If it is not selected, the return will be processed only in Torgsoft’s inventory records, and the receipt will not be sent to the tax authority.
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Complete the operation by clicking the «Money returned» button.
Typical problems and how to solve them
Problem: the «Print return receipt» checkbox was not selected.
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Symptom: the goods were returned to stock in the program, but the receipt was not printed from the PECR and was not sent to the tax authority.
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Solution: delete the created return document in Torgsoft and repeat the operation, making sure to select the fiscalization checkbox.
Problem: error «Adding goods from different PECR receipts to one return is prohibited».
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Symptom: the program blocks the return operation.
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Solution: the customer is trying to return goods purchased on different days or under different receipts. Split the return into several separate documents.
Problem: error «The payout amount exceeds the current cash amount registered for the shift».
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Symptom: you are trying to make a cash return in the morning or immediately after opening a shift on the new PECR.
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Solution: the PECR controls the cash at the cash desk. You cannot fiscally return cash if it has not yet been deposited into the tax cash register. Make a «Service cash deposit» for the required amount through the PECR operations menu, and then repeat the return.
Problem: the terminal returns an error during a non-cash return.
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Symptom: the goods were purchased through the terminal of the old Sole Proprietorship, and now you are trying to return the money through the terminal of the new Sole Proprietorship, or the bank has changed the settings.
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Solution: bank terminals are very sensitive to returns made to different merchants. In the bank terminal settings in Torgsoft, you can disable the «Pre-read card during return» checkbox. You may also need to process the refund manually on the terminal through the bank terminal’s administrative menu, and in Torgsoft process the return without connection to the terminal by simply specifying the non-cash payment method.
Legal regulations
By law, a refund is a separate payment transaction: if the buyer is given cash for returned goods or a card refund is processed, the seller must process such an operation through a registered ECR/PECR and issue the buyer a payment document for the full refund amount. That is, the law does not tie the buyer’s right to a specific cash register, but it does tie the transaction to the same business entity of the seller that sold the goods. In its clarification dated 01.05.2026, the STS states: a return through another ECR is possible only when the seller can identify the previous fiscal receipt and register a negative value for the refund amount; otherwise, this option is not available. For PECRs, the logic is the same: it must be the PECR of the same seller, registered and not excluded from the Register, and the buyer must be issued a return receipt. Basis: Law of Ukraine No. 265/95-VR, Art. 2 and Art. 3; Procedure for using PECRs, Section IV; STS clarification.
If the goods were sold by a Sole Proprietorship that has already been closed, its old PECR is automatically cancelled after the record on termination of business activity is entered in the Unified State Register, and such a PECR can no longer be used to process a fiscal return. A new Sole Proprietorship, another company, or another seller should not “subtract” a sale that they did not make: this creates a risk of incorrect accounting of income, cash, and inventory balances. However, the closure of a Sole Proprietorship does not mean that all old obligations to the buyer disappear: under the Civil Code, an individual entrepreneur is liable for business obligations with all their property, except for property that cannot be seized. Therefore, the safe rule for a retailer is as follows: returns through a PECR should be processed only for sales of their current business entity; if the sale was made by a closed Sole Proprietorship, the refund issue is resolved with that individual, not through the cash desk of a new or another business. Basis: Procedure for using PECRs, Section III, Clause 3; Civil Code of Ukraine, Art. 52.
Correctness depends on the scenario: if it is the same seller/business entity, just another active PECR, then in Torgsoft create a standard “Return” document, be sure to enable “Print return receipt”, and process a separate return for each original fiscal receipt; this corresponds to the logic of Law No. 265, because issuing funds for returned goods is a payment transaction that must be processed through a registered ECR/PECR and the buyer must receive a receipt, while a return through an ECR is processed as a negative amount, not as “storno”.
If the goods were sold by another Sole Proprietorship or by a Sole Proprietorship that has already been closed, the safe accounting method in Torgsoft is as follows: do not subtract this sale as a sale of the new Sole Proprietorship; the goods can be accepted into inventory with a separate warehouse/non-fiscal document based on an internal justification, while the money must be returned by the business entity or individual who assumed the obligation to the buyer, or by the new business entity only after documented acceptance of such an obligation. That is, the program provides the tool, but the accounting rule is simple: a fiscal return receipt in Torgsoft should be printed only where there is a legal basis that this particular Sole Proprietorship/LLC is returning money for its own transaction or for a transaction it has accepted. Sources: Law of Ukraine No. 265/95-VR, Art. 2, Art. 3; Procedure for using ECRs, Section III, Clauses 5, 7–8.
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