The measure was both acclaimed for the paper savings it allowed… and at the same time strongly criticized. The end of the receipt in stores was scheduled for January 1, 2023. But it won’t…although it isn’t abandoned yet. The French have a few months of respite.
Cash receipt: no implementing decree to record the end
The receipt should disappear in France, at least automatically. The Agec law provided for the following reform: the stores, instead of printing the receipt unless otherwise advised by the customer, had to reverse the procedure. The receipt would not have been printed, unless explicitly requested by the customers.
However, to do this, an implementing decree is needed. And this is precisely where the government seems to have a problem (or to have found a scheme). the magazine LSA revealed on December 8, 2022 that… the implementing decree will not be published on the scheduled date. It was to appear during the first days of 2023, probably on the 1is January. A publication in the Official Journal which would have in fact recorded the end of the receipt.
But the government, according to LSA, has decided to delay the application of the measure… and potentially to change it.
Why eliminate the store bill?
The objective pursued with the end of the receipt was simple: to use less paper. And in fact reduce the ecological footprint of France and the French. Traders, and in particular supermarkets, would also have made economies of scale while the price of paper exploded. Fewer operating costs is a direct gain for businesses.
Except that the French are attached to their receipt. It allows you to check that promotions are applied and that prices are correct, for example. And that’s not all: the ticket serves as proof of purchase to exercise the various guarantees.
Postponed but not abandoned: what will happen to the receipt?
The government has not explicitly stated the reasons for this postponement of the reform. But according to LSA, it could evolve to be made more acceptable by consumers. The government would plan, for example, to simply require cashiers to ask the customer whether or not they want the ticket.
Consumers will therefore be able to choose when and how to obtain, or not, this proof of purchase. And it’s a safe bet that for everyday shopping, many will refuse it. But for more substantial purchases, for useful tickets in the event of a guarantee or for households that keep accounts precisely, tickets will always be on the agenda.
The reform is not abandoned, in fact, just postponed. When? This is the mystery. According to LSA, during the first quarter of 2023. But nothing is certain…