Filenews 5 February 2022 - by Eleftheria Paizanos
From May 2022 we will be able to pay with credit cards even in taxis, essentially following in this way the practices that other European countries have been applying for many years.
Specifically, no later than May 4, taxi drivers will have to install a special terminal machine in their vehicles and are obliged to accept credit cards as a means of payment. That is, they should be able to receive both cash and credit cards from their customers.
The inclusion of taxis in the economic activities which are obliged to accept credit cards is made through the Decree on the Establishment and Collection of Taxes (Details of the Implementation of the Obligation to Accept Means of Payment by Card). The taxi business sector, according to the decree, will have the obligation to accept credit cards and will be added to the remaining 95-plus economic activities that since last September by law have been receiving card payments.
Among the economic activities that have been accepting credit cards for months are retail businesses, service businesses in restaurants and recreation areas, as well as in several other service areas.
The relevant decree was published yesterday in the Official Gazette of the Republic.
Professionals in the field of taxi operations have three months from the publication of the decree to comply (some have already done so). Moreover, the debtors who will start their activity during the last 30 days will be obliged to accept credit card payments in 4 months, i.e. in June. According to the decree, taxi professionals who start operating after May will have one month to comply with the law.
Today, in a small number of taxis in Cyprus, special credit card acceptance machines have been installed.
According to the legislation, those taxi drivers who do not comply and refuse payments with credit cards will be imposed an administrative fine of €2,000, which, within the month is expected to increase to €4,000, as a new relevant law will be approved by the Parliament.
Taxi drivers are not the only professional category that has been added to the decree, as in previous weeks other professional groups were included in the legislation.
However, during the audits carried out by the Department of Taxation, it found that the majority of businesses complied with the law and also accept credit cards as a means of payment. This legislation, according to a government source, contributes to the fight against tax evasion, the safeguarding of public revenues, the strengthening of the protection of the citizen and the facilitation of the service of consumers.
