Cash Registers, Receipts, and the E-Nyugta

When must you issue a receipt?

If the client doesn't request an invoice, and pays in cash or by a cash-equivalent instrument (card), you need to document the sale with a receipt. The receipt obligation isn't the same as the invoicing obligation: for many small, consumer-facing businesses, the receipt is the default document, and an invoice is only issued on request.

When is a cash register mandatory?

Under the general rule, the receipt obligation can be met with a simple paper receipt book (a "strictly accounted" printed form). For certain activities listed in the annex of Government Decree 48/2013. (XI. 15.) NGM, though, a cash register is mandatory for issuing receipts. This typically covers:

• most forms of retail trade;
• hospitality (restaurants, cafés, fast food, confectioneries);
• certain body-care / physical-wellbeing services (e.g. massage, solarium, sauna);
• taxi passenger transport;
• certain repair services (e.g. vehicle or household-appliance repair);
• retail pharmacy sales;
• certain accommodation services.

The exact list, by activity code (ÖVTJ/TEÁOR), is in the decree's annex. If you're unsure whether your activity requires a cash register, it's worth checking there or with an accountant. Cash registers have for years been "online" devices (fitted with an AEE, a tax control unit) that send data on issued receipts to NAV in real time.

The e-nyugta: what changes in September 2026?

The e-nyugta rollout started with a voluntary phase on July 1, 2025, and the government pushed the mandatory data-reporting deadline to September 1, 2026. Importantly, it's not necessarily a specific device (the "e-nyugta app") that becomes mandatory; rather, every proprietor required to issue receipts must electronically report data on every receipt issued to NAV's central receipt repository, an obligation that also applies to those who've been using a paper receipt book, not just cash-register users.

There are several paths to compliance:

• if you always issue an invoice instead of a receipt anyway, this obligation doesn't apply to you;
• cloud-based e-pénztárgép: NAV's free application, usable with a stable internet connection, typically practical for low-volume proprietors who only occasionally issue receipts;
• hardware-based electronic cash register (EPG): for those currently using a traditional online cash register (OPG), who are replacing or upgrading their existing device.

Anyone currently using a traditional online cash register has until 2028 to switch to an electronic one. Old-style devices remain usable until then, after which they're phased out. Since the exact technical details of the transition, and the range of NAV-approved solutions, keep expanding, it's worth checking NAV's current, official list before buying or replacing equipment.

What's at stake for non-compliance?

Failing to issue a receipt (or to report the related data) falls into the same penalty category as failing to issue an invoice, with a default-penalty cap of up to 2,000,000 HUF. For more serious or repeated cases, NAV can also temporarily, sometimes for days, close the business.

Practical advice

If you've only occasionally issued receipts from a paper receipt book (typical for most service-based sole proprietors not subject to the cash-register requirement), it's worth deciding your compliance path before September 2026: for many small proprietors, the simplest option is to always issue an invoice instead of a receipt; in that case, the e-nyugta requirement doesn't apply to you at all.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Source: the VAT Act, 2007. évi CXXVII. törvény, Government Decree 48/2013. (XI. 15.) NGM on cash register technical requirements (net.jogtar.hu), and government communications on the e-nyugta rollout.

Last updated: July 31, 2026.