A Justice of the Peace of Genoa has established in a sentence that i tobacconist they are not obliged to accept payments for cigarettes and other products subjected to status monopoly with credit or debit card. The reason is that the profit margin for retailers on this type of product is very low and the price cannot be changed.
Consequently, according to the judge, the Commission of the Erode payment Commission this sum significantly and therefore refusing the payment by credit card or debit card is in this case legitimate. The sentence reopens the question ofMandatoryity of the POSthat the Meloni government has already tried to loosen, without success.
No POS for cigarettes
The story that led to the sentence dates back to 2024. A tobacconist refused to allow a customer to pay a pack of cigarettes with paper. The customer called the Guardia di Finanzawhich has drawn up a report of contestation to the operator, contested without any result in front of the prefect of Genoa.
At this point the tobacconist called into question the judge of the peace, who decided to deliberate in his favor. The report was canceled, like the fine to be paid for refusing to pay a customer with Pos. The reason for the sentence lies in a 2010 law, modified in 2017, that prohibits to increase the price of good if the buyer pays through electronic means.
The tobacconist, reads the sentence:
Authorized by State monopoly It acts in the exclusive interest of the payment beneficiary, to whom the price of monopoly products is entirely pouring, having the right only to a percentage.
The operator therefore finds herself not to be able to increase revenues and, being subjected to a state monopoly, not even to reduce expenses.
The Constitutional Court is not needed
It is precisely this circumstance that, according to the sentence, would violate The right to business activity established by the Constitution. Although there is a reference to the constitutional card, however, it is not necessary to refer to the Constitutional Court in one case that involves only the Justice of the Peace.
The sentence is therefore immediately valid and creates a very important precedent as regards the sale of state monopolies. The debate on the mandatory POS, which the Meloni government He had already tried to abolish.
The Meloni government and the obligation of the POS
Technically, in Italy the obligation to allow electronic payments is in force Since 2014. At the time, however, no sanction was foreseen to enforce this obligation and, consequently, despite the spread of these tools, the application of the rule was very occasional. Only in 2022 was a sanction for operators who did not allow to pay with paper was introduced.
Among the first measures of the Meloni government, in 2022, there was an attempt to remove the mandatory poster for Payments under 60 euros. The rule was severely criticized by the European Union, which contested the risk of an increase in tax evasion. The law was never approved and since then the executive has no longer tried to propose it again.
