Tamper protection in rental car traffic: TMV demands TSE for odometers – Ministry of Finance shows openness

At the center is a technical detail with fiscal significance: the odometer, a device used primarily in rental cars to determine distances and therefore fares. In contrast to the taximeter in a traditional taxi, these odometers are not yet mandatorily linked to a so-called Technical Security Device (TSD) – a system designed to prevent tampering with electronic records.

TMV and FPN demand tamper-proof solution for rental cars

This is exactly what TMV wants to change – and has allied with the Professional Passenger Transport Association of North Rhine (FPN) and its managing director Dr. Michael Stehr, an expert in tax law and cash register systems. The industry is demanding that odometers also be subject to the TSD requirement with a digital interface. The accusation: The existing regulation creates a gray area in which tax evasion is hardly controllable – and it simultaneously disadvantages all those entrepreneurs who behave legally.

Legal Issues

The Federal Ministry of Finance certainly acknowledges the problem – but points to limited responsibilities. In his response letter, State Secretary Bösinger makes it clear: An extension of the TSE obligation to distance meters without a digital interface is currently not legally permissible. The current version of the Cash Register Security Regulation simply does not allow for this.

Even more important: The obligation to use devices with a digital interface cannot be enforced retroactively by regulation. For this step, the Passenger Transport Act must be adjusted – and thus the Federal Ministry of Transport is in charge. Nevertheless, the finance department is willing to apply pressure. It has already sought contact with the Ministry of Transport several times to initiate “corresponding changes in passenger transport law,” it says. This goal will also be pursued in this legislative period.

Interministerial Struggle

Dr. Michael Stehr from FPN considers this stance to be too cautious. From his perspective, the existing calibration law offers enough leeway to apply an analogous duty like the taximeter to distance meters. The EU Directive 2014/32/EU, which forms the basis for the regulations on taximeters, could also serve as a blueprint for national requirements. However, the distance meter has not been uniformly regulated across Europe so far, making national solutions necessary but also more complicated.