Taximeter/Fiscal Taximeter News at a Glance: Facts and Frequently Asked Questions

BMF: Taximeters are not electronic cash registers

News from May 4, 2017 by Dietmar Fund

A draft of an important ordinance contains the words taximeter and distance recorder for the first time.

The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) has presented a draft ordinance on securing cash registers intended to clarify the requirements of Section 146a of the Fiscal Code (AO). It bears the title “Ordinance on the determination of the technical requirements for electronic recording and security systems in commercial transactions” (KassenSichV for short).

The draft explains in the first paragraph what electronic recording systems are within the meaning of the ordinance. It explicitly states that taximeters and distance recorders, as well as, for example, ticket machines or electronic accounting systems, are not included. The logging and storage of digital basic records regulated in the subsequent paragraphs, the requirements for the standardized digital interface, or for the certification of electronic recording systems therefore do not apply to them for the time being. However, the reasoning for the ordinance states that after a four-year evaluation period it should be examined whether taximeters and distance recorders need to be included in the scope of the cash register security ordinance to protect against manipulation.

Thomas Grätz, Managing Director of the German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP), regrets that the mobile trade is still being left in the dark. It could not be ruled out that federal states would follow the BMF letter from November 2010 and demand seamless digital individual records of all business transactions in taxis as well.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter: Payco serves warning notice on Hamburg officials

News from May 1, 2017 by Dietmar Fund

The software provider believes that the Hamburg authority is discriminating against its electronic cash system compared to the INSIKA procedure.

The Authority for Economic Affairs, Transport and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is to issue a cease-and-desist and undertaking to eliminate the “anti-competitive market confusion” and the “discrimination” against Payco GmbH’s ePOS electronic cash system. This is essentially what the lawyer of Payco’s Managing Director Manfred Schröder demands in a warning letter available to the editors of taxi heute.

The demand is for a letter to all taxi operators whom the authority contacted with a specific circular. The declaration should state, among other things, that taximeters are not data processing systems subject to digital tax recording, retention and certification obligations. In addition, the authority should state that no taxi company has to fear a shortened term, withdrawal or denial of its license if it does not use a so-called fiscal taximeter and the INSIKA system for data storage.

taxi heute asked the responsible official at the Traffic Trade Supervision Authority, Dirk Ritter, for a statement on these accusations. He explained that Manfred Schröder and his lawyer were free to have their own opinions on the interpretation of tax regulations and on the content of Hamburg’s licensing procedures. The fact that there are “a great many of their own legal interpretations” in the taxi industry and its environment was nothing new. They would also “act appropriately” in this matter. He did not want to say anything more about it at this time.

↑ back to index ↑

IHK Munich: A showcase on the fiscal taximeter

News from April 24, 2017 by Dietmar Fund

Two agile ladies from the IHK unexpectedly offered an hour and a half of short presentations instead of purely talking at exhibition stands.

Christiane Pöge and Elke Hagg, who look after taxi operators at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) for Munich and Upper Bavaria, organized their information event on the fiscal taximeter on April 24, 2017 quite differently than announced. They had originally planned to give visitors the opportunity between 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to obtain information at the stands of taximeter manufacturers and data service providers.

Then, surprisingly also for the exhibitors, they scheduled ten-minute statements first by hardware and then by software providers. Attentive visitors to the 2016 European Taxi Fair were largely already familiar with their products.

Fortunately, the “catwalk” in front of around 70 visitors still brought one or two new insights. One came from Torsten Poreda. As Managing Director of Taxitech Handelsgesellschaft mbH in Hamburg, he has been the partner of Italian manufacturer Digitax for the German market since 2005. For taxi operators with their own workshop, they offer installation training to compensate for their thin workshop network. Taxi operator Andreas Haindl from Wasserburg found that very interesting as he was looking for a fiscal-compliant solution for his business.

Manfred Schröder of Payco announced that there was now a new draft of the cash register law that explicitly stated that taximeters and distance recorders were not considered electronic cash registers. Since there is no legal definition of “fiscal taximeter,” operators could just as well tap the trip data set at the taximeter interface with his CryptoSafe Box and sign it with GPS data sets. That way they could save themselves the INSIKA procedure. This concept corresponds to the Hamburg and Berlin models. He could already point to around 4,300 installations, 500 of which were in these two cities.

Michael Ströh from the data service provider tesymex reported more than 2,000 connected vehicles across Germany. He said the taximeter had now also become an instrument for time recording. Therefore, drivers could also enter breaks via the tesymex app. It should soon also be possible to use it to enter long-distance trips, rebookings from cash to account trips, or tips. In addition, the company is working on an electronic cash book.

Finally, Robert Abel from fms Austrosoft described how the terminal already in place for dispatching could be expanded by the Austrians to include data encryption and a connection to the fms Fiscal Data Center. This would minimize the need for subsequent data processing. Abel said the fms dispatch systems were installed in more than 25,000 vehicles in Germany.

↑ back to index ↑

Cologne taxi operator trains Aachen colleagues on the fiscal taximeter

News from March 28, 2017 by Dietmar Fund

Colleagues from the Aachen region received information on the use of fiscal taximeters at Cologne multi-vehicle operator Sascha Päffgen’s premises.

On Saturday, March 25, 2017, 18 taxi operators from the Aachen area met at the Cologne multi-vehicle operator Sascha Päffgen’s premises. From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. he and Cologne retrofitter Jürgen Weberpals explained how to handle fiscal taximeters. Päffgen demonstrated this using fiscal taximeters from Semitron and the data service provider Stark Center and explained all the necessary steps to the colleagues. Päffgen uses these systems in his Taxi 2000 GmbH & Co. KG company.

The training came about through the Kienzle installation operation of Aachen taxi operator Christoph Rademacher. He had heard about the training there and agreed on a price for the course with Päffgen, which he then split among the participating colleagues. As Rademacher reports, the taxi dispatch Aachener Autodroschkenvereinigung w.V., Alfa Funkzentrale GmbH and Taxi Simons from Simmerath were also involved in the informative “excursion.” He organized the trip for colleagues you can talk to, the organizer told taxi heute.

Christoph Rademacher has been self-employed and a sole proprietor since 2008. He comes from a 49-year-old family business and also took his mother, who is also self-employed, to Cologne.

↑ back to index ↑

Munich IHK has fiscal taximeters presented

News from March 17, 2017 by Dietmar Fund

On April 24, 2017, the IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria will give manufacturers the opportunity to exhibit their fiscal taximeters.

The Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria invites taxi operators on Monday, April 24, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to an event where they can learn about fiscal taximeters. Unlike two IHK events in November 2015 and April 2016, no lectures are planned this time. Instead, the manufacturers will explain their fiscal taximeters and the associated connections to storage and IT systems at their stands. With this, Elke Haag and Christiane Pöge from the IHK want to give participants the opportunity to clarify the many technical questions directly that taxi operators keep asking them.

Five manufacturers have already firmly committed: Kienzle Argo Taxi International is sending Dr. Nicole Kaspari and Michael Tasbach, HALE will be represented by senior boss and founder Martin Leitner, the Danish company Finn Frogne will be represented by Ahmed Amer, Cologne taxi retrofitter Jürgen Weberpals will come for Semitron and Dirk Tangemann will represent the Dutch provider Cabman.

Attendance at the event is free of charge. The IHK will serve a light lunch afterwards.

The event will take place at the IHK Academy at Orleansstraße 10-12, not where the previous events on the fiscal taximeter have been held. There is a short link for registration that leads directly to online registration: www.ihk-muenchen.de/fiskaltaxameter.

↑ back to index ↑

Hamburg turns up the heat on the fiscal taximeter

News from February 10, 2017 by Dietmar Fund

The traffic trade supervision wants to know from all taxi operators who do not yet use fiscal taximeters how they intend to comply with their single-recording obligation.

By February 28, 2017, the Traffic Trade Supervision Authority of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg wants to know with “which suitable means and measures” Hamburg taxi operators who do not use fiscal taximeters intend to comply with their tax recording and retention obligations. The authority sent a corresponding letter on February 7, 2017 to all taxi operators for whom the database did not yet show the installation of a fiscal taximeter. According to the letter, fiscal taximeters have already been installed in around 2,400 of Hamburg’s 3,100 taxis.

The Traffic Trade Supervision Authority justifies this step with Sections 146 Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 4 of the Fiscal Code and with the letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance on the Principles for the proper keeping and storage of books, records and documents in electronic form as well as for data access (GoBD) dated November 14, 2014. While the Fiscal Code requires the complete and unalterable securing and retention of the tax-relevant data generated in the taximeter, the GoBD regulates that taximeters are also to be regarded as data processing systems that are subject to the tax recording and retention obligations, the Hamburg authority writes.

The taxi operators contacted are advised that the Authority for Economic Affairs, Transport and Innovation as the licensing authority and the Hamburg tax administration will in future focus their controls on taxi companies that do not use an appropriate procedure for the complete and unalterable retention of individual data. They must expect that their work will also be formally objected to. This could lead to shortened license terms, denial or revocation of a license and the estimation of tax bases by the tax administration.

It is understood that the Hamburg licensing authority regularly coordinates with its colleagues in Berlin. As is also heard in the industry, coordination talks between representatives of the federal states are currently underway. They were actually supposed to lead to a general cross-state version by the end of January. It is currently unclear whether the states can reach an agreement in a written procedure and how long it will take to arrive at a uniform view.

↑ back to index ↑

Hamburg: Information on fiscal taximeters and eco-taxis

News from December 7, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

On January 12, 2017, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce wants to inform taxi operators about fiscal taximeters and eco-taxis.

On Thursday, January 12, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce would like to provide “practical information for the taxi trade” on the topics “fiscal taximeter” and “eco-taxis.” In the Innovations Campus, the chamber’s auditorium at Adolphsplatz 6, Dirk Ritter, Head of the Trade Supervision Department, will first speak about the fiscal taximeter. He is very well known in Hamburg’s taxi trade on this matter. His presentation will be supplemented by Björn Rottpeter, Head of the Tax Administration Department at the Hamburg Finance Authority.

The topic of “eco-taxi” will be addressed in the contribution by Frank Tiessen. The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce’s advisor on energy and environmental consulting will inform about the air quality partnership and the innovations it brings with it from January 2017.

The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce can accommodate a maximum of 185 participants. Therefore, Bettina Ezener, who is organizing the event for the Infrastructure division, requests binding registration no later than January 5, 2017 via the event database at www.hk24.de. The event number is 13194688.

↑ back to index ↑

Two mirror taximeters with new features

News from November 10, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

Taxitronic is bringing a device with an integrated printer, while Digitax is reserving a field for the dispatch system in a large housing.

As a world first, Spanish manufacturer Taxitronic presented its TX80 Skyglass mirror taximeter with an integrated printer at the 2016 European Taxi Fair in Cologne. To change the thermal paper, you open a flap on its underside and insert a new roll.

The mirror taximeter is designed as an add-on device that is attached to the standard interior mirror. The actual taximeter sits as a black box either in the glove compartment or in a roof console. This black box contains slots for the TIM card required to sign the fiscal data and for the SIM card required for data transmission. According to the brochures distributed at the trade fair, the version with an integrated printer is in the certification process at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).

Italian manufacturer Digitax, which serves the German market from Hamburg, showed its new large mirror taximeter in Cologne, which is designed as an “all-in-one device.” The expansive housing of the device called m1mdt has a touchscreen for a data terminal integrated on the right. A GPRS antenna and a GPS receiver are already built in, while a TIM card reader for signing the fiscal data still needs to be connected. The new device is said to already have approval in accordance with the MID directive.

↑ back to index ↑

Berlin: Fiscal taximeter yes, INSIKA no

News from October 17, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

From 2017, the Senate Department of Finance will make fiscal taximeters mandatory, but not the INSIKA signature and storage procedure.

From January 1, 2017, the Berlin tax administration will invariably object to the operation of a taxi without a so-called fiscal taximeter. However, this does not mean that from that date Berlin taxis must be equipped exclusively with fiscal taximeters using the INSIKA procedure. According to current knowledge, the INSIKA procedure meets the legal requirements. However, it was not ruled out that other procedures could also be suitable and permissible. This emerges from an exchange of letters that Manfred Schröder, Managing Director of the Hamburg software company Payco, conducted with the Senate Department of Finance.

Schröder’s interest is to bring the cash solution he favors into the conversation as an alternative as well. It is based on a cash journal that is also supposed to be able to provide the Berlin tax administration’s mandatory seamless single records of all cash and account trips of a taxi. It would practically run in parallel to the fiscal taximeter, which can only correctly record trips according to the taxi tariff.

↑ back to index ↑

Kaisersesch: Afternoon info session on the fiscal taximeter and metrology law

News from October 12, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

VDV Rhineland will provide just over two hours of information on the fiscal taximeter, tax requirements and the metrology law.

On Wednesday, November 9 starting at 2:00 p.m., VDV Rhineland is offering taxi and rental car operators around two and a half informative hours at the TGZ Technology and Start-up Center in Kaisersesch. Together with the Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Koblenz and Trier, the association will provide up-to-date information on the fiscal taximeter, tax law requirements and the implementation of the metrology law.

In Kaisersesch, Thomas Grätz, Managing Director of the German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP), will first give his presentation titled “Fiscal taximeter – curse or blessing?”, which he most recently held at the IHK Ulm (and which taxi heute 11/2016 reported on). Markus Busch from the Koblenz tax office will then describe the upcoming tax law requirements. Finally, a yet-to-be-named representative of the State Office for Measurement and Calibration of Rhineland-Palatinate will explain the new requirements under the metrology law.

Interested taxi and rental car operators are asked to register with the association’s office by October 25, 2016 (a.britz@vdv-rheinland.de).

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter: According to BZP, the cash register law requires Bundesrat approval

News from October 4, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

According to Managing Director Thomas Grätz, the Federal Government must respond to the Bundesrat’s statement and then reintroduce the bill to the Bundestag.

The “Draft Act to protect against manipulation of digital basic records” introduced by the Federal Government must be approved by the Bundesrat before the law can enter into force. After the Bundesrat commented on it on September 23, 2016, the Federal Government must respond to its objections within eight weeks and reintroduce the law to the Bundestag. This was reported by Thomas Grätz, Managing Director of the German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP), on October 4, 2016 at an information event for taxi and rental car operators at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Ulm.

Grätz simply called the law the “cash register law” and described the objections of the upper house, which took up some of the association’s wishes. It was “very important” that the Bundesrat had demanded that taximeters and distance recorders be explicitly addressed, whereas the bill had so far only covered cash registers. It was also good that the state representatives would support the Hamburg model and the INSIKA procedure used there for data storage and vote for a receipt issuance obligation as in Austria.

The draft bill introduced by the Federal Government at least already allowed the use of the only tried-and-tested security system INSIKA, whereas the draft by the ministries had still rejected it, Grätz reported. In both stages of the draft, however, the BZP’s submissions made during the association hearing had otherwise not been taken into account.

In front of an audience of almost 200 taxi and rental car operators from the area of the five inviting chambers of industry and commerce, the BZP managing director gave tips for dealing with the so-called fiscal taximeter and dispelled the misconception that all old taximeters that do not yet comply with the MID directive have to be replaced by fiscal taximeters this year. Read more about this in taxi heute 11/2016.

↑ back to index ↑

Bundesrat wants to secure taximeters and distance recorders with INSIKA as well

News from September 24, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

On September 23, 2016, the Bundesrat advocated rapidly protecting the digital basic records in taxis and rental cars from manipulation.

In its 948th session on September 23, 2016, the Bundesrat expressly welcomed the “Draft Act to protect against manipulation of digital basic records.” However, it criticized the Federal Government’s bill for, firstly, not providing for a receipt issuance obligation and, secondly, not providing for central registration of the security components.

The representation of the federal states also criticized the fact that the bill did not include a “marketable secure alternative,” namely a “system already successfully tested in the taxi sector” in Hamburg. The planned process of developing, testing and integrating a security system was lengthy. The introduction of a protection system on January 1, 2020 seemed unrealistic in this way.

The Bundesrat requests the inclusion of an alternative security concept and “the introduction of the intended security procedures also for all cash register-like systems (e.g. taximeters, distance recorders, slot machines, scales with cash register function).” In its reasoning, the representation of the states expressly advocates “expanding the technical solution provided for in the bill to include a secure procedure already tried and tested in Hamburg’s taxi trade based on a protection system with standardized signature creation units” (meaning the INSIKA procedure).

The Bundesrat considers the transition period provided for in the bill until 01/01/2020 to be sufficient, by the way. It is opposed to granting a longer transition period until 12/31/2022 for cash registers purchased by 12/31/2018 that cannot be retrofitted, because their operators could then manipulate their digital basic records for two more years.

↑ back to index ↑

Calibration authorities make it easier to switch to fiscal taximeters

News from September 19, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The calibration authorities of the federal states have agreed to require only verification instead of a more elaborate conformity assessment for retrofitting a vehicle already used as a taxi with a fiscal taximeter.

Taxi operators who merely retrofit a taxi with an installed taximeter to a so-called fiscal taximeter do not need to undergo a conformity assessment procedure. Verification is sufficient. The calibration authorities of the federal states agreed on this. This was announced by Adrian Bacher in response to an inquiry from taxi heute. He works in metrology and proofing in Baden-Württemberg and has been working towards a practice-oriented coordination among the states since the implementation of the new metrology law.

According to Bacher, the new taximeter installed in place of an old one can be assessed as a “measuring instrument” as a complete system consisting of the taximeter, signal path, distance calibration and tariff during verification, provided certain conditions are met. For example, the vehicle must demonstrably have been used legally in business before the retrofit, which can be evidenced by a verification fee notice, for example. The installation operation must confirm in writing that no changes were made to the signal path. In addition, the installation operation must have checked the compatibility of the distance signal and the taximeter with a positive result.

The same applies to retrofitted distance recorders.

↑ back to index ↑

New taximeter from the Netherlands

News from August 8, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The fiscal-compliant all-in-one device cabman BCT was presented at the Fiscal Taximeter Info Day.

Dutch company Euphoria Software is now bringing a new fiscal-compliant taximeter to the German market. The all-in-one device cabman BCT was presented on August 6, 2016 at the Fiscal Taximeter Info Day of the Gesamtverband Verkehrsgewerbe Niedersachsen (GVN). It complies with the MID directive and stores the basic records via a security module. The data can be read either via a WLAN connection or via a USB stick and stored on a server.

Hamburg-based Dirk Tangemann, who supports sales in Germany, presented the device to around 160 listeners. He reported that cabman had been producing hardware for Dutch and Belgian taxi companies since 2007 and was the leading provider of fiscal taximeters in the Netherlands. There, every movement of the taxi must be recorded. Therefore, the cabman BCT can, for example, also manage breaks. It can also be used as a telephone. The printer integrates a magnetic card reader for cashless payments.

Like HALE, Euphoria Software also offers its own data center for storing data via a web-based browser solution. The company was, however, open to cooperation with German data storage providers.

According to Dirk Tangemann, the taximeter is currently in the verification process. It is to be tested in Braunschweig taxis shortly.

HALE and Frogne presented similar terminals at the last European Taxi Fair.

↑ back to index ↑

Mirror taximeter no. 3 with integrated data box

News from August 7, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The new HALE mirror taximeter SPT-03 no longer requires a separate transmission unit for encrypted and signed data.

Martin Leitner, founder and head of taximeter specialist HALE, said on August 6, 2016 at the Fiscal Taximeter Info Day that he was speaking publicly about the third generation of the mirror taximeter for the first time. The essential feature of the SPT-03 is that the slot for the TIM card required to use the INSIKA procedure is integrated into the housing, as is the transmission unit.

Since a signature unit previously additionally installed in the taxi is now superfluous, the new system is overall cheaper than the new one, said Leitner. He also informed the approximately 160 participants that the SPT-03 in the new E-Class series W 213 had a dimming function that also controls the dimming of the exterior mirrors.

According to Leitner, the date for release for ordering the W 213 taxi is still being coordinated. It is expected to be announced on August 20, 2016.

↑ back to index ↑

Kienzle T 21 taximeter soon with break management

News from August 7, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

At the GVN Fiscal Taximeter Info Day, Kienzle presented a break management function and a solution for recording on-call times that will be integrated from September.

From September, break management will be programmed into Kienzle taximeters of the current T 21 type, which the taxi operator can have activated for their drivers. They can read the data records from the taximeter themselves and process them with their software. This was announced by Detlef Langberg of Kienzle Argo Taxi International on August 6, 2016 at the Fiscal Taximeter Info Day of the Gesamtverband Verkehrsgewerbe Niedersachsen (GVN) in Visselhövede.

As Kienzle writes in its latest sales information, a new solution for recording on-call times is also available to operators free of charge. Here, the operator determines whether the driver is asked after an adjustable period of inactivity whether they are on a break. They can answer this question with no. If they do nothing, the time until the next action is recorded as a “passive break.” At the operator’s request, this can become an “active break” after 15 minutes.

Also new and free of charge is a shift time regulation. It is intended to inform logged-in drivers 15 minutes before the end of their shift time that it is ending. If they are currently on a busy trip at that moment, this information will be held back until it ends.

HALE had already addressed a similar approach to breaks and on-call times at the 2014 European Taxi Fair.

↑ back to index ↑

Lower Saxony organizes info day on the fiscal taximeter

News from July 18, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

On Saturday, August 6, there will be up-to-date information and a discussion round in Visselhövede to clarify practical questions.

The Gesamtverband Verkehrsgewerbe Niedersachsen (GVN) invites taxi and rental car operators to a “Fiscal Taximeter Info Day” in Visselhövede on Saturday, August 6. It will take place at Peschek’s Seminarhotel Luisenhof.

The program begins at 10:00 a.m. and is scheduled to end around 3:30 p.m. After an introduction, probably by Thomas Grätz, Managing Director of the German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP), the keynote address by Edo Diekmann will follow. He works at the Regional Finance Directorate of Lower Saxony and contributed to some key papers that are shaping the discussion on the introduction of the so-called fiscal taximeter.

During the lunch break, participants can obtain information about software solutions and the offerings of taximeter manufacturers at the stands of some exhibitors. The latter will then have their say in a panel discussion and in short presentations. The afternoon will focus on pressing practical questions arising from a current draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Finance and one of its letters from November 2010.

Up to 250 participants can register by email to taxi@gvn.de by printing, completing and scanning the registration form available for download below this report and emailing it back. It can also be faxed (Fax: 05 11 / 96 26 -2 89). The contribution of 25 euros includes conference drinks and a lunch snack.

↑ back to index ↑

Rhineland-Palatinate takes a close look at taximeters

News from July 14, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

During company audits, auditors examine whether someone has actually retrofitted a taximeter that can be upgraded to meet the requirements of the MID directive of 2004.

For two years now, the auditors of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate have been instructed during audits of taxi companies to ask whether a taximeter that can be upgraded to meet the requirements of the European Measuring Instruments Directive MID of 2004 has been retrofitted. If this would be possible but the taxi operator has neglected to do so, this is considered a deficiency. The bookkeeping is then not in order, which leads to a “safety surcharge” in the estimated assessment. This was explained by Thomas Hermen of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Tax Office on July 13, 2016 at an information event held by two chambers of industry and commerce and two transport associations in Mainz.

Hermen strongly recommended to the approximately 160 participants of the event to have orderly shift records and duplicate receipts ready for the auditors. If someone has not kept them and cannot present them, this is also considered a deficiency in bookkeeping that leads to an estimation.

Moreover, the Rhineland-Palatinate auditors should insist on being allowed to read the data stored in the taximeter. The tax authorities have been allowed access since 2002. It has simply not been demanded for a long time.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter: Federal Cabinet adopts draft bill

News from July 13, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The Federal Cabinet has adopted an amended draft bill with which the Federal Ministry of Finance wants to prevent manipulation of electronic cash registers and suddenly accepts the INSIKA procedure again.

On July 13, 2016, the Federal Cabinet decided, with a bill from the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), to put a stop to tax evasion via electronic recording systems. The adopted and previously revised draft bill could also have an impact on the introduction of the so-called fiscal taximeter, even if it does not name it or the distance recorder and counts them among electronic cash registers.

Two things are important compared to the last draft published in March 2016 (reported by taxi heute): On the one hand, a press release from the ministry states that the INSIKA smartcard developed by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt already fulfills many requirements of the planned certification procedure. The INSIKA smartcard could therefore be certified as a technical security module without much effort after minor adjustments still required. In the first published draft, this procedure was still considered too complex in its entirety and therefore unsuitable. It is now planned to slightly modify the INSIKA smartcard and also subject it to the certification procedure.

On the other hand, the planned security device is mandatory from January 1, 2020. Previously, the starting date had been assumed to be January 1, 2019.

The draft bill provides that the customer may request a receipt. Unlike in Austria, however, there is no obligation to issue receipts, as tax audits are also possible without them, writes the ministry.

The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is to define the requirements for the security solution and certify provider solutions that meet these requirements, according to the ministry’s plans.

The current “Draft Act to protect against manipulation of digital basic records” dated July 13, 2016 can be downloaded as a PDF file from the download area below this report.

The draft ordinance for the related regulation apparently still corresponds to the status of March 2016.

↑ back to index ↑

Obligation to evaluate taximeter data does not yet exist

News from July 4, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

At the IHK Regensburg info day, association representative and dispatch board member Wolfgang Ziegler gave advice on dealing with the fiscal taximeter.

Those who keep proper single records of their taxi trips can continue to work without problems in 2017 with the existing technical equipment. The only binding introduction date in connection with the so-called fiscal taximeter is the implementation of the European MID metrology directive of 2004. It stipulates that from November 2016 no taximeters may be placed on the market that do not yet have an interface for transmitting taximeter data. Older taximeters, on the other hand, may not only continue to be used according to the current state of play, but may even be installed in new taxis. In this case, however, they must be subjected to a conformity assessment procedure just like new devices, whereas thereafter, like new devices, they only need to be verified annually. This was explained by Wolfgang Ziegler, Deputy Chairman of the Association of Bavarian Taxi and Rental Car Operators, on July 4, 2016 at the Taxi Day 2016 of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Regensburg.

Ziegler told the more than 50 participants at the event that there was not yet a 100 percent solution for dealing with the digitally kept single records urgently desired by the tax administration. He saw the “90-99 percent solution” as using the INSIKA procedure for data security in conjunction with a current taximeter. Although revenues not recorded via the taximeter would have to be post-processed in this case, one might gain advantages in billing with drivers and their working time records.

The “75-95 percent” solution for him is the complete recording of all revenues by hand and the meticulous retention of duplicate receipts in a comprehensible order. As a third route, he outlined keeping meaningful shift records and retaining all receipt duplicates. Ziegler gave further advice to the questioning participants, which taxi heute will report in issue 8-9/2016.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter: BZP also sees signals in favor of INSIKA

News from July 3, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

At the Association of the Transport Industry of South Baden, BZP Managing Director Thomas Grätz provided information on the situation regarding the so-called fiscal taximeter.

According to information from the German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP), the Federal Ministry of Finance has revised its draft bill “Act to protect against manipulation of digital basic records.” A cabinet proposal now recognizes the INSIKA procedure for storing cash register data after all. Taximeters or even distance recorders would still not appear in the draft. This was reported by BZP Managing Director Thomas Grätz on July 2, 2016 at the 38th Taxi and Rental Car Specialist Assembly of the Association of the Transport Industry of South Baden in Freiburg.

Grätz added that the current draft had not yet been submitted in writing to the BZP. His remarks confirmed information that was already heard at the information day for taxi and rental car operators at the IHK in Bielefeld on June 29, 2016.

Grätz advised the nearly 40 taxi and rental car operators in the hall to use taximeters and the INSIKA procedure now. This would bring relief especially to city operators who mainly perform trips at the taxi tariff in the compulsory carriage area in their operations. With a fiscal taximeter, one is on the safe side during audits. Although the BMF letter from November 2011, which demands digital basic records, only has direct effect on operators via an ordinance or law, representatives of several regional finance directorates and the Federal Ministry of Finance had assured him that future audits would subject paper-based sample records to very careful random checks. Even the slightest discrepancies would then lead to estimates. He was therefore firmly expecting that operators without fiscal taximeters would face considerable problems during audits from 2019 onwards.

A detailed report on the assembly will be published by taxi heute in issue 8-9/2016.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter: Draft bill reportedly no longer rejects INSIKA

News from June 29, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Finance, which is associated with the fiscal taximeter, apparently goes to the cabinet in a heavily revised form.

The draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) on the digital recording of cash transactions published on the internet (reported by taxi heute) no longer reflects the current state of affairs. After a hearing with representatives of cash register manufacturers and associations at the ministry on May 25, 2016, it was heavily revised.

The published draft bill had still deemed the INSIKA data security procedure previously discussed in connection with the introduction of a fiscal taximeter as unsuitable. According to reports, it is now to be accepted again as an alternative, after the ministry could not explain what other procedure could be used. As heard in Bielefeld, representatives of the tax administrations of the federal states support the INSIKA procedure – also for lack of other alternatives.

A revised version of the draft bill is to go to the Federal Cabinet in July.

↑ back to index ↑

Taxi-Holl does not have to post-process fiscal taximeter data

News from May 3, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The Baden taxi company links data from its taximeters with order data from dispatching and has them stored by its dispatch service provider.

Experts from the tax administration advise taxi operators to use so-called fiscal taximeters now, regardless of the still pending legal regulation, in order to be able to provide the required individual records. This opinion is shared by Gaggenau multi-vehicle operator Dirk Holl. He has equipped his entire fleet with fiscal-capable taximeters of the MCT-06 type, WSZ-06 distance recorders and printers from HALE.

The original records provided by the devices are processed and stored immutably by the external dispatcher Metropolis Service GmbH. At the same time, they are linked to the dispatch system from fms and the order data recorded and stored by the external dispatcher in Aschaffenburg. “On their server system, the individual trip data is recorded fully automatically, immutably and completely,” Holl writes. “If our taxi drivers do everything correctly, account trips, co-payments for medical trips or surcharges for call taxis are recorded without the need to manually post-process the data.” Since the drivers have to coordinate flat-rate trips outside the compulsory carriage area with the dispatch center, they are automatically recorded as well.

For billing at the end of the shift, a printer connected to the data center determines and prints the cash revenue. Writing shift records by hand becomes superfluous.

In addition to the headquarters in Gaggenau, Taxi-Holl has two other locations. There is a branch in Baden-Baden and the company operates under the name Inge’s Personenbeförderung in Rastatt.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter: It gets serious on January 1, 2017

News from April 26, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

From next year, the tax administration will require digital records from taxi operators. This was announced by a Bavarian speaker at an event of the IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria.

According to the Federal Ministry of Finance’s letter of November 26, 2010, taxi operators must keep single records of all trips and, after a transition period expires, make them available for inspection in digital form from January 2017. The tax administration will also demand this from that date. There is no digitization requirement in Germany, but since taximeters provide digital data, the tax administration wants to see it as well. This was announced by Franz-Xaver Betz from the Audit Department of the Bavarian State Tax Office on April 26, 2016 at an information event held by the IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria.

Betz made it clear that the data to be kept electronically from January 2017 are the same as those for which the single recording obligation has been in place for some time. The data must be machine-readable. Nothing more has yet been regulated.

According to the speaker, it is planned to get the legislative process underway before the summer recess, but he doubted this schedule. Politicians dealing with tax issues currently had more urgent issues such as the Panama Papers to deal with.

The speaker participated in working groups of the Federal Ministry of Finance on the draft bill available since March 2016. It does not prescribe the previously favored INSIKA procedure but instead a certification procedure for various approaches to data storage. Betz assumes that INSIKA will meet the standards of the required certification procedure, but will nevertheless have to be certified together with the associated taximeter models. The question of whether the data transmitted by the latest generation of taximeters may be kept on a server by taxi companies themselves or must be on an external service provider’s server has not yet been clarified, Betz said when asked by taxi heute.

The speaker could also imagine that the transition period set in the BMF letter of 2010 until the end of 2016 will be aligned with that of the draft bill. The latter provides for a transition period until December 31, 2018 and, for the first time, also contains a technical guideline. Until now, the Federal Ministry of Finance had not issued any technical specifications.

↑ back to index ↑

After installing a fiscal taximeter, verification is sufficient

News from April 14, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

At the initiative of Saxony, the Working Group on Measurement and Calibration has adopted a resolution that is pleasing for taxi and rental car operators.

Taxi and rental car operators who will soon retrofit a vehicle already in service as a taxi or a rental car with a fiscal taximeter and a corresponding distance recorder only have to have the new device verified. A conformity assessment is not required for this. This resolution was adopted on April 6, 2016 by the Working Group on Measurement and Calibration (AGME), in which the calibration oversight authorities of all 16 federal states coordinate their procedures. This is pointed out by Hans-Jürgen Zetzsche, one of the three board members of the Saxon Association of Taxi and Rental Car Operators. At the initiative of the association, the State Enterprise for Measurement and Calibration (SME) in Dresden had put the topic on the agenda and submitted a draft resolution.

The AGME followed the Dresden proposal, which also covers retrofits to taximeters or distance recorders with different type approvals or pattern test certificates. The resolution literally says: “With verification, the measuring instrument including the signal path used so far can be comprehensively assessed if the vehicle with the installed taximeter/distance recorder was demonstrably used legally in commercial traffic before the retrofit.”

The resolution now also opens the way for retrofits with new devices in taxis and rental cars already in service whose manufacturers have not yet been able to provide the evidence required for a conformity assessment. Especially in the case of rather rare models from importers, this proof can still be a problem. Michael Müller, President of the German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP), pointed this out at the spring conference in Leipzig.

A detailed description of the new metrology law was published by taxi heute in issue 1-2/2016.

↑ back to index ↑

BZP adopts resolution on the fiscal taximeter

News from April 12, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP) commented at its spring conference on a draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Finance, which in its view once again does not sufficiently address fiscal taximeters.

The Federal Ministry of Finance has submitted a draft bill to protect against manipulation of digital basic records for association consultation. The transport policy committee of the German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP) therefore met on March 31 and, together with the board, drafted a resolution that was largely adopted at the public part of the BZP spring event on April 11, 2016.

The resolution presented by BZP President Michael Müller criticizes that once again only retail cash registers are addressed in the draft bill. The peculiarities of taximeters and distance recorders are not sufficiently taken into account.

In its resolution, the BZP calls for comparable regulations for distance recorders, procedural security for protection against manipulation and a maximum of two years’ transition period for retrofitting devices already placed on the market in order to ensure equal treatment of all operators. Müller promised that the BZP, as an association of 36,000 taxi and rental car operators, would raise the issue offensively, as the operators finally needed clarity.

The draft bill and an associated Technical Ordinance for implementation have been published by the Federal Ministry of Finance on its website. The draft and the ordinance can be downloaded as PDF files from the download area below this report.

↑ back to index ↑

IHK Munich: Second information event on the fiscal taximeter

News from March 31, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria offers information on the current status of the fiscal taximeter and on the taxi study for the city of Munich.

On Tuesday, April 26, 2016, the IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria will host its second information day on the current status of the fiscal taximeter. It will take place at the IHK premises on Balanstraße in Munich. The information day begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends around 1:00 p.m. with lunch.

The program includes two presentations. The first will be given by Franz-Xaver Betz from the Bavarian State Tax Office, who will provide information on the current status of the fiscal taximeter. In the second presentation, either Günther Hetzel, head of the Munich District Administration Department, or his employee Wenzl, who will start in April, will present the report on the functionality of the taxi trade in the city of Munich.

Participation in the event is free of charge. However, prior registration is required due to the limited number of places (at www.muenchen.ihk.de, web code: 9494). Alternatively, you can contact the IHK contacts Elke Hagg (elke.hagg@muenchen.ihk.de) or Christiane Pöge (christiane.poege@muenchen.ihk.de) by email.

The Munich IHK organized its first, then all-day information event only on the fiscal taximeter in October. A detailed report on it was published by taxi heute in issue 12/2015.

↑ back to index ↑

Taxi Rent Partner relies on fiscal taximeters

News from March 19, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

Customers receive documentation of the revenues they have generated with rental taxis from the Augsburg taxi leasing company.

Augsburg taxi leasing company Taxi Rent Partner has equipped 20 of its rental taxis stationed in Hamburg with fiscal taximeters. This enables it to document for its customers the revenues they have generated with the rental taxis. Taxi operators can then prove to the opposing insurers that it was indispensable to obtain a rental taxi at their expense and not just claim loss of use. This was reported by managing partner Ulf Baufeld during an editorial visit to taxi heute.

Taxi Rent Partner works closely with HALE, has equipped all rental taxis with HALE taximeters and wants to gradually connect them to the HALE data center, Baufeld added. In his view, insurers and experts currently need to be made aware of another new development: Due to the new metrology law, the initial registration of a replacement vehicle after a total loss is significantly delayed. Previously, the experts usually assumed 14 days for replacement, to which, due to the new metrology law, for example in Schleswig-Holstein, four weeks have to be added.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter: GVN calls for regulations

News from February 1, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The Gesamtverband Verkehrsgewerbe Niedersachsen is calling on the lead federal ministries to finally make some regulations for the introduction of the fiscal taximeter.

Although the new rules of the European Measuring Instruments Directive will come into force in Germany in November 2016, the German legislator has not yet set in motion the necessary implementing regulations. This is stated by the Gesamtverband Verkehrsgewerbe Niedersachsen (GVN) in a press release at the end of January 2016.

Secretary General Benjamin Sokolovic therefore calls on the “lead ministries in Berlin” to quickly issue implementing regulations, transitional regulations for old devices of around two years, comparable rules for distance recorders and the abolition of the possibility of being exempted from the installation of the distance recorder.

Sokolovic fears that maintaining the generous exemption practice will lead to a massive shift from taxis to rental cars. Since there is no operating and carriage obligation for the latter, this shift will greatly restrict the population’s supply in rural regions and at unfavorable times.

↑ back to index ↑

BZP: Regulation on the fiscal taximeter is not yet certain

News from January 24, 2016 by Dietmar Fund

The fiscal taximeter is coming, but politically there is still a lot that is unclear, reported BZP President Michael Müller at the “Glückstädter Kreis.”

By the end of 2016, the European MID directive will become applicable law in Germany, which also provides for the fiscal taximeter. Whether there will be a national implementing regulation and what will be required during tax audits thereafter is still unclear. This status was announced by Michael Müller, President of the German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP), on January 22, 2016 at the conference of the “Glückstädter Kreis” at the GreenLine Hotel Holst near Hamburg.

Müller expressed the fear that the Federal Ministry of Finance would not bring regulation. Whether this will be the case will be decided in the first or second quarter of 2016. So far, the question of continued use of old taximeters has also not been answered.

It is conceivable to sit down with the regional finance directorates and clarify with them whether, for example, audits of taxi operators will be postponed if they keep their data electronically available. These talks can only be conducted by the state associations.

As taxi heute 12/2015 reported, all states have spoken out in favor of introducing a fiscal taximeter. However, according to many industry representatives, the Federal Ministry of Finance is blocking an appropriate regulation by law or ordinance.

↑ back to index ↑

BZP: Taximeter metrology law stalls again

News from November 25, 2015 by Dietmar Fund

According to Managing Director Thomas Grätz, a personnel change at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt is blocking an already reached compromise.

The current situation regarding the change in the metrology law, which is important for the approval of new taxis, is again extremely problematic. So far, progress had been made in bringing industry and the state authorities together, but now, after a personnel change, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) no longer accepts the compromise reached that vehicle manufacturers make their data required for conformity assessment accessible on a central server. This was reported by Thomas Grätz, Managing Director of the German Taxi and Rental Car Association (BZP), on November 24, 2015 at the general meeting of the Taxi and Rental Car Division of VDV Rhineland. It took place at the brewery restaurant in Koblenz.

On December 3, a working group will meet again at the BZP offices in Frankfurt am Main to discuss the next steps. Involved are the vehicle and taximeter manufacturers, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK). He very much hoped that the working group would then be able to present a solution as a kind of Christmas present, Grätz concluded. Grätz strongly advised taxi operators wishing to purchase a new taxi in the current hot phase to consult their vehicle manufacturer and their calibration authority before placing an order.

↑ back to index ↑

Factory taxi packages favor the new taximeter inspection

News from October 25, 2015 by Editorial staff (general)

At the general meeting of TVD Baden-Württemberg, Deputy Chairman Dirk Holl advised against retrofitting used cars as taxis.

After the implementation of the new metrology law, installation workshops must provide a lot of evidence of the correct tapping of the distance signal. In this regard, a factory taxi package is considered reliable proof by the conformity assessment body at the calibration office. For this reason, taxi operators should now better keep their hands off retrofitting used vehicles as taxis and rather look for a demonstrator taxi. This advice was given by Gaggenau taxi operator Dirk Holl as Deputy Chairman at the general meeting of TVD Baden-Württemberg. It took place on October 24, 2015 at the Mercedes-Benz branch in Heidelberg.

Holl reported that Daimler AG had already declared that it would reject any declaration of conformity if it was not a taxi with a factory taxi package. While Volkswagen remained silent on the subject, Seat showed itself to be very open. The Spaniards also supplied declarations of conformity for the VW models Touran, Passat and Caddy. Although these were written in Spanish, they were nevertheless recognized by the Baden-Württemberg authorities.

“With a factory taxi package, you are definitely on the safe side,” Holl explained. “With exotic models, you should be careful and contact the manufacturer before buying.”

A report on the assembly and the inspection issues outlined there will be published by taxi heute in issue 12/2015.

↑ back to index ↑

On the safe side with the fiscal taximeter

News from October 16, 2015 by Dietmar Fund

At the Munich IHK information day, it became clear that taxi operators should already switch to taximeters that can be upgraded to a fiscal taximeter.

Taxi and rental car operators must already record their cash business transactions individually today. They can prove them during audits either with duplicate receipts, shift records and the like, or electronically through the voluntary use of taximeters that already electronically sign the data and store it largely tamper-proof on a server. Those who already use an INSIKA or a comparable solution are on the safe side. It is currently not foreseeable whether the statutory regulation with technical requirements demanded by the state tax authorities will actually come. But such a regulation will presumably not set higher technical requirements than those already fulfilled today by INSIKA or other procedures approved in the Hamburg model. These personal assessments were given by Edo Diekmann of the Regional Finance Directorate of Lower Saxony at the IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria’s “Fiscal Taximeter” information day on October 15, 2015.

As the graduate tax official and other speakers explained, the problem that single records corresponding to the requirements are not kept correctly in many companies would be solved by electronic single recording. It is associated with synergy effects such as more efficient use of taxi drivers.

Other interesting insights were contributed by Dirk Ritter and Marco Meyenborg of the Hamburg Authority for Transport, Economic Affairs and Innovation from the fiscal taximeter project of the Hanseatic city. Representatives of the taximeter manufacturers Frogne, Kienzle and HALE as well as the data service provider tesymex described to the 70 participants how to handle fiscal-compliant taximeters and how to evaluate the data forwarded by them to a server. The participants of the fully booked event eagerly took the opportunity to ask the speakers questions directly and during the breaks.

The information day was organized by the IHK traffic and logistics specialist advisors Elke Hagg and Christiane Pöge and was moderated by Dietmar Fund, editor-in-chief of taxi heute. A detailed report on the event will be published by taxi heute in issue 12/2015. With the consent of all speakers, the IHK will provide the presentations as PDF files for download.

↑ back to index ↑

Information day on the fiscal taximeter with additional contributions

News from October 2, 2015 by Dietmar Fund

On October 15, 2015, two representatives of Frogne and tesymex will also provide information at the IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria.

For the information day on the fiscal taximeter, the taximeter manufacturer Frogne and the data service provider tesymex have now also confirmed two contributions. Stefan Greulich, Managing Director of the German branch in Tübingen, and his technology and sales specialist Ahmed Amer will outline the fiscal solution that Frogne is integrating into the German version of its fiscal-capable TM3 taximeter. The Danes basically work with the same encryption technology but implement it in the device itself rather than in a separate box. They therefore work without a data card from the Federal Printing Office, which was recognized in the Hamburg pilot project.

tesymex, for its part, works with all taximeter manufacturers and focuses on data services. tesymex was involved in the development of INSIKA for the taxi trade from the very beginning. Managing Partner Michael Ströh will present the service concepts in Munich.

The information day will take place on October 15, 2015 between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. at the IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria. In the morning, two presentations will provide information on the current status of the introduction of the fiscal taximeter and on the experiences gained with a first concept in Hamburg.

Only a few of the 70 places remain. Interested taxi operators should therefore quickly register via the IHK’s homepage and web code 8245 with the organizers Christiane Poege and Elke Hagg.

↑ back to index ↑

BMF finds INSIKA problematic

News from September 2, 2015 by Dietmar Fund

According to the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), the federal states do not want to prescribe the previously discussed INSIKA procedure as the solution for the fiscal taximeter.

The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) is concerned with effectively preventing manipulation of cash register data, fiscal taximeters and distance recorders. The INSIKA procedure, which has been discussed so far in connection with the introduction of the fiscal taximeter, can make manipulation of electronic accounting and cash register data more difficult and easier to detect, but not prevent it.

Moreover, this procedure is not as simple technically and legally as previously portrayed in the media and exhibits various problems. This is essentially what the press office of the Federal Ministry of Finance writes in a statement on the status of the introduction of the fiscal taximeter requested by taxi heute. According to the BMF, at their conference on June 25, 2015, the finance ministers of the federal states did not decide to introduce the INSIKA concept as mandatory for these reasons. Instead, they decided that a technical concept should be introduced as mandatory, but that its design should not be prescribed by law.

To create a technology-neutral regulation, the law could prescribe that business transactions subject to recording must be electronically logged in such a way that each transaction is recorded individually. Changes to these records must be electronically logged. This logging must not be deletable or alterable, the ministry writes. As the BMF finally announces, the issue will be discussed with the supreme tax authorities of the federal and state governments at a meeting from September 29 to October 1, 2015. The BMF is leading this process. The press office of the involved and simultaneously contacted Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy had also pointed this out.

↑ back to index ↑

IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria provides information on fiscal taximeters

News from August 19, 2015 by Dietmar Fund

At an information day in Munich, four industry experts will give presentations on the current status of the introduction of the fiscal taximeter.

On Thursday, October 15, 2015, the IHK for Munich and Upper Bavaria will hold an information day on the fiscal taximeter specifically for taxi and rental car operators at its premises at Balanstraße 55–59 in Munich. From 11:00 a.m., moderator Dietmar Fund, editor-in-chief of taxi heute, and host Sabine Lehmann will introduce the topic before Edo Diekmann from the Regional Finance Directorate of Lower Saxony outlines the tax background. The experiences that the Hamburg licensing authority has had with fiscal taximeters and the INSIKA procedure since 2012 will then be described by Dirk Ritter and Marco Meyenborg.

After a lunch snack, Steffen Conrad from taximeter manufacturer HALE will explain its hardware and software solutions, before Andreas Daubitz addresses the corresponding systems from Kienzle Argo Taxi International. In all presentations and the summary at the end, participants will be able to clarify their own questions before they head home around 3:00 p.m.

Admission to the event is free, and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce will also invite participants to coffee breaks and a lunch snack. The IHK’s taxi contacts Christiane Pöge and Elke Hagg have only around 15 of the 70 places left. Interested parties should therefore register quickly via the IHK’s homepage.

↑ back to index ↑

Thuringian taxi drivers improvise without taximeters

News from January 8, 2015 by Dietmar Fund

At the initiative of a young entrepreneur and his sister, the time until new tariffs come into effect in Erfurt is being bridged with fare lists.

Due to the large number of taxi fare increases at the turn of the year, Thuringian taxi drivers could no longer have the fares adjusted to the minimum wage entered in time. However, they would no longer have been allowed to operate with the old fares. They also could not earn the minimum wage payable since January with them.

Young entrepreneur Daniel Schwuchow from Erfurt and his sister Michaela therefore suggested to their regulatory authority that, until the new fares are programmed in, they should operate without taximeters and present passengers with a fare list, signed by the City of Erfurt, which the siblings had drawn up. It should specify the fare only according to distance in 100-meter steps and, of necessity, would not take into account traffic-related delays, but would take into account waiting times caused by the passenger, the prices for which should also be listed.

According to the siblings Schwuchow, the Erfurt regulatory authority accepted their proposal. The Managing Director of the Thuringian State Association of Transport (LTV), Martin Kammer, found the idea good and has since disseminated it in a press release. He calls on taxi operators from other regions of Thuringia to obtain the consent of their competent licensing authority, which, in his experience, are open to the procedure. According to Kammer, taxi operators in other regions of Thuringia already had similar ideas, for example in Gera.

↑ back to index ↑

Hamburg: Impressive track record for fiscal taximeters

News from December 22, 2014 by Dietmar Fund

After the funding period ended, the traffic trade supervision authority praised the mobile trade of the Hanseatic city.

By the end of the funding period for the installation of so-called fiscal taximeters on November 30, 2014, 2,104 such devices had been installed in Hamburg. With this final balance, Dirk Ritter from the Traffic Trade Supervision Authority signed off for the Christmas holidays.

Ritter sees the high number of devices installed as a “strong signal from Hamburg’s taxi trade,” which wants to ensure fair conditions, including among itself, and to work professionally. This also represents an image gain for the dedicated authority representative.

As Ritter concludes, the number of Hamburg taxis has now fallen to 3,252. For comparison: At the end of January 1966, 3,391 taxis were operating in the Hanseatic city; at the end of April 2000, there were even 4,039.

↑ back to index ↑

Kienzle and Intax reduce taximeter prices

News from May 19, 2014 by Dietmar Fund

Both offer price benefits for a stripped-down model.

As the Taxi Ambassadors from the southern North Sea report, Kienzle Argo has reduced the price of its T21 taximeter to 499 euros after trimming the software. Intax did not want to be outdone with this substantial price advantage of 51 euros and is not charging a cent more for installing the device now called T21 Basic.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeters sold well

News from February 14, 2014 by Dietmar Fund

More than 1,500 taxis in Hamburg have already been equipped with a fiscal taximeter subsidized by the city.

With more than 2.2 million euros, the city of Hamburg has so far subsidized the installation of so-called fiscal taximeters. They are intended to prevent subsequent manipulation of the data recorded by the taximeter and thus prevent tax fiddling. They have already been installed in more than 1,500 taxis in the Hanseatic city. By mid-2014, more than 2,000 taxis are expected to be fitted. This is reported by Dirk Ritter. He is responsible for the mobile trade in the Traffic Trade Supervision Authority in the Authority for Economic Affairs, Transport and Innovation.

Ritter speaks of an overwhelming voluntary participation that could not have been expected on this scale. He sees it as a sign that large parts of Hamburg’s taxi operators continue to set a sign for a fair and honest taxi trade.

↑ back to index ↑

Grand C-MAX now again with taximeter roof console

News from December 18, 2013 by Tanja Schiefele

After a change to the Ford Grand C-MAX, the model could initially only be delivered with a universal mirror taximeter.

The wait is over. After a completely new mold build, Ford’s Grand C-MAX will now again be equipped with taximeter roof consoles. As taxi developer Intax told taxi heute, the proven DIN-format consoles for taximeters and distance recorders such as the Kienzle Argo T21 and for the HALE devices MTC/WSZ 04 to 06 are available again with immediate effect.

↑ back to index ↑

Hamburg: Funding for “fiscal taximeters” also in 2014

News from November 7, 2013 by Editorial staff (general)

According to the Authority for Economic Affairs, Transport and Innovation, Hamburg taxi operators will probably also be supported next year when purchasing taximeters that ensure tamper-proof recording, transmission, evaluation and storage of data.

However, the maximum funding amount for the taximeter, the digital signature unit including smartcard and installation will drop from the previous 1,500 euros to 1,000 euros next year and will be tied to a minimum usage period of two years. In connection with the application, the BWVi points out the following case variants:

Variant 1: The taxi company has a grant notification from 2013 for 1,500 euros funding valid until 12/31/13: The funding in the amount of 1,500 euros can be called up if the device installation takes place by 03/31/2014 at the latest. The prerequisite is that the grant notification expiring on 12/31/13 is extended until the installation date upon presentation of a written appointment confirmation for the installation (installation date at the latest on 03/31/14).

Variant 2: The taxi company does not yet have a grant notification and applies for one by 11/30/2013: Funding up to 1,500 euros is possible. However, since installation can probably only be carried out in 2014 due to workshop capacities, a written appointment confirmation for the installation (appointment again at the latest on 03/31/14) should be enclosed with the application so that the validity period of the grant notification can be set immediately until this date.

Variant 3: The grant notification expires on 12/31/13 and cannot be extended due to the lack of written confirmation from the workshop regarding installation (by 03/31/14): The company must apply for funding again for 2014 and will then receive only the funding amount of 1,000 euros.

Variant 4: Funding is applied for after 11/30/13: The grant notification will then only be processed in 2014 and will then be valid with a funding amount of 1,000 euros until 12/31/14.

According to the Authority for Economic Affairs, Transport and Innovation, 1,277 companies have so far submitted funding applications for a total of 2,436 taxis. Grant notifications have been approved for 2,271 taxis in 1,207 companies.

Around 1,100 taxis are already equipped with tamper-proof devices, and the TIM cards for device installation are ready in the workshops for around 600 more taxis.

(sk)

↑ back to index ↑

Berlin: Fiscal taximeter in pilot trial

News from February 24, 2011 by Editorial staff (general)

After the announcement of the Hamburg pilot project, the first tamper-proof taximeters are now also being tested in Berlin.

On Tuesday, a pilot trial started in the capital on the initiative of the Taxi Association Berlin-Brandenburg (TVB), in which taximeters are equipped with a chip that is supposed to make fraud impossible. The data is stored on it in a tamper-proof manner and transmitted to an external server. The project is supported by the Senate Department for Urban Development, the Berlin IHK and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB).

At the start of the test, only five taxis will be equipped with this “fiscal taximeter,” but it is not intended to remain that way. TVB Chairman Detlev Freutel wants to use this first phase to prove that the new procedure is an “extremely effective means” of combating revenue suppression and moonlighting.

For further dissemination of the tamper-proof taximeters, however, it would be necessary for the city of Berlin to support the project to a similar financial extent as the Senate in Hamburg, where, according to the Berlin Tagesspiegel, five million euros were made available for equipping the taxis.

The Taxi Association Berlin-Brandenburg expects the political decision-makers and the administration to recognize the need to launch a second project phase with 500 to 600 Berlin taxis participating.

(sk)

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter: TVD criticizes Finance Ministry

News from December 23, 2010 by Editorial staff (general)

With clear words of criticism, the Taxi Association Germany (TVD) reacted to the legally binding decision of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The retention obligation defined there for all types of cash registers fosters moonlighting in the rental car trade.

In principle, the approach of the Federal Ministry of Finance is a correct step in combating moonlighting and gray work in the taxi trade, emphasized TVD board member Matthias Schmidt.

However, the retention obligation makes no sense as long as it does not apply to all vehicles used in passenger transport. There is currently no obligation to enter the collected fare into the fare indicator. “Thus, the ‘fiscal taximeter’ or ‘fiscal distance recorder’ only certifies the trip that was manually recorded; flat-rate trips mostly remain outside,” Schmidt criticized. These cash revenues are not recorded. The most recent experiences with so-called minicab operators in the Ortenau district have shown that the investigative authorities are reaching their limits due to inadequate regulations.

The TVD therefore expressed the fear that irregularly operating companies would continue to conduct a ruinous price war, as they can be exempted from the obligation to install a distance recorder and report only a small proportion of revenue.

Such an approach would be possible due to the support of the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry’s decision must therefore urgently be revised in order to prevent the failure of what is in itself the right idea.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter through the back door

News from December 10, 2010 by Editorial staff (general)

In a letter dated November 26, 2010, the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) defined to the tax offices the retention of digital documents for cash transactions and, in doing so, also specified the requirements for taximeters and distance recorders.

Accordingly, all tax-relevant individual data must be retained in an unalterable and complete manner. This also applies to the digital documents created using a taximeter or distance recorder. These must be in an evaluable data format. The exclusive retention of documents that must be retained in printed form is not sufficient.

If complete storage of all tax-relevant data within a taximeter or distance recorder is not possible, they must be retained in an unalterable and machine-evaluable way on an external data carrier.

However, the letter also admits that taximeters and distance recorders may be used without objection until the end of 2016 at the latest, provided they do not meet the legal requirements mentioned.

The letter is an administrative decree to the tax offices and is binding for them.  

We will send subscribers of taxi heute the original wording of the letter as a PDF on request. Please request at redaktion@taxi-heute.de.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter through the back door – first reactions

News from December 10, 2010 by Editorial staff (general)

The indirect introduction of the fiscal taximeter by the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) has already triggered initial reactions within the trade.

For example, the BZP sees in the BMF decree the introduction of “a kind of fiscal taximeter” and complains that the problem of the insufficient recording of rental car operators, with the consequence of the risk of a “flight to rental cars,” remains unresolved. However, the BZP is not yet ready for a more detailed substantive assessment. “The BZP’s committees will deal with the letter and the consequences arising from it in a timely manner,” it says in information to members.

The Taxi Association Germany (TVD) interpreted the BMF letter in such a way that it introduced the “fiscal taximeter” and the “fiscal distance recorder.” This would mean that, upon publication in the Federal Tax Gazette Part I, all German taxi and rental car companies would have to expand their existing devices accordingly or replace them by December 31, 2016 at the latest.

The two most important taximeter manufacturers Hale and Kienzle emphasized that the recording requirements formulated in the letter cannot be met by the current devices.

In such a case, the BMF letter allows further use without objection until 12/31/2016, but requires that “the taxpayer carry out technically possible software adjustments and memory expansions with the aim of meeting the statutory requirements specified in this letter.”

It remains unclear which technically possible software adjustments a taxi and rental car operator would have to carry out. In Hamburg, a pilot project is about to start in which the data – signed in a tamper-proof manner – is transmitted from the taximeter to an external trust center.

Thomas Krause, who initiated the pilot project, would have preferred the BMF to wait for these results. “In Hamburg, we are already a long way on, the Hamburg Senate relies on a trust center solution. The taximeters available today do not allow data to be stored in the device,” says Krause. “With a memory taximeter that can be dismantled in a few simple steps and disposed of in the Elbe, that doesn’t make much sense either. The linchpin is the unchangeability of the taximeter data. For this, we use an electronic signature procedure developed by the PTB. Without a reliable electronic signature, there is no fiscal taximeter. Non-signed taximeter data is worthless because it does not comply with the Principles of Proper Computerized Accounting Systems (GoBS). In Hamburg, there is experience with electronically altered taximeter data. The connected trust center is indispensable because only in this way can permissible changes (write-ups and write-downs) be cleanly logged.”

Manfred Schröder, whose company Payco has a product that also reads data directly from the taximeter (albeit unsigned), points to another passage in the BMF letter: it states that data must be read to an external data carrier in an unalterable and machine-evaluable way if the devices do not allow complete storage of all tax-relevant data. The Hamburg tax office, when asked, did not indicate that data storage must take place via an external trust center, Schröder reports. Rather, it must simply be proven that the revenue data was stored in an unalterable manner and that every change to supplementary data is marked.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter through the back door – legal basis

News from December 10, 2010 by Editorial staff (general)

Has the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) introduced the fiscal taximeter with its letter of November 26, 2010? Experts answer this question with a clear “yes.” In purely legal terms, this is not a new law or a draft law but a so-called “decree.”

BMF letters are decrees issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance in agreement with the federal states. These must be observed by the tax authorities and therefore have a “binding effect” for the tax administration. However, this binding effect does not apply to courts. If, for example, a tax estimate occurs due to the BMF’s directive (because the data submitted is not recognized), the affected entrepreneur has the option of filing a lawsuit against it. In turn, a judge will have to rule according to existing laws and ordinances.

The legal basis of the BMF decree of November 26, 2010 is Section 147 (2) of the Fiscal Code (AO), the Principles of proper computerized accounting systems (GoBS) of November 7, 1995 and the Principles of data access and verifiability of digital documents (GDPdU) of July 16, 2001.

According to Section 147, Paragraph 1 of the AO, all documents that are significant for taxation must be retained in an orderly manner by the entrepreneur. In addition, according to Paragraph 2 of the same section, since January 1, 2002, documents created using a data processing system must be available at any time during the retention period, immediately readable and machine-evaluable. According to the BMF, taximeters and distance recorders as well as the digital documents produced with their help must therefore comply with the GDPdU in addition to the GoBS.

GoBS is an “administrative instruction” that regulates “bookkeeping using data processing systems.” Here you can find the original wording of the GoBS.

- The invoice must bear a qualified electronic signature (facsimile signatures are not sufficient),

- The recipient must check the signature for data integrity and signature authorization and document the result,

- The recipient must store the invoice on a data carrier that no longer allows changes,

- The recipient must log the receipt of the invoice, its conversion and the further processing and archiving,

- The recipient must ensure that the transmission, archiving and conversion systems comply with the GoBS.

The GDPdU is also an administrative instruction. Here you can find the original wording. 

↑ back to index ↑

Do German taxi operators have to install Polish fiscal taximeters?

News from November 25, 2010 by Editorial staff (general)

There is currently great uncertainty among German taxi operators in the border areas with Poland. They apparently are to be obliged to bill the Polish part of cross-border trips with the Polish tax authorities using a separate taximeter.

For half a year now, there has been a decision by the tax office in Warsaw, according to IHK information, according to which bus operators must pay a levy to the Polish tax authority per passenger for cross-border trips. As became known on Tuesday of this week at an IHK information event in Görlitz, taxi operators are now also to be asked to pay.

Apparently, from December 1, they are to be obliged to install a separate taximeter and switch it on from the Polish border. In addition, they will have to regularly submit a tax return to the tax office in Warsaw. Exactly what this regulation looks like, how it is to be implemented in practice and what penalties taxi operators can expect if they do not comply is still completely unclear at this point in time.

Neither the Saxon Association of Taxi and Rental Car Operators nor the IHK could provide detailed information to taxi heute at this time. A taxi operator from Görlitz who attended the IHK event and with whom we spoke still lacks clarity afterwards about how he will have to behave in future on trips to Poland and what additional costs this will mean for him.

(sk)

↑ back to index ↑

Mercedes plays down restrictions on the mirror taximeter

News from November 12, 2009 by Editorial staff (general)

The mirror taximeter can hit the cover of the light and rain sensor at extreme adjustment angles but does not cause malfunctions.

Last week we quoted from a blog reporting problems with adjusting the mirror taximeter in the new W 212. With extreme adjustments of the mirror, it hit the cover of the light and rain sensor. A spokesman for the Mercedes-Benz sales organization clarified to taxi heute that this does not cause any technical impairments or malfunctions of the light and rain sensor. However, it is possible that unusual and extreme seating positions (e.g. for small people in a very low seating position or with a pronouncedly reclined backrest) can lead to restrictions in the field of view of the rear-view mirror. This problem can, however, be quickly resolved at Mercedes-Benz partner workshops.

↑ back to index ↑

Taximeter readout orderable ex factory

News from October 2, 2008 by Editorial staff (general)

Intax has now integrated Cey contacts into all its taxi packages.

As the Oldenburg-based company reports, the taximeter wiring harnesses in all taxi packages have been expanded by two cores for the HALE “Cey-Contact” and the Kienzle “Key-Contact.” The corresponding systems can therefore be optionally ordered right when the vehicle is purchased.

↑ back to index ↑

Fiscal taximeter put on ice?

News from August 7, 2008 by Editorial staff (general)

Last week, the Federal Cabinet adopted the draft bill to combat moonlighting and illegal employment. While this brings stricter ID and reporting obligations, it apparently initially dispenses with the originally planned taximeter with cash register function.

The most important innovations, which would then come into force on January 1 of the following year after a successful legislative process, are: Employees from sectors with a lot of moonlighting such as construction or gastronomy, but also from passenger transport, must then always carry official ID documents. The social insurance card will no longer be sufficient from January 1. In addition, new employment relationships in the sectors mentioned must be reported to the pension insurance provider from the first day instead of with the first payroll as is currently the case. Furthermore, residents’ registration offices are to transmit addresses directly to the pension insurance. According to news agency Reuters, the plans to introduce cash registers with a “smart card function” have initially been put on ice. However, the chip is not off the table yet, Reuters reports further, citing the Finance Ministry. Whether the “postponement” has to do with resistance from business, which criticizes the high costs, or with technical difficulties in introducing it (taxi heute reported extensively on this in its July 2008 print edition) or what else led the ministers to drop it, could not be determined so far.

↑ back to index ↑

Federal Government wants to introduce tamper-proof taximeters

News from June 12, 2008 by Editorial staff (general)

With an “Action Program for Law and Order in the Labor Market,” the Federal Government wants to make taximeter data readable and controllable in its fight against moonlighting.

The draft was jointly prepared by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Finance. The goal of this action is clearly defined: the fight against moonlighting and illegal employment is to be further intensified. For this purpose, a fineable obligation to carry ID papers is planned, for example. The original idea of introducing a chip card would then no longer be necessary, as an official ID would be sufficient to establish identification, for example to check registration status with the statutory pension insurance. In return, however, the obligation to carry the social insurance card could be waived. Only a few weeks ago it was decided to impose fines of up to 1,000 euros for not carrying the social insurance card. In addition, the draft, which is to go through the legislative process in the summer and come into force on January 1, provides for the introduction of immediate reporting. Currently, the start of an employment subject to insurance must be reported with the next payroll between the 1st and 5th of a month. With automated fill-in aids at the time of commencement of employment, the data is to be stored in a special file. The inspection service of the pension insurance companies, the customs authorities in the area of combating moonlighting (FKS) and the employers’ liability insurance associations would then have access to these data. Based on the proposals drawn up by the Federal-State working group “Cash Registers,” “cryptic safeguards of bookings in electronic cash registers, scales, taximeters and distance recorders using a smart card function” are to be introduced in future. This will make manipulations of taximeters and distance recorders, insofar as they have a cash register function, detectable. A cash register audit is also required. Those who violate the recording obligation are to be fined in future. To make it clear that the measures mentioned can be applied in the taxi and rental car trade, the provisions on the operation of motor transport companies in passenger transport are to be correspondingly supplemented in passenger transport law.

↑ back to index ↑

Topic of the month: Does the industry need a fiscal taximeter?

News from March 18, 2004 by Editorial staff (general)

In a resolution “for the effective combating of moonlighting in the taxi trade and the creation of fair competition” dated February 13, 2004, the Bundesrat called on the Federal Government to promptly take measures that are suitable for curbing the recognized abuses in the German taxi and rental car trade as well. The proposals of the working group of the Federal-State specialist committee “Road Passenger Transport” should be taken into account. Their proposals ultimately amount to the mandatory use of a fiscal taximeter.

Both the BZP and the Taxi Association Germany (TVD) have vehemently opposed the introduction of a fiscal taximeter in an official statement. According to the BZP, the purchase of a fiscal taximeter would cost 1,500 euros per vehicle. Both associations also doubt the effectiveness of a fiscal taximeter. For example, technical tamper protection cannot be achieved. Experience from other European countries where the fiscal taximeter is already in use has shown this. Moreover, a fiscal taximeter does not take into account flat-rate trips such as those possible in taxi operations outside the compulsory carriage area and in the rental car sector in general. Private use by sole proprietors cannot be shown separately either. Control is also possible in other ways Instead of an expensive fiscal taximeter, the two federal associations point to existing control instruments. For example, the obligatory social insurance card that must be carried is only rarely checked, the BZP accuses the authorities. The TVD refers to its own proposals, which in its opinion would curb the extent of moonlighting in the trade, such as a driver’s ID with photo visibly attached to the dashboard, with the social insurance number or other necessary data also given on the back. Wrong figures Furthermore, the federal associations criticize the amount of the “damage figures,” which, according to the states of Lower Saxony and Berlin that submitted the application, are said to be between 1 and 1.3 billion euros. In the opinion of the TVD, this figure is completely exaggerated, as hourly revenues in the taxi trade have now dropped significantly below 10 euros. “Politics is called upon to bring about positive changes instead of criminalizing an entire profession that largely works properly and, with great personal commitment, continues to provide its services to maintain the mobility of broad sections of the population.” Lack of will However, this will could not be seen in politics at present, the TVD continues in its statement and refers to point 3 of the resolution request originally submitted by the federal states of Lower Saxony and Berlin. It called for “developing measures that help improve the economic framework conditions, particularly for small taxi and rental car companies.” This point was not included in the later decision of February 13, with the bland note “Point 3 is to be deleted.” What is your opinion? Also take part in our question of the month on this topic: As a taxi operator, do you support the introduction of a fiscal taximeter to effectively combat moonlighting and create fair competition? You can vote via the homepage of www.taxi-heute.de. After voting, you can then share your opinion via the “Submit comment” field.

↑ back to index ↑

Taximeters and fiscal taximeters: basics

A taximeter is a device subject to verification that is used in taxis to calculate fares correctly based on distance and time. It ensures that passengers pay a transparent, comprehensible price and that billing vis-à-vis authorities and supervisory bodies is correct.

Since the introduction of the fiscalization requirement, special requirements apply to taximeters in Germany. A fiscal taximeter has a so-called technical security device (TSE). This ensures that all billing-relevant data is recorded in an unalterable manner and stored tamper-proof. This is intended to prevent tax fraud and create legally compliant documentation.

The data from the fiscal taximeter must be readable electronically, for example for tax authorities as part of a cash register audit. For taxi companies, this means investments in new technology and an obligation to retrofit on time.

↑ back to index ↑

FAQ: Taximeters & fiscal taximeters

What is a fiscal taximeter?
A fiscal taximeter is a taximeter with an integrated technical security device (TSE) that stores trip data in a tamper-proof manner.

Since when has the fiscal taximeter been mandatory?
The obligation to use fiscal taximeters was introduced in Germany step by step from 2021. Transition periods and regional regulations led to staggered implementation.

What data does a fiscal taximeter store?
Among other things, it stores trip distance, trip duration, start and end time, price calculation and receipt data. The TSE prevents subsequent changes.

How do the authorities carry out checks?
As part of cash register audits, tax authorities can read data from the fiscal taximeter and check it for plausibility.

Do all taxis have to be retrofitted?
Yes, in principle all taxi companies are obliged to equip their vehicles with a fiscal taximeter that complies with the legal requirements.

What costs are incurred by taxi companies?
Costs vary depending on the manufacturer and model. In addition to the fiscal taximeter itself, installation and maintenance costs are often incurred.

↑ back to index ↑

Content automatically translated.