1. Regulatory Context

With the adoption of the Finance Law 2026 in Algeria, the tax administration has introduced measures aimed at strengthening the fight against TVA fraud and the transparency of sales transactions. One of the major developments concerns the use of point-of-sale software or systems by companies subject to TVA that conduct transactions with non-professional customers (B2C).

Article 51 bis of the Turnover Tax Code now requires that these companies present, in the event of a tax audit, a compliance commitment or certificate for their point-of-sale software or system.

This provision is intended to be fully applied from 1 January 2027, offering a one-year transition period after the publication of the law.

2. Objectives of Certification

The purpose of certification is not to create a specific technological standard (such as NF525), but to ensure that:

• ➤ Recorded data cannot be fraudulently modified after validation (immutability).
• ➤ Data is protected against unauthorized access (security).
• ➤ Data is reliably preserved for a period determined by fiscal law.
• ➤ Data is archived with an audit trail usable for future inspections.

This framework is part of a general logic of fiscalization of payment systems and transparency of revenue to prevent under-reporting or manipulation of receipts.

3. Who is Concerned?

The following are subject to this obligation:

✔ Professionals subject to TVA who
• conduct sales or services without invoicing (direct sales to consumers),
• and record these transactions via point-of-sale software or a computer system.

✔ All types of IT solutions enabling B2C payment recording:
• cash registers,
• point of sale (POS) systems,
• invoicing software incorporating a payment collection function.

✔ SaaS / cloud solutions incorporating payment modules are also concerned as long as they handle payment collection.

4. Compliance Procedures

The law does not impose a catalogue standard (such as NF525) but frames the functional requirements for software compliance.

4.1 Commitment or certificate

Two possible routes to compliance:

1. Compliance commitment provided by the software publisher
   → The publisher commits to ensuring the solution meets all requirements for immutability, security, retention and archiving.
2. Certificate issued by an accredited body
   → An independent third-party provider attests that the solution meets the legal conditions.

In both cases, this document must be presented to the tax administration during an inspection, and must be dated, nominative, and directly linked to the version of the software used.

5. Technical Requirements to Meet

Without going into exact standards, here are the main principles that point-of-sale solutions must incorporate to be compliant:

5.1 Data immutability

Each recorded transaction must no longer be modifiable or deletable without a trace of timestamp and authentication.

5.2 Security

Payment data must be protected against unauthorized access, with robust security mechanisms such as encryption and access control.

5.3 Retention

Data must be stored reliably for a minimum period defined by fiscal regulations, allowing for retrieval during inspections.

5.4 Archiving and audit

Systems must include periodic archiving modules with the ability to identify closings, periods and movements to facilitate a tax audit.

6. Controls and Penalties

Controls :

During a tax inspection, the company must present:

• The software used (identified),
• The compliance commitment or corresponding certificate,
• The compliance report established by the publisher or accredited body.

Furthermore, the inspection may cover the entire computer system related to accounting and payment collection, including documentation, software versions and technical parameters.

Penalties for non-compliance :

The absence of a compliant commitment or certificate exposes the company to fiscal penalties provided for by the Turnover Tax Code:

• A fixed tax penalty (for example: 25,000 DA) for violations of transaction recording obligations.
• Failure to prove software compliance during an inspection may result in a reclassification of recoveries or additional penalties depending on the severity of the misconduct.

7. Stakes for Publishers and Users

For software publishers :

They must:

• Adjust their products to incorporate immutability and auditability requirements.
• Prepare a compliance file validated by an authorized body or provide a clearly documented commitment.

For business users :

They must:

• Require their publishers to provide a valid commitment or certificate.
• Ensure that the software versions used correspond to those covered by the commitment/certification.

Conclusion

As of 1 January 2027, the certification or compliance commitment for point-of-sale software becomes a structural obligation of the Algerian tax system for all TVA-liable professionals who record B2C transactions. This obligation is not merely administrative: it aims to secure payment flows, ensure the integrity of recorded fiscal data, and strengthen controls against TVA fraud.