They were supposed to disappear at the start of this new year 2023, but the receipts are resisting. April 1 was supposed to be the final date, but it is not. A decree published in the Official Journal of the French Republic illustrates this postponement: “In article 2 of the aforementioned decree of December 14, 2022, the word: April is replaced by the word: August”. Even if the receipt can always be printed at the request of the customer, this will mark a turning point in the life of French households.
According to the government, this new postponement will serve and help the French in the face of constantly rising prices since the summer of 2021. At the start of 2023, inflation reached 7.2%, up to 8, 5% in February and more than 10% at the end of March. Faced with these figures that make a whole country dizzy, the decision to postpone was taken. Inflation is the main reason for postponing this measure initiated by the fight against waste voted in February 2020.
Thanks to this reprieve until August 1, consumers will thus be able to continue to control their purchases at the supermarket, as Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate for Trade and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, told Le Parisien: “We have feedback from the field, we are talking with consumer associations, with large retailers, who tell us that in the face of inflation, many French people want to check the accuracy of the amount of the shopping they do”. However, some retailers have already taken the initiative to partially remove the receipt by asking customers whether they want it or not.
Despite the announcement of this removal on August 1, many uncertainties remain since this measure depends on the value and percentage of inflation, as confirmed by the Minister’s office: “We have always said, when we postponed to April 1, which could still be postponed, if inflation remained high. We have been monitoring price developments and we do not believe that the time is right for the measure to come into force.
In addition, September is a good time for back-to-school shopping, so it is likely that another postponement will be pronounced by then.
