Quality Mark Reliable POS Systems

Transcription

1 Declaration of Intent Quality Mark Reliable POS Systems 1. Preamble Suppliers and Manufacturers of POS Systems (hereinafter called: Market Participants, also see Annex 1 for definitions) and the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration, DTCA (hereinafter collectively called Parties ), wish to stimulate compliance with fiscal obligations and, at the same time, wish to reduce the administrative burden on entrepreneurs. Parties realize that collaboration may be beneficial for Market Participants and will also serve the enforcement goals of the DTCA. The aforementioned collaboration will result in a Quality Mark and Statement of Delivery for POS Systems. The Quality Mark and the Statement of Delivery will be developed by the Market Participants. The DTCA intends to contribute to the formulation of the specification standards required for the Quality Mark and the Statement of Delivery. The DTCA will also contribute to the development of the requirements which Market Participants must comply with for being allowed to carry the Quality Mark for their POS Systems or to provide a Statement of Delivery upon delivery of a POS System. The DTCA and Market Participants consult together, and Market Participants also mutually, in the Working Group POS Systems. In this Working Group the surplus value of a Quality Mark and Statement of Delivery has become evident, because it may contribute to compliance, uniformity, reliability and a reduction in administrative burdens. Parties express their intentions to support and to contribute to the Quality Mark and the Statement of Delivery. 2. Principles Declaration of Intent Market Participants commit themselves to realizing a Quality Mark and a Statement of Delivery, whilst striving after collaboration with the DTCA on the basis of mutual trust, understanding and transparency. The initiative to realize the Quality Mark and the Statement of Delivery lies with Market Participants. When developing the Quality Mark, Market Participants make it their aim to implement the requirements and recommendations of the DTCA and the Advisory Group with respect to POS Systems, for instance with regard to data sharing, standards and period of retention;. Market Participants supplying Open as well as those supplying Closed POS Systems may join in this Declaration of Intent, although the Quality Mark is only issued for Closed POS Systems, provided they meet the requirements specified for the Quality Mark.

2 An Entity will be established which will grant and administer the Quality Mark. Regarding the Statement of Delivery this Entity will determine what Market Participants are allowed to issue a Statement of Delivery. The board of the Entity will be appointed by the Market Participants. Parties seek the best possible quality at the lowest possible cost in realizing the Quality Mark. Parties shall, in consultation with stakeholders and/or the government, seek sufficient funding to ensure (further) development of the quality Quality Mark. In order to promote the use of the Quality Mark by entrepreneurs and the issue of the Statement of Delivery, Market Participants may declare widely that the DCTA attaches great value to the Quality Mark and the Statement of Delivery. Market Participants may make visible to the general public that, by being allowed to carry the Quality Mark and to issue the Statement of Delivery, they meet the validating standards of the DTCA. The DTCA contributes to the development and maintenance of the specification standards on which the Quality Mark and the Statement of Delivery are based. The DTCA will, whenever necessary, pay attention to the existence of the Quality Mark and the Statement of Delivery. The DTCA will refer other suppliers and manufacturers who are developing a similar Quality Mark for POS Systems and/or Statement of Delivery to the initiative at hand. 3. Participation in Declaration of Intent, granting of Quality Mark and issue of Statement of Delivery Market Participants are free to join this Declaration of Intent. Registration may take place via Registration for this Declaration of Intent does not mean that the Market Participant concerned has been granted the Quality Mark for his POS System(s), but only indicates that the Market Participant intends to have his POS System(s) meet the necessary specification standards and intends to comply with the roadmap (see Annex 2) and the specification standards (see Annex 3 and 4). Registration for this Declaration of Intent is only possible for Suppliers and Manufacturers who intend to take sufficient technical and organizational measures to guarantee conformity of their POS Systems to laws and regulations. After having signed the Declaration of Intent, Market Participants will abstain from activities that conflict with the Quality Mark to be developed. Registration for this Declaration of Intent is not possible for Market Participants who are subject to investigation by the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) or a similar organization, or who are being prosecuted as a result of such an investigation; this also goes for Suppliers and Manufacturers who, following such an investigation, have been found guilty of fraud. The Quality Mark will be definitely granted by an Entity, still to be established, with an independent board. A Market Participant may only carry the Quality Mark for Closed POS Systems which meet the specification standards. However, it is possible that only part of the Market Participant s assortment meets the required specification standards and may be granted the Quality Mark. In addition to being allowed to grant the Quality Mark for a Closed POS System, a Supplier may also issue a Statement of Delivery for an Open POS System in compliance with the specification standards as laid down in Annex 4. Market Participants will in their own time and for their own account ensure they comply with the specification standards required for the Quality Mark and the Statement of Delivery.

3 4. Quality Safeguards In order to ensure the quality of the Mark, Market Participants intend to carry out recurrent reviews of the participants in the Quality Mark. The review referred to will be worked out further as described in the roadmap in Annex 2. Market Participants have the intention to have the Quality Mark accredited. Indications whether or not Market Participants should fail to meet the requirements of the Quality Mark or should grant inaccurate Statements of Delivery are to be brought before the Working Group by participants. Once the Entity has been established, such issues are reported to the Entity. The Entity responsible for the reviews of the Quality Mark participants also verifies the correctness of the Statements of Delivery granted by Market Participants. If the Quality Mark proves to offer sufficient quality, the DTCA intends to take the value of the Quality Mark and the Statement of Delivery into account, when monitoring entrepreneurs who are using a Quality Mark POS System. 5. Duration, coming into force, termination and evaluation This Declaration of Intent comes into force for an indefinite period of time, as of the signing by Parties. Any Party may terminate this Declaration of Intent in writing at any time. The Working Group POS Systems will, during the term this Declaration of Intent is in force, evaluate the way this Declaration of Intent is implemented. A report of this evaluation will be made available to the Parties concerned. Parties The Hague, April 18 th, 2011 Place/Date Organization: The Ministry of Finance P.W.A. Veld, MA Name/function: Director-General Dutch Tax and Customs Administration signature

4 Annex 1: Definitions POS Systems: all the hardware, software and other products and service s that are used for cash registers or any other systems for payments and registration; in this Declaration of Intent a POS System is understood to be a Closed or Open POS System. Closed POS Systems: POS Systems with which all possible technical measures have been taken to prevent abuse and to ensure the integrity of data, such as security and encryption. These POS Systems must meet the specification standards as defined in Annex 3 of this Declaration of Intent. Open POS Systems: POS Systems which have an equal or lesser degree of security than Closed POS Systems. Two categories are distinguished: Open POS Systems which may meet the specification standards as laid down in Annex 3 but have no Quality Mark and Open POS Systems which fail to meet the specification standards laid down in Annex 3. Meeting Reliable POS Systems: the consultative body which the Working Group POS Systems has established and which has been instructed to explore the possibilities of realizing a Quality Mark; Quality Mark: a certificate which guarantees that a Closed POS System meets a set of requirements further to be specified (the specification standard, see Annex 3). Statement of Delivery: a statement issued by the Market Participant when delivering an Open POS System in which the Market Participant states a) not to collaborate in case of intentional abuse of the Open POS System and b) states that he has not willfully prepared the Open POS System for such abuse. Advisory Group: the organizations that are considered to be interested parties in POS Systems. They have an advisory role in the realization of the Quality Mark. Participants: the Market Participants who have joined the (still to be established) Entity that may grant the Quality Mark. Market Participant: a Supplier and/or Manufacturer who has signed this Declaration of Intent. Supplier: a Market Participant who supplies POS Systems to (end)users. Manufacturer: a Market Participant who manufactures POS Systems. Working Group POS Systems: working group which discusses the possibilities of collaboration between Parties concerned and the realization of the Quality Mark. Annex 2: Roadmap April 18, 2011: Parties make an estimate of the cost necessary for maintaining the Entity that grants and administers the Quality Mark. April 18, 2011: Parties sign this Declaration of Intent.

5 September 1, 2011: The Working Group POS Systems determines on the final version of the specification standards and the Entity that grants and administers the Quality Mark must be established before this date. July 1, 2013: As from this date, the Market Participants only deliver POS Systems with a Quality Mark or a Statement of Delivery. Annex 3: Specification Standards The specification standards will be based on the following three technical functional requirements: 1. Functions: The functions available in the POS System and the possible settings to influence those functions. Especially the possibility to deliver a standard POS System with a predefined number of settings and the requirement that alterations to these settings are always registered in the journal/audit trail (which cannot be changed or deleted). 2. Audit trail: The functionality of an audit trail, meaning that all modifications in the POS System (those in the registration, but also in settings, timers, etc.) are recorded. The manner of recording may vary per POS System. 3. Electronic recording: The functionality with which all transactions are recorded and stored electronically. Please note: to be made available for analysis with other software. The specification of the XML-audit file POS Systems gives the data needs both on an event and transaction level as well as a format. Where the latter remains a bridge too far, the basis is that what has been recorded can be supplied in detail, too. Also see the brochure on the website of the DTCA, Your cash register and fiscal accounting obligations (to be downloaded from the DTCA site: counting_obligations_on2001z1fdeng.pdf and "Your business and the POS System. The abovementioned requirements will be further stipulated in detail by the Working Group POS Systems, preferably principle based, but if this is not possible rule based. Annex 4: Specification Standards Statement of Delivery The specification standards for the Statement of Delivery will be based on the following requirements which the Suppliers of POS Systems must comply with: 1. Supplier will not supply or assist in supplying POS Systems or services which may enable the (end)user of the POS System to behave contradictory to the requirements and objectives of this Declaration of Intent. 2. Supplier will supply POS Systems which will solely support their originally intended functions in accordance with the conditions and objectives of this Declaration of Intent. These conditions must be further stipulated in detail, preferably principle based.