Over 733,000 sole traders, companies, or associations in the Czech Republic have not yet registered for the compulsory data box, which was introduced for them earlier this year. This could lead to difficulties because they cannot file a tax return. Furthermore, more severe problems could result in enforcement proceedings against them. Classic paper correspondence from government agencies or courts will not be received by those with a data box, which has become mandatory.
The Czech Ministry of the Interior has sent two million letters containing login details for the new data boxes, but over 321,000 people have yet to pick them up. Although hundreds of thousands of individuals have registered for the data box, many have not.
Data boxes have been introduced for sole traders, including those with suspended businesses, associations, community groups, charities, and public benefit companies. Hana Malá, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, pointed out that the legal fiction of delivery applied equally to electronic communication with the government as to paper letters.
Failure to register with the mandatory data box can paralyze a person, said Josef Jaroš, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Entrepreneurs of the Czech Republic. The subject cannot file a tax return, or there will be a legal fiction of delivery with all possible consequences. Mesršmíd, the head of the information agency, believes that the number of active users will increase because of the approaching deadline for tax returns. Sole traders who own a data box are now required to file their tax returns electronically, and they can do so with a data box until 2 May.
The Ministry of the Interior has attempted to make adopting data boxes easier. For example, an information page and a guide to data boxes have been provided on its website. There is also a list of certified providers responsible for verifying the individual or company’s identity. However, a significant number of people still have not signed up for data boxes, which could lead to serious legal problems.