"Although their intentions were good, the actual requirement generated more cons than pros," said Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek.

The receipt rule was imposed by the ruling Social Democrats (ČSSD) earlier this month. Though the law to which it was attached also called for all businesses to have cash registers no later than 2007, the receipt section went into effect July 1.

Paroubek rescinded the rule 18 days later. "Businesses will be obliged to issue receipts only when requested by a customer," he said.

Imposing the duty to issue receipts for small purchases was not a good idea, he said, because it put an unfair burden on small businesses at a time when we should be finding ways to support the their development.

Taking a step back, Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, who pushed the bill through, agreed for slightly different reasons. He said requiring receipts before small businesses were required to obtain cash registers was an unnecessary burden.

The government's original ruling stipulated that businesses that failed to issue receipts would face fines of up to 1 million Kč. Though the rule was in force for 18 days, the government never took steps to enforce it.

Even so, the ruling on receipts brought chaos to some enterprises. While some businesses openly declared they would ignore the government's ruling, others began preparations for launching upgraded cashiers. For example, the Prague Transit Authority made plans to install new ticket dispensers at its stations later this summer so that receipts could be printed at the same time. Prague Transit Authority spokeswoman Michaela Kuchařová said the turn in the government strategy made preliminary investments into new IT systems a waste of money.For the vast majority of businesses, Paroubek's decision to do away with the receipt rule was a decided relief, said Bedřich Danda, chairman of the Association of Entrepreneurs. "The requirement was just an abuse of small businesses," Danda insisted.

The ruling requiring the issuance of receipts was tacked onto the bill requring cash registers by January 2007 adopted by the Chamber of Deputies. The cash register requirement is also under attack by small businesses and the Civic Democrats (ODS). It was originally rejected by the ODS-controlled Senate, but the Senate's veto was later overruled by the Chamber of Deputies, and the bill was signed into law by President Václav Klaus May 19.