MEV-WEB: what Quebec restaurant operators need to know

For years, restaurant compliance in Quebec came down to a grey box sitting between the register and the printer: the sales recording module, or MEV. That box has been replaced. In its place there is now a cloud service called MEV-WEB, and a certified sales recording system that talks to it.

If you operate a restaurant establishment in Quebec, this affects you directly. Here is what matters, without the administrative vocabulary.

Who is covered

According to Revenu Québec, if you operate a restaurant establishment, whether that is a restaurant, a bar or a catering business, you are subject to the mandatory billing measures.

The scope reaches further than most people expect. It also covers people who habitually supply goods or services inside a restaurant establishment, at its entrance or nearby, where alcoholic beverages are served under a bar permit.

A tourist accommodation establishment such as an inn or a bed and breakfast that offers restaurant or bar service may also be subject. There are exclusions as well. A public service body that is a small supplier and operates a restaurant establishment is not covered by these measures.

If your situation is not obvious, say a counter inside a larger shop, a seasonal canteen or occasional catering, that is exactly the sort of case worth having Revenu Québec confirm rather than assuming.

What actually changed

The old model relied on a physical device. Every bill passed through the MEV, which recorded it and stamped it with the required data.

The new model has three steps. Your sales recording system, the SEV, collects the transaction data. It transmits that data securely to MEV-WEB, Revenu Québec's cloud environment, which validates and retains it. MEV-WEB then transmits it on to Revenu Québec.

Since June 1, 2025, operators subject to the measures must transmit their transaction data using a certified SEV designed to communicate with MEV-WEB, and must give every customer an invoice produced by that same certified SEV.

The important word in that sentence is certified. A point-of-sale program that works well is not automatically a certified SEV. Certification is an official recognition granted to specific solutions, and confirming it is the first thing to ask your supplier about.

The old MEV no longer runs

Since August 19, 2025, most MEV modules still in service stopped functioning, for security reasons. This is no longer a transition to plan for. It is behind us.

Revenu Québec notes that you are not required to deactivate or reset your old MEV device in order to make the transition. If you choose to do so, do it after installing and configuring your new certified SEV, never before. A box unplugged too early leaves you without a compliant solution during the installation.

Don't unplug anything until the new system is producing correct invoices. The order of operations matters more than the speed.

The obligation to hand over an invoice hasn't changed

Under the old regime and the new one alike, the operator of a restaurant establishment has an obligation to give the customer an invoice, without delay and at all times.

That applies to the lunch table and the takeaway coffee, to the delivered order and the one picked up at the counter. Without delay means at the moment of the transaction, not later, and at all times means the customer should not have to ask.

It is also the most visible point during an inspection, because it isn't checked in a file. It is observed at the counter.

What doing nothing costs

Revenu Québec is explicit: an operator who does not use a certified SEV designed to communicate with MEV-WEB is exposed to penalties, fines and other sanctions.

The risk isn't only financial. A non-compliant system also complicates tax filings and your accountant's work, because the sales data does not carry the same traceability.

Four checks to make this week

• Ask your point-of-sale supplier, in writing, to confirm that your solution is a certified SEV designed to communicate with MEV-WEB, and under exactly what name it is listed with Revenu Québec.
• Take an invoice printed today and compare it against the requirements Revenu Québec publishes for the restaurant sector.
• Confirm that data transmission is genuinely happening: your supplier should be able to show you where to verify it.
• Train counter staff on one reflex: the invoice is always handed over, without being asked for.

If any doubt remains about whether you are covered or whether your setup is compliant, put the question to Revenu Québec directly. It is the only source that can settle it, and a written answer beats an assumption that runs for three years.