What is an e-Invoice (e-Fatura) in Turkey and how is it issued?

What is an e-Invoice?

An e-Invoice (e-Fatura) is an invoice issued, transmitted and stored electronically in line with the standards set by the Turkish Revenue Administration (GİB). It contains all the information an invoice must include under the Tax Procedure Law (VUK) and has the same legal standing as a paper invoice.

An e-Invoice can only be issued between taxpayers registered in the e-Invoice system. Invoices issued to buyers that are not registered in the system are issued as e-Archive Invoices (e-Arşiv).

Who is required to use e-Invoice?

The e-Invoice requirement is set by the VUK General Communiqués published by GİB. Taxpayers whose gross sales revenue exceeds the threshold set in the communiqué, as well as taxpayers in certain fields of activity, must switch to the e-Invoice application.

Because threshold amounts and transition dates are updated periodically, you should check the current values in GİB's e-Document announcements. Businesses outside the scope of the requirement can also become e-Invoice users voluntarily.

How is an e-Invoice issued?

The basic steps for issuing an e-Invoice are:

• Obtain a financial seal (mali mühür, for legal entities) or a qualified electronic signature (for individuals).
• Apply to GİB for e-Invoice; the business uses either the GİB portal, a private integrator (özel entegratör, a GİB-authorized service provider) or direct integration.
• Create the invoice in UBL-TR format, sign it and send it to the buyer.
• Check whether the buyer is an e-Invoice taxpayer; if not, the same sale is issued as an e-Archive Invoice.

Basic rules

• Late issuance: Under the Tax Procedure Law, an invoice must be issued within 7 days of the delivery of goods or the performance of the service; a special irregularity penalty may apply to invoices that exceed this period.
• Cancellation: A successfully transmitted e-Invoice can be canceled by the buyer rejecting it in the case of a commercial invoice; for accepted invoices, the buyer issues a return invoice.
• Retention: e-Invoices must be stored electronically for the period required by the legislation and be available for submission when requested.
• Paper invoices: Paper invoices cannot be issued between e-Invoice taxpayers.

e-Invoice with Factorbooks

In Factorbooks, e-Invoice runs on the same platform as the sales and purchasing modules. The sales invoice is created in the relevant module; the system creates an e-Invoice or an e-Archive Invoice depending on the buyer's status and sends it to your private integrator. Incoming e-Invoices are linked to the related records. According to our product scope list, outgoing and incoming e-Invoice are included in all packages.