This blog was last updated on April 8, 2021
Taxpayers with annual gross sales of TRY 5 million and above are obliged to use e-invoice or e-arşiv invoice from 1 July 2020. Although the e-invoice has the same qualities as a paper invoice, there are occasions where it should be treated differently such as for cancellations and refunds.
What is a refund invoice?
A refund invoice is issued by the buyer when they want to return all or some of the received goods back to the seller.
There are two B2B e-invoice scenarios: commercial and basic. For the e-invoices created in commercial scenarios, the receiver can respond to the e-invoice and accept or reject it in seven days. In basic e-invoice scenarios, the receiver doesn’t have the option to respond. The sender ultimately decides although usually both parties agree and select the scenario.
E-arşiv invoice is sent directly to its recipient and doesn’t fall into the basic or commercial scenarios.
In electronic invoicing, refund invoices or cancellations fall under three headings:
- Refunds and cancellations of basic e-invoices
- Refunds and cancellations of commercial e-invoices
- Cancellations of e-arşiv invoices
Refunds and cancellations of basic e-invoices
Basic e-invoice is when the recipient receives the invoice from the sender through the Turkish Revenue Administration (TRA) platform. The recipient has no option to reply to reject or accept the received basic e-invoice through the application.
When the sender issues the invoice as a basic invoice, it’s marked as accepted/approved without the recipient’s approval. The recipient must issue a refund invoice if he/she wants to return the invoice.
If the recipient doesn’t want to record this process in their accounting records, he/she can reject the e-invoice via Registered Electronic Mail (REM) or notary. Another cancellation option is through the TRA portal. E-invoices can be cancelled with both parties’ approval by entering the TRA portal and using the financial seal.
Refunds and cancellations of commercial e-invoices
For e-invoices created in commercial scenarios, the recipient has an acceptance or rejection option. The sender looks for a response from the recipient through the system within seven days. If the recipient sends a rejection response within the prescribed time, a refund invoice isn’t needed. If the prescribed time passes, the reply option in the system would close and the receiver would have to issue a refund invoice.
Cancellation of e-arşiv invoices
E-arşiv invoice is an electronic invoice sent to individual customers or companies not registered in the e-invoice system. Each issued e-arşiv invoice is sent to its recipient as a hard copy or directly via electronic means like e-mail. A prescribed format daily report is sent to the TRA providing e-arşiv invoice data from the day.
The sender can cancel the e-arşiv invoice sent to its recipient and inform the receiver. Details of any cancelled e-arşiv invoices should be indicated in the daily report.
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