Facts to Know About the 2021 E-Document Transition in Turkey

2020 was significant for the mandatory transition to e-transformation applications following the General Communique issued by the Turkish Revenue Administration (TRA). 2021 will be a year of mandatory transition to various e-documents for taxpayers.

Who must use e-invoice from 2021?

• Taxpayers with gross sales revenue of TRY 5 million and above in 2020 and all subsequent financial periods must use e-invoice application from the beginning of the seventh month of the year of the following year.
• Taxpayers, who are operating under the Special Consumption Tax Law No. 4760 and with an Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) license, must use e-invoice from the beginning of the fourth month after they began their activities in 2020 or the following years.
• According to the Special Consumption Tax (SCT) Law, those who manufacture, construct and/or import certain goods in 2020 or the following years must use the e-invoice application from the beginning of the fourth month after the SCT taxpayer registration is created or they start manufacturing, construction or importation.
• Those running an e-commerce business or providing intermediary services through the internet must complete their applications and transition preparations for 2020 or the following financial years. New taxpayers have to complete the applications and transition preparations within three months of the date they start paying taxes.
• Taxpayers engaged in the fruit and vegetable trade as brokers or merchants must use the e-invoice application as of July 1, 2020 or the following financial years. Taxpayers who will start a new job have to complete the applications and transition preparations within three months of the start date.
• Those who must use the e-invoice application because of the mandatory transition to the e-delivery note or the e-arşiv invoice application must use e-invoice from the starting date of transition to the e-delivery note or the e-arşiv invoice application.

What to know about using e-arşiv invoice and e-ledger

All companies with a gross sales revenue above TRY 5 million for 2020 onwards must use the e-invoice and e-arşiv invoice applications from the seventh month of the following year as it’s mandatory for taxpayers who are included in the e-invoice application to also use e-arşiv invoice in accordance to the General Communique on the Tax Procedural Law No. 509.

Companies that were required to use e-invoice and e-arşiv invoice as of July 1, 2020 will also be subject to the e-ledger application as of January 1, 2021.

Companies with gross sales revenue above 5 million TRY for 2020 have to use e-invoice and e-arşiv invoice as of July 1, 2021. Plus, they will be obliged to use the e-ledger as of January 1, 2022.

TRA updates to the e-ledger application

The TRA introduced several e-ledger updates in 2020. It is now possible to upload the e-ledger summary report (berat) on a monthly basis or in temporary tax periods. Taxpayers will be able to submit ledgers on a monthly or quarterly basis.

It’s mandatory to keep e-ledgers and the related secondary copies of e-ledger summary reports (berat) in the TRA system. The transfer dates for the 2020 e-ledgers and secondary copies of e-ledger summary reports to the TRA system are as follows:

• January – February – March period of 2020: due on January 15, 2021
• April – May – June period of 2020: due on February 15, 2021
• July – August – September period of 2020: due on March 15, 2021
• October – November – December period of 2020: due on April 15, 2021

The mandatory transition for the e-ticket application began on
January 1, 2021

According to General Communique No. 509 published by the TRA, the enterprises engaged in intercity transportation are now required to use the e-ticket application. The relevant companies were informed to complete e-transformation preparations by December 31, 2020.

From 2021 onwards businesses will have to begin using the e-ticket application from the fourth month after they began activities.