E-Invoice Application - Prevention of Paper Invoice Usage

REPUBLIC OF TURKEY MINISTRY OF COMMERCE

Directorate General of Customs

Number: E-73421605-106.05-00120781709

Subject: E-Invoice Application - Prevention of Paper Invoice Usage

06.04.2026 /120781709

TO DISTRIBUTION LOCATIONS

As is known, with Circular No. 2017/7, from 01.07.2017, it has been ensured that invoices issued by taxpayers registered in the 'e-invoice' application for export transactions are prepared as e-invoices. In the 8th article of the said Circular regarding the subject, it is stated that taxpayers authorized to issue e-invoices pursuant to the Tax Procedure Law General Communiqué (serial no: 397) may issue paper invoices in the event of malfunctions and interruptions occurring in their own systems or in the e-invoice application, and in such cases, invoices issued in paper form can be declared as an attachment to the customs declaration by selecting document code 0100.

However, in the notifications sent to our General Directorate, it is stated that errors occur in e-invoice transactions due to user-related mistakes, such as selecting an invalid country code while creating an e-invoice, declaring an outdated HS code, or submitting HS codes with dots (8703.10.11.00.00), and that the transactions are completed by declaring paper invoices in export declarations. On the other hand, in the notifications sent from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, it is stated that issues in VAT refunds occurred due to e-invoice taxpayers conducting exports with paper invoices, which caused additional correspondence and prolonged the processes. The fact that e-invoices issued by companies registered in the e-Invoice Application have gone through the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and our Ministry's systems and received a 23-digit TPS number as a result of the process indicates that the e-invoice can be used in export transactions, and these e-invoices are classified as successful.

In this context, it is considered important to provide necessary information to your members and ensure that for companies that are e-invoice taxpayers, the e-invoice declaration in export declarations is definitely made with the 0886 document code and the 23-digit TPS number. It is also important to determine whether there is any problem in the e-invoice application if a paper invoice is presented to the customs broker by the company, whether the reason for the e-invoice not being generated is a user-related error as described above, and to correct any user-related errors and generate the e-invoice accordingly, ensuring that the e-invoice is declared in the export declaration. This will help prevent problems in VAT refunds and avoid prolonging export processes.

I kindly request that the necessary information be provided to your members accordingly.

Burak Serkan YAŞAR
On behalf of the Minister
Deputy General Manager