About the 2023 Books to be Used in 2023 and the Obligation to Certify
According to the provisions of Articles 220 and 221 of the Tax Procedure Law and Article 64 of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, taxpayers whose accounting period is the calendar year must have their books, which will be used in physical form in 2023, certified by December 31, 2022.
With the 3rd Serial Electronic Books Communiqué, which amends the 1st Serial Electronic Books Communiqué and the 509th Serial Tax Procedure Law Communiqué;
- Taxpayers subject to the mandatory transition to the e-Invoice system, within the transition period to the invoice system (for those who are required to switch to the e-Invoice system during the year, starting from the beginning of the following year),
- Taxpayers whose gross sales revenue (or gross business revenue) in 2021 was 4 million TL or more, are required to switch to the e-Invoice and e-Archive invoice system starting from January 1, 2023, due to this obligation, from July 1, 2022,
- Companies subject to independent auditing under Article 397 of the Turkish Commercial Code, starting from the beginning of the year following the one in which the conditions are met,
- Those who were required to switch to the e-Invoice system in 2022 due to the goods included in list (I) attached to the Special Consumption Tax Law,
- Those who were required to switch to the e-Invoice system in 2022 due to the production, construction, or importation of goods listed in list (III) attached to the Special Consumption Tax Law,
- Taxpayers who engaged in intermediary services, internet advertising, or internet publishing services, who were obligated to switch to the e-Invoice system in 2022,
- Taxpayers engaged in the trade of fruits and vegetables under Law No. 5957 in 2022,
- Health service providers who signed contracts with the Social Security Institution (SGK) and those who were obliged to switch to the e-Invoice system in 2022 due to providing medical supplies, drugs, and active substances (e.g., hospitals, medical centers, dialysis centers, specialized treatment centers licensed by the Ministry of Health, laboratories, pharmacies, medical device suppliers, opticians, hearing centers, spas, wholesalers of pharmaceutical products, etc.),
- Taxpayers required to transition to the e-Book system; in the event of full mergers, spin-offs, or changes in type, those legal entities that are merged or spun off, and the new legal entities resulting from these processes,
- All taxpayers who were required to transition to the e-Invoice system in 2022,
must maintain their journal and ledger books electronically as e-Books in 2023.
Taxpayers subject to e-book requirements must have their other books certified in paper form.
1) Commercial Books to Be Kept
The commercial books to be kept by companies, under the provisions of the Tax Procedure Law and Article 64, paragraph 3 of the Turkish Commercial Code, are listed as follows:
a) Joint-Stock Companies
- Journal Book
- Inventory Book
- Ledger Book
- Stamp Tax Book
- Shareholder Book
- Board of Directors’ Decision Book
- General Assembly Meeting and Negotiation Book
b) Limited Liability Companies
- Journal Book
- Inventory Book
- Ledger Book
- Shareholder Book
- General Assembly Meeting and Negotiation Book
c) Capital-Stocked Commandite Companies
- Journal Book
- Inventory Book
- Ledger Book
- Shareholder Book
- Board of Directors’ Decision Book
- General Assembly Meeting and Negotiation Book
d) Collective and Commandite Companies
- Journal Book
- Inventory Book
- Ledger Book
- General Assembly Meeting and Negotiation Book
2) Certification of Commercial Books
According to Articles 221 of the Tax Procedure Law and 64 of the Turkish Commercial Code:
- For taxpayers who have been continuously engaged in business, the book must be certified in the last month of the preceding year before it is used,
- For taxpayers whose accounting periods are determined by the Ministry of Finance, the certification must be done in the last month of the accounting period before the book is used,
- For those starting a new business, changing their class, or entering into a new tax obligation, the certification must be done within ten days after starting the new business or changing the tax status,
- For taxpayers who must start using a new book during the year due to the completion of the previous one or other reasons, the certification must be done before starting to use the new books,
- For new companies, the certification must be done by the trade registry for all the books they are required to use during their initial establishment,
3) Opening and Closing Approval of Commercial Books
a) Opening Approval and Timing
According to the third paragraph of Article 64 of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102, for the books kept in physical form by traders:
- The opening approvals for the journal book, ledger book, inventory book, shareholder book, board of directors’ decision book, and general assembly meeting and negotiation book must be obtained during the establishment and before the books are used,
- The opening approvals for these books for subsequent periods must be obtained before the end of the first month of the new activity period (for calendar year taxpayers, by the end of December).
- Opening approval for the journal book, ledger book, inventory book, and board of directors’ decision book must be done for each accounting period.
- The shareholder book and general assembly meeting and negotiation book may continue to be used in subsequent accounting periods without requiring a new opening approval, provided they have sufficient pages.
b) Closing Approval and Timing
According to the Turkish Commercial Code, only the journal book and board of directors’ decision book are subject to closing approval, and the inventory book is excluded from this requirement. Therefore:
- The closing approval for the journal book must be obtained by the end of the sixth month of the following period (by June 30, 2023),
- The closing approval for the board of directors’ decision book must be obtained by the end of the first month of the following period (by January 31, 2023) from the notary public.
4) Penalties
According to Article 562 of the Turkish Commercial Code, those who fail to comply with the book-keeping obligations under Article 64 or who fail to obtain opening and closing approvals will be subject to an administrative fine of 31,100 TL for 2023.
You can access the related Communiqué here.
You can access the 509th Serial Tax Procedure Law Communiqué here.
Best regards,
BİLGENER
