What are E-Invoice and E-Archive Invoice? What are the Differences Between E-Invoice and E-Archive Invoice?
What are E-Invoice and E-Archive Invoice?
E-Invoice is the general name given to invoices prepared in electronic media. It serves the same function as classic invoices prepared on paper and has official validity. It is a type of invoice put into effect by the Revenue Administration in 2010. The information contained in the E-Invoice must match the classic invoice information.
E-Archive invoice is a kind of copy of the E-Invoices prepared, which is requested to be kept compulsorily by the taxpayer. After the E-Invoice, the E-Archive Invoice must also be issued, but this copy is not sent to the customer. Businesses should report their E-Archive Invoices to the RA. This report process should be finalized between the 1st and 15th day of the month after the invoice is issued.
How to Issue E-Invoice and E-Archive Invoice?
Before any infrastructure was created for the E-Invoice system, XML-based URL-TR format was implemented by the Revenue Administration. Nowadays, businesses have to log in to the invoice portal via the efatura.gov.tr website of the Revenue Administration in order to issue E-Invoices. This portal is a free system, but the number of invoices of the taxpayer should not be high. In addition, E-Invoices issued can be stored on the RA portal for a maximum of 6 months. After this period, the responsibility passes to the taxpayer.
E-Archive invoice is issued in the same way as E-Invoice. In addition to the RA portal, it can also be issued by special integrators. On the other hand, companies can also issue the E-Archive invoice within their own organization. For this, they need to develop their own information systems and produce a portal.
How to Cancel E-Invoice and E-Archive Invoice?
E-Invoices may be sent incorrectly from time to time. The cancellation process may differ depending on whether the invoice is a commercial E-Invoice or a basic E-Invoice. In general, E-Invoices cannot be canceled by the institutions that send the invoice. The only way to cancel is to reject the E-Invoice by the person or organization to which the invoice is sent. However, after this rejection, it can be canceled through this system by logging into the E-Invoice cancellation portal.
Cancellation is relatively easier for e-Archive invoices. It is enough to right-click on the invoice to be canceled on the accounting system used and use the cancel button. E-Archive Invoice cancellation must be realized within 7 days. Unlike E-Invoice, it can be canceled by both the seller and the receiving institution. If 7 days have passed and the cancellation has not been made, a new invoice should be issued and updated and sent to the customer.
E-Invoice and E-Archive Invoice Inquiry
E-Invoices can be queried by pressing the ‘query’ option on the page after the invoices are opened. The purpose of the query is to understand whether the invoice has been approved by the Revenue Administration or whether it has reached the receiving institution. For this process, inquiries can be easily made via efatura.gov.tr address.
E-Archive invoice inquiry can be done by entering the invoice number and the name of the company to which the invoice was sent via efatura.gov.tr. During the inquiry, the website requests permission from the person to share some information. Unauthorized information remains closed for viewing.
What are the Differences Between E-Invoice and E-Archive Invoice?
Although E-Invoice and E-Archive invoices are similar in terms of issuance and use, there are a few notable differences between them. These differences can be listed as follows.
- E-Invoice is only an electronic structure, paper printing is invalid. E-Archive Invoice is printed as an electronic document.
- While the RA acts as an intermediary in the E-Invoice system, the RA is the reporting institution in the E-Archive Invoice.
- E-Invoice has a mandatory format that must be followed, while E-Archive Invoice uses a free format.
- E-Invoice is created with a financial seal. In the E-Archive Invoice, a time stamp must be added in addition to the financial seal. It must be kept after approval with this stamp.
- While the RA portal is mostly used in E-Invoice, in E-Archive Invoice, the RA portal, private integrator or the enterprise’s own information system is used.
