What is the difference between e-Fatura and e-Arşiv?

The difference is in the buyer. An e-Fatura is issued to taxpayers registered in the e-Fatura system and lands directly in the buyer's system. An e-Arşiv is issued to individuals and businesses that are not registered; it reaches the buyer by email or as a printout and is reported to GİB. Both are invoices and both are equally valid in law. Only the route of delivery changes.

How do I know whether the buyer is an e-Fatura taxpayer?

A query is run against GİB's list of registered taxpayers using the buyer's tax number or national ID number. Bookkeeping programs run that query at the moment the invoice is issued, so you do not check the list separately. Because registration status changes over time, it has to be queried again on every invoice.

What happens if I issue an e-Arşiv where an e-Fatura was required?

If the buyer is registered in the e-Fatura system, an e-Arşiv should not be issued to them; the document does not land in their inbox and they cannot take the invoice into their records. What is usually done is to cancel the wrong document and reissue the invoice as an e-Fatura; ask your accountant how to proceed. This is why the buyer's registration is queried before the invoice is issued.

Do I have to print an e-Arşiv invoice on paper?

No. An e-Arşiv invoice can be delivered to the buyer electronically, for example by email. A paper copy is given if the buyer wants one; the printout is an image of the document, and the original is the electronic file itself.

What happens if I reject an incoming e-Fatura?

A rejection is given in the commercial invoice scenario and you have to write the reason. The rejected invoice is cancelled on the other side and the seller corrects and reissues it. In the basic scenario you cannot reject an incoming invoice through the system; you object through external routes such as a notary or KEP.

How long do I have to keep e-Fatura and e-Arşiv invoices?

Electronic invoices are kept electronically for the period set out in the legislation and produced when asked for; keeping a paper printout is not considered enough on its own. The original document is the XML file and the PDF is its image. For the current retention period see GİB's announcements.

Do I have to become an e-Fatura taxpayer?

The obligation is determined by your turnover and your field of activity, and the thresholds are updated. Even if you are not obliged, you can move across voluntarily; if your customers are e-Fatura taxpayers, moving makes your work easier. For your own position see GİB's current communiqués and consult your accountant.

e-Fatura or e-Arşiv? The buyer's registration decides.

Both are invoices and both carry the same legal weight. The only thing that changes is the route the document takes to the other side.

The only difference is in the buyer's registration

The difference between e-Fatura and e-Arşiv is the buyer. If the buyer is registered in the e-Fatura system, the document is issued as an e-Fatura and lands electronically in their system. If the buyer is not registered, the same sale is invoiced as an e-Arşiv; the document reaches them by email or as a printout, and it is reported to Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı, Türkiye's revenue administration.

The amount, the VAT, the line items and the document number are identical in both. The invoice itself is the same invoice.

So the answer to "do I issue an e-Arşiv or an e-Fatura" is not with you, it is with the business in front of you.

Buyer registered in the e-Fatura system: e-Fatura
Not registered, an individual or an unregistered business: e-Arşiv
It is not left to preference, the buyer's registration decides
The receipt of a self-employed professional is a separate document: e-SMM

How you find out whether the buyer is registered

A query is run on the other side's tax number or national ID number. GİB keeps the list of taxpayers registered in the e-Fatura system, and the query looks at that list.

Do not try to track this in a notebook. A customer who is unregistered today can become registered three months later, and an e-Arşiv issued to them that day will not reach the right place.

The right way is to query while issuing the invoice. If the ID number, the trade name and the tax office are correct on the customer card, the rest runs by itself.

The query runs on the tax number or the national ID number
Registration status changes over time; it is checked on every invoice
The trade name and tax office must be complete on the customer card
Without the identity details the document cannot be issued

Delivery: how the document reaches the other side

An e-Fatura lands directly in the buyer's inbox through GİB or an integrator. There is no need to hand it over or send a separate email; the buyer sees it in their own system.

An e-Arşiv has no such inbox. The document is sent to the buyer by email or handed over as a printout, and it is reported to GİB.

On both sides, delivery may not be instant. Once issued, a document has a status and that status is refreshed: has it gone, has the other side seen it, did it come back with an error. Sending also uses credit; when the credit runs out the invoice is prepared but cannot be sent.

An e-Fatura lands in the buyer's inbox
An e-Arşiv is delivered by email or as a printout
The document's delivery status is tracked and refreshed
Sending requires a credit balance

Basic invoice or commercial invoice

When issuing an e-Fatura a scenario is also chosen. In a basic invoice the buyer cannot send a rejection through the system. In a commercial invoice the buyer can respond with acceptance or rejection.

The commercial invoice is usually chosen because the buyer wants it that way; if you work with corporate firms they may ask you for it. Agreeing which one you will use up front reduces the argument later.

In e-Arşiv there is no such thing as a scenario. The buyer is not in the system, so there is no response mechanism either.

Basic invoice: no rejection through the system
Commercial invoice: the buyer accepts or rejects
The scenario is settled by agreement with the buyer
e-Arşiv has no concept of a scenario

An invoice issued in error: cancellation and objection

An electronic invoice is not deleted, it is cancelled. The document you issued stays on the record and the cancellation is recorded on top of it.

For an e-Arşiv, the cancellation is notified to GİB within the period set out in the legislation. For an e-Fatura, cancellation is not one-sided: in the commercial scenario the buyer's rejection comes into play, and in the basic scenario external objection routes are used, such as a notary, KEP (Türkiye's registered electronic mail system) or registered post.

The periods and the procedure change from time to time. If you spot the error on the day you issued it, do not wait; that is when it is easiest to put right.

The invoice is not deleted, it is cancelled
An e-Arşiv cancellation is notified within its period
For e-Fatura: rejection in the commercial scenario, external objection in the basic one
The record of a cancelled document stays in the system

Retention: the original document is not the PDF

The PDF you see on screen or send to the customer is an image of the document. The original document is the XML file, and that is what has to be kept.

Both the invoices you issue and those that come to you are kept electronically for the period set out in the legislation and produced when asked for. Putting a paper printout in a folder is not enough on its own.

Even though the documents sit in the program, the responsibility is yours. When an inspection comes, you need to be able to find the invoice and download it.

The PDF is the image, the XML is the original document
Both outgoing and incoming invoices are kept
The retention period is set in the legislation; for the current period, GİB
Access to the document must always be within reach

The e-Faturas that come to you

This is not only about the invoices you issue. Your suppliers also issue e-Faturas to you, and those documents land in your system.

You accept or reject an incoming invoice; if you reject it you have to write the reason. Once accepted, the invoice turns into an expense record and is posted to the supplier's account.

The real gain here is not typing the expense out by hand. The supplier, the lines and the amount arrive ready from the invoice; you add the payment and close it.

Incoming invoices collect in a separate list
Accept or reject; a rejection carries a reason
An accepted invoice turns into an expense record
The supplier account and the payment are recorded in the same step

Frequently asked

What is the difference between e-Fatura and e-Arşiv?: The difference is in the buyer. An e-Fatura is issued to taxpayers registered in the e-Fatura system and lands directly in the buyer's system. An e-Arşiv is issued to individuals and businesses that are not registered; it reaches the buyer by email or as a printout and is reported to GİB. Both are invoices and both are equally valid in law. Only the route of delivery changes.
How do I know whether the buyer is an e-Fatura taxpayer?: A query is run against GİB's list of registered taxpayers using the buyer's tax number or national ID number. Bookkeeping programs run that query at the moment the invoice is issued, so you do not check the list separately. Because registration status changes over time, it has to be queried again on every invoice.
What happens if I issue an e-Arşiv where an e-Fatura was required?: If the buyer is registered in the e-Fatura system, an e-Arşiv should not be issued to them; the document does not land in their inbox and they cannot take the invoice into their records. What is usually done is to cancel the wrong document and reissue the invoice as an e-Fatura; ask your accountant how to proceed. This is why the buyer's registration is queried before the invoice is issued.
Do I have to print an e-Arşiv invoice on paper?: No. An e-Arşiv invoice can be delivered to the buyer electronically, for example by email. A paper copy is given if the buyer wants one; the printout is an image of the document, and the original is the electronic file itself.
Can an e-Fatura be cancelled?: Yes, but not one-sidedly. In the commercial invoice scenario the buyer can cancel the invoice by rejecting it; in the basic invoice scenario external objection routes are used, such as a notary, KEP or registered post. For an e-Arşiv the cancellation is notified to GİB within its period; for the current period see GİB's announcements.
What happens if I reject an incoming e-Fatura?: A rejection is given in the commercial invoice scenario and you have to write the reason. The rejected invoice is cancelled on the other side and the seller corrects and reissues it. In the basic scenario you cannot reject an incoming invoice through the system; you object through external routes such as a notary or KEP.
How long do I have to keep e-Fatura and e-Arşiv invoices?: Electronic invoices are kept electronically for the period set out in the legislation and produced when asked for; keeping a paper printout is not considered enough on its own. The original document is the XML file and the PDF is its image. For the current retention period see GİB's announcements.
Do I have to become an e-Fatura taxpayer?: The obligation is determined by your turnover and your field of activity, and the thresholds are updated. Even if you are not obliged, you can move across voluntarily; if your customers are e-Fatura taxpayers, moving makes your work easier. For your own position see GİB's current communiqués and consult your accountant.

This guide describes how the system works and is not accountancy advice. Who is obliged to use e-Fatura, the thresholds for moving across and the cancellation periods can change; for the current position see the e-Belge announcements of GİB, Türkiye's revenue administration, and consult your accountant.

So you do not have to think about which one to issue

In Bi'Bulut, when you turn a sales receipt into an invoice the buyer's ID number is queried; you do not decide whether it is an e-Fatura or an e-Arşiv, the record is checked and you are told. You send the document and refresh its status; you download the PDF or the XML and cancel it if you need to. The e-Faturas that come to you collect in a separate tab, and the ones you accept turn into expenses along with the supplier account.

See the e-Fatura side