How Do You Look Up an e-Invoice (e-Fatura) Taxpayer?

Looking up an e-invoice (e-Fatura) taxpayer means searching the e-Fatura registered user list of the Turkish Revenue Administration (GİB) with the buyer's tax ID number (VKN) or, if the buyer is a sole proprietorship, their Turkish ID number (TCKN). The lookup matters when you, as the seller, are also an e-Fatura taxpayer: if the buyer appears on the list, you issue an e-Fatura; if not, you issue an e-archive invoice (e-Arşiv). If you are not an e-Fatura taxpayer (you only use e-Arşiv), you issue an e-Arşiv invoice even if the buyer is registered, and that invoice is valid. Because the list is constantly updated, you should run the lookup right before you issue the invoice.

Steps to look up an e-Fatura taxpayer on the GİB list

1. On GİB's e-Belge website, open the lookup section for the e-Fatura registered user list.
2. Enter the buyer's VKN. If the buyer is a sole proprietorship, search by TCKN; sole proprietorships appear on the list under their Turkish ID number.
3. Complete the verification step on the screen and run the query.
4. If the result shows the buyer's company name and registration details, the buyer is a registered e-Fatura user. If the result comes back empty, they are not registered.
5. For corporate customers, noting the date of the lookup makes it easier to show which information you relied on if a dispute arises later.

Since menu names can change from time to time, simply search the site for the phrase "kayıtlı kullanıcı listesi" (registered user list).

e-Fatura or e-Arşiv, depending on the lookup result?

The table below applies to sellers who are e-Fatura taxpayers:

The rule is based on Tax Procedure Law (VUK) General Communiqué No. 509: e-Fatura taxpayers are also covered by e-Arşiv; they issue an e-Fatura if the buyer is an e-Fatura user and an e-Arşiv invoice if not, and there is no paper invoice option. A seller that uses only e-Arşiv, on the other hand, issues e-Arşiv invoices to every buyer. We have summarized the differences between the two types in a table in our article on the difference between e-Fatura and e-Arşiv.

Integrator software runs the lookup automatically

Most e-Fatura integration software performs this check automatically when the invoice is created: the buyer's VKN/TCKN is compared with the current registered user list, and the document is prepared as an e-Fatura or an e-Arşiv invoice based on the result. For marketplace orders, the key to this check is the tax number that comes with corporate orders; in Trendyol order data, corporate orders are flagged with a separate field, and the billing address includes the company, tax office and tax number. For the full process, see our article on automatic e-Fatura from marketplace orders.

If you are an e-Fatura taxpayer and mistakenly issued an e-Arşiv invoice to a registered buyer, cancel the document within 8 days of the date it was delivered to the buyer and reissue it as an e-Fatura. If you are not an e-Fatura taxpayer, the e-Arşiv invoice you issued is correct; do not cancel it. You can find the details in our article on the e-Arşiv invoice cancellation period.