What Is the Difference Between an e-Invoice and an e-Archive Invoice?

The difference between an e-invoice (e-Fatura) and an e-archive invoice (e-Arşiv) depends first on the seller's status and then on the buyer's. If the seller is an e-invoice taxpayer, it issues an e-invoice when the buyer is on the e-invoice registered user list of the Turkish Revenue Administration (GİB), and an e-archive invoice when the buyer is not on the list (an end consumer or an unregistered business). If the seller is not an e-invoice taxpayer, meaning it uses only e-archive, it issues an e-archive invoice even if the buyer is a registered user, and that invoice is valid. Both are invoices under Türkiye's Tax Procedure Law (VUK); what changes is how the document reaches the buyer, which scenario it is issued under and how it is reported to GİB.

The difference between an e-invoice and an e-archive invoice: comparison

For online sales, the e-archive invoice also includes the website where the sale was made, the payment method and date, the carrier's details and a returns section; see our article on e-archive invoice details for online sales for more. We explained the difference between scenarios in our article on e-invoice scenarios and invoice types.

Which invoice should you issue based on the seller and the buyer?

The first question is about you: are you an e-invoice taxpayer? If not, you issue an e-archive invoice to every buyer. If you are, the second question concerns the buyer: you check the GİB list using the buyer's tax ID number (VKN) or Turkish ID number (TCKN).

You can find the steps for the lookup in our article on checking e-invoice taxpayer status. The same table applies to a corporate order coming from Trendyol. We explained this situation with an example in our article can you issue an e-archive invoice to a company?

Which sellers are required to switch to which system?

The date from which a seller must switch to e-invoicing or e-archive depends on its revenue and type of activity; we covered these thresholds in our articles on mandatory e-invoicing and mandatory e-archive invoicing. The rule that matters for this article is this: a seller that is an e-invoice taxpayer is also covered by e-archive and cannot issue paper invoices.

What happens if the wrong type of invoice is issued?

This question only applies to sellers that are e-invoice taxpayers. If you are an e-invoice taxpayer, issuing an e-archive invoice to a registered buyer breaks the rules; when you notice the error, cancel the document within 8 days of the date it was delivered to the buyer and reissue it as an e-invoice. For the deadline and steps, see our article on the e-archive invoice cancellation period.

If you are not an e-invoice taxpayer, the e-archive invoice you issue to a registered buyer is correct; you don't need to cancel it and issue an e-invoice, since you can't issue e-invoices anyway. An e-invoice, on the other hand, cannot technically be delivered to an unregistered buyer, because the buyer has no e-invoice address in the system. Confirm the tax consequences with your certified public accountant (mali müşavir).