How Do You Issue an Exemption Invoice? Sample Draft with Code 335

This guide answers the question of how to issue an exemption invoice using a real sample draft: on the e-invoice (e-Fatura) portal, we prepared a draft of the Exemption (İstisna) type with exemption code 335 (delivery of printed books), and we explain every field one by one. The draft was not sent; it was only stored with "Save to Drafts" (Taslaklara Kaydet). Buyer and sender details are hidden in this article.

No VAT (KDV) is calculated on an exemption invoice, but that doesn't mean "set the VAT rate to 0% and move on." Every 0-VAT line must carry a valid exemption code showing why it is tax-free. Below you'll see where and how this code is added on the portal, including the step where people get stuck most often.

What is an exemption invoice, and when do you issue one?

An exemption invoice is the e-invoice type (ISTISNA in UBL-TR) issued for a supply of goods or services that is exempt from tax under Türkiye's VAT Law. The tax base appears on the invoice, the calculated VAT is zero, and the line carries a 3xx (full exemption) or 2xx (partial exemption) code showing which article of the law it relies on.

Marketplace sellers need this type most often in the following cases:

• When you ship goods directly to a buyer abroad (export of goods; if you are the manufacturer, a separate code applies),
• When you sell a product the law treats as exempt (like the printed books in our example),
• In special cases such as international transportation or deliveries to diplomatic missions.

If you deliver goods to an exporter in Türkiye so that they can export them, the invoice type is not Exemption but Export-Registered (İhraç Kayıtlı). For a step-by-step example, see the export-registered invoice (701) sample draft guide. You can find the full code list in the e-invoice exemption codes article.

Summary of the sample draft

We prepared the draft on the portal's Create Invoice (Fatura Oluştur) screen. From top to bottom, the screen consists of these sections: Basic Information, Buyer Information, Invoice Information, Additional Information, Product / Service, Totals and Invoice Note. On the right are the Invoice Summary panel and the "Invoice Preview," "Save to Drafts," "Create invoice" and "Cancel" buttons.

We chose Basic e-Invoice as the scenario; Commercial e-Invoice can also be chosen where the buyer's accept/reject response is required. For the differences between scenarios, see the e-invoice scenarios and invoice types guide.

Sample invoice: preview of the draft

The image below is the draft's Invoice Preview (Fatura Ön İzleme) output from the portal. Seller and buyer details, the ETTN and the QR code data were changed; the product, amount, code and note fields are the same as in the draft. ABC2099999999999 in the Invoice No field is a placeholder assigned for the preview; the real number is assigned when the invoice is created.

Points to note in the image:

• The line shows VAT Rate 0.00% and VAT Amount 0.00 TL; as a sample total, the amount payable is 10,000.00 TL.
• The bottom box contains the line Tax Exemption Reason: 335-13/n. Without a selected code, this line would not appear and the 0-VAT invoice would not pass the Turkish Revenue Administration (GİB) check.
• When we reopened the draft with Edit (Düzenle), the Full Exemption column and code 335 came back empty; we added them again with Add/Remove Tax (Vergi Ekle/Kaldır) before the preview.

How do you issue an exemption invoice? Step-by-step draft

1. Basic Information: buyer, scenario and invoice type

We searched for and selected the registered buyer in the "Buyer List" field. Once selected, the VKN, company name, province, district, tax office and Label (the buyer's e-invoice mailbox address) filled in automatically. If the buyer isn't on the list, you can type the VKN, enter the details manually and save them for future invoices with "Add to My Registered Buyers."

Then Scenario: Basic e-Invoice and Invoice Type: Exemption were selected. The form won't save without an invoice type; while the field is empty, a red "Invoice type selection is required" warning appears.

2. Buyer and invoice information

In the Buyer Information section, the starred fields are required: company name, country, province, district, tax office and label. Phone, email, postal code and full address are optional.

The Invoice Information section includes the issue date (the current date and time), currency, invoice template and invoice prefix. No invoice number is assigned at the draft stage; the number is assigned according to the selected prefix when the invoice is created.

3. Product line and 0% VAT rate

In the Product / Service table, we entered a sample line named "SAMPLE PRODUCT - Printed Book" with 50 pieces at a unit price of 200 TL and selected 0% as the VAT rate. At this point, the portal displayed a critical warning.

4. Adding Full Exemption with Add/Remove Tax

Selecting the Exemption type doesn't automatically add an exemption column to the table. When the 0% VAT rate was selected, a red warning appeared above the table:

Clicking the orange Add/Remove Tax button opens a window listing these options: Discount, Partial Exemption (Kısmi İstisna), Full Exemption, Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV), ÖTV Exemption and Accommodation Tax Exemption. Since the delivery of printed books is fully exempt, we checked the "Full Exemption" box and clicked Save. A new Full Exemption column was added to the table.

5. Selecting the exemption code

We searched by typing "335" in the list in the Full Exemption column and selected the option "335 - 13/n 5300 Exemption for the Delivery of Printed Books and Periodicals" from the portal's list. This code corresponds to deliveries of printed books and periodicals under Article 13/n of the VAT Law.

The search box works with the code number; typing "335" can return more than one result, so read the description before you choose. If there is more than one line, you need to select the code separately for each line.

6. Checking the totals

After the code was selected, the Totals section looked like this (sample calculation):

Because the calculated VAT is zero, at this sample invoice amount the total including taxes and the amount payable are the same as the tax base.

7. Invoice note and Save to Drafts

In the invoice note, we wrote the legal basis for the exemption: "Under Article 13/n of VAT Law No. 3065, the delivery of printed books is exempt from VAT (exemption code 335)." The note isn't required, but it's useful for the buyer's accounting and for your own records.

Finally, we clicked the Save to Drafts button in the right panel. The message "Your e-invoice has been saved as a draft." appeared on screen. The draft is listed under the E-Invoice → Draft e-Invoices (E-Fatura → Taslak e-Faturalar) tab with the scenario, invoice type, last edit date and buyer details, and it can be reopened with "Edit."

Full exemption vs. partial exemption

The two exemption options in the Add/Remove Tax window lead to different code families. If you don't choose the right family, the code you're looking for won't appear in the list.

For exports of goods, the general code is 301; if you manufacture and export the goods yourself, there is a separate code for manufacturers' exports of goods (338). For deliveries to an exporter, the Export-Registered type and code 701 are used instead of Exemption.

Common mistakes on exemption invoices

Treating 0% as a rate. The VAT rates are 1%, 10% and 20%; 0% is not a rate. Every 0-VAT line must carry a valid exemption or other transaction code. A line missing its code won't pass the GİB check.

Using 351 as if it were an exemption code. 351 is the "VAT - Other Non-Exempt" code; it is not an exemption and is used with the Sales (SATIS) type. For a genuine exemption, the relevant 3xx/2xx code and the Exemption type must be selected. For details, see the what is exemption code 351 article.

Using 308 and 339 on Basic/Commercial invoices. Under the UBL-TR 1.43 code list (effective September 14, 2026), 308 and 339 can only be used in the Investment Incentive scenario; they are rejected on an Exemption invoice in the Basic or Commercial scenario. See exemption codes 308 and 339.

Entering a code that isn't on the list. Numbers not found in the code list are rejected by the GİB schematron. Selecting from the portal's drop-down list largely prevents this error.

Mixing up type and code. 7xx export-registered codes can't be used with the Exemption type, and 3xx codes can't be used with the Export-Registered type. If the code and invoice type don't match, the invoice is rejected.

If the buyer isn't an e-invoice user or the lines are mixed

In this example, the buyer was a registered e-invoice user, so we prepared the invoice as an e-invoice. The choice depends on the seller's and the buyer's status: if you are an e-invoice taxpayer and the buyer is not a registered e-invoice user, an e-archive invoice (e-Arşiv) is issued for the same transaction. If you only use e-Arşiv, you issue an e-archive invoice even if the buyer is registered. The exemption code and VAT logic are the same on both documents.

Be careful if the same invoice contains both exempt and VAT-able products. On the Exemption type, every line is expected to rely on an exemption code; issuing normal VAT-able sales lines on a separate Sales invoice avoids confusion both in the GİB check and in the accounting records. If several exempt products rely on the same code, open a new line with "Add Product/Service" and select the code again on each one; the portal stores the code per line.

If there are many lines, opening the table full screen with the "Expand Table" button makes things easier. On a narrow screen, the exemption column can stay hidden on the right; in the expanded view, product name, quantity, unit price, VAT rate, exemption code and total price appear on the same row.

From draft to invoice

A draft is not an invoice sent to GİB; it doesn't get a number and doesn't reach the buyer. When you finish checking, you issue the invoice with the Create invoice button on the same screen. If you notice an error after this stage, e-invoice cancellation or return procedures are required; for details, see the e-invoice cancellation and return guide.

Sample drafts of other invoice types are also in this section: VAT withholding (tevkifat) invoice sample draft and 702 DİİB export-registered invoice example.