Important Tax Warning for Businesses Operating on Digital Sales Platforms

Many people earning income through digital sales channels assume that, regardless of scale, this remains “extra income” or a “hobby” that doesn’t require formal tax registration. That assumption doesn’t just apply to classic marketplaces like Trendyol or Hepsiburada — it applies equally to cash-on-delivery sales through Instagram and food sales through apps like Getir Yemek and Yemeksepeti. Whatever the channel, any sales activity carried out regularly and for profit generates taxable commercial income.

Which Channels Are Covered?

The unregistered-activity patterns we see most often in practice are:

• Marketplaces: Selling on Trendyol, Hepsiburada, Etsy, Amazon or Shopier without opening a store under proper tax registration.
• Social media + cash on delivery: Taking orders through Instagram or WhatsApp and fulfilling them via courier or cash-on-delivery.
• Food delivery apps: Selling home-kitchen or small-scale food production through platforms like Getir Yemek or Yemeksepeti.

What these three channels share is that every transaction is digitally logged. Every order, payment and delivery that passes through a platform leaves a trace — which lets the tax authority analyze these sectors far more easily than through traditional audits.

How Does Detection Work?

The tax office can cross-reference bank data against digital platform data to identify individuals without tax registration, or whose declared income doesn’t match their bank activity. An account receiving payments at regular intervals, in similar amounts, from a large number of different people, raises a reasonable suspicion of commercial activity. One key distinction matters here: the platform itself faces no sanction — responsibility rests entirely with the seller.

The Cost of Operating Unregistered

A seller who operates without tax registration and is later identified doesn’t just pay the tax they would have owed under normal circumstances — they also pay a tax loss penalty and late payment interest on top of it. That adds up to a significantly heavier financial burden than a business that has kept its registration current all along. What’s more, when a retroactive assessment is issued, the calculation runs from the date the activity actually began — “I just started” isn’t a defense that removes the penalty.

When Should You Act?

The correct sequence is: first decide on a company type and register with the tax office, then open a seller account on the platform. Entrepreneurs who reverse that order — “let me try it first, and formalize it if it grows” — end up facing retroactive tax liability exactly when their business starts to succeed. Setting up a sole proprietorship is typically a low-cost process completed within a few business days; that short delay is negligible compared to the penalty exposure it prevents.

A Note on Food Sales via Getir Yemek and Yemeksepeti

For those planning to produce from a home kitchen and sell through these platforms, tax registration isn’t the only requirement — food production permits and a business operation license from the relevant municipality may also apply. Completing the platform’s own onboarding process isn’t enough on its own; local food regulation requirements need to be met as well.

How We Support This

For clients starting to sell through a digital channel, or who realize they’ve been operating unregistered, we first assess the current situation, then jointly determine the lowest-risk transition plan — company type, tax registration start date, and any retroactive exposure. For more on e-commerce bookkeeping, see our e-commerce and marketplace taxation guide.