Cancelling a Turkish e-Invoice or e-Archive Invoice: The 8-Day Rule

A Turkish e-Invoice or e-Archive invoice can be cancelled within 8 days of the date it was delivered to the buyer. The Revenue Administration’s (GİB) cancellation guides say the cancellation must always be completed inside that window, and once it has passed, the e-Invoice system will not accept or approve a cancellation request. If you miss it, you correct the transaction with a return invoice and bookkeeping adjustments instead.

Where Does the 8-Day Limit Come From?

The eight days come from the Turkish Commercial Code, not the Tax Procedure Law. Under Article 21(2) of Law No. 6102, a person who receives an invoice is deemed to have accepted its content unless they object within eight days of receipt. VUK Articles 229 and 231 define the invoice and set the issuing rules, including the 7-day issuing deadline, but neither sets a cancellation period.

For e-documents, the period is tied into practice by Section V.10 of VUK General Communiqué No. 509, added by Communiqué No. 526. It requires notices, formal warnings and e-document cancellations made under Article 18(3) of the Commercial Code (through a notary, registered letter, telegram or registered e-mail, KEP) to be reported electronically to GİB from 1 May 2021, following the procedure in GİB’s guides.

How Do You Cancel or Object to an e-Invoice?

On a commercial-scenario e-Invoice, the buyer cancels or objects by sending a “Rejection Application Response” through the e-Invoice system within 8 days of delivery. On a basic-scenario e-Invoice there is no in-system rejection. A cancellation request is created in the e-Invoice Cancellation/Objection Portal with the company’s seal or e-signature, and the other party approves or rejects it. An objection is made by the Commercial Code methods (notary, registered letter, telegram, KEP), and the portal is used only to report it to GİB.

GİB’s e-Belge page links the portal at ebelgebasvuru.gib.gov.tr/iptal-itiraz/sertifika-giris. The older portal.efatura.gov.tr/FaturaIptal address cited in the guides returned a 404 when we checked. If the other party approves, the invoice drops out of the “virtual Ba/Bs” records GİB uses for monitoring; if it rejects, the invoice stays in them.

How Do You Cancel an e-Archive Invoice?

An e-Archive invoice can be cancelled through the system only if the buyer’s tax ID (VKN) or Turkish ID number (TCKN) appears on the document. Users of the GİB Portal sign in with a financial seal or e-signature, pick the invoice under “Issued Documents” and open a request with a reason. Integrator and direct-integration users send GİB a “Cancellation Report”; users without e-document registration use the interactive e-Archive portal with Digital Tax Office credentials. The buyer can also open a cancellation request for an invoice issued to them.

Which Invoice, Which Deadline, Which Route?

Invoice type	Deadline	Cancellation / objection route
Commercial e-Invoice	8 days from delivery	Buyer sends a Rejection Application Response in the system; objection is also possible by Commercial Code methods
Basic e-Invoice	8 days from delivery	No in-system rejection; cancellation request through the GİB e-Invoice Cancellation/Objection Portal, objection made externally and reported to the portal
e-Archive invoice	8 days from delivery	Cancellation through the GİB Portal, the interactive e-Archive portal or an integrator’s cancellation report
Invoice past 8 days	Deadline expired	The system rejects a cancellation request; return invoice and VAT correction

A System Cancellation Is Not a Bookkeeping Cancellation

Cancelling with a financial seal or e-signature removes the invoice from GİB’s system, but your ledger entries and VAT return are a separate matter. GİB’s guide says the purpose is to keep system data consistent with declarations. Once a cancellation is approved, both seller and buyer should correct their records and VAT figures so that the cancelled invoice no longer appears. Deleting a journal entry does not cancel the invoice, and a system cancellation does not fix your books.

What Happens After Day 8?

Once the period has expired, you cannot cancel the invoice; a return or a change in the amount is handled as a correction. Under Article 35 of the VAT Law, when goods are returned, a transaction does not take place or is abandoned, the seller corrects the tax it owes and the buyer corrects the tax it deducted, in the period in which the change occurs. Returned goods must actually re-enter the business and be shown in the books and the return. In practice the correction is documented with a return invoice. If the issue is a wrong amount or company name rather than a return, agree on the right correcting document with your accountant before you act.

To see which businesses must issue e-Invoices and e-Archive invoices, read our article on the e-Invoice and e-Archive transition thresholds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the 8 days calendar days or business days?

The Commercial Code says “eight days” without a business-day condition. GİB’s guides count from the date the invoice is delivered to the buyer. Act well before the last day.

What happens if the buyer does not object within 8 days?

Under Article 21(2) of the Commercial Code the buyer is deemed to have accepted the invoice’s content. That is a commercial-law presumption; if nothing was actually delivered, the dispute is settled through evidence and correction entries.

Can the buyer request cancellation of an e-Archive invoice?

Yes. The buyer can open a cancellation request in the GİB portal for an e-Archive invoice issued to them, and the invoice is cancelled if the seller approves. The buyer’s VKN or TCKN must appear on the document.

Can I reissue a cancelled invoice under the same number?

No. Invoices run in unbroken sequence under VUK Article 231(1), and the number of a cancelled invoice is not reused. The corrected transaction is documented on a new invoice with a new number.

Keeping Within the Eight-Day Window

For invoices issued in error or returned, we work out the deadline, the right route and the VAT correction together. See our e-Invoice and e-Ledger service page or contact us.