e-Invoice vs e-Archive Invoice in Turkey: The Difference
Both are electronic invoices in Turkey, but recipient and delivery route differ. Which customer gets which, and what if the wrong type is issued?
The difference in one sentence
Under Turkish rules, if the recipient is also registered in the e-Invoice (e-Fatura) system, an e-Invoice is issued; if not, an e-Archive Invoice (e-Arşiv Fatura) is issued. The document's fiscal validity is the same for both; what changes is how the invoice reaches the recipient.
e-Invoice: from system to system
If both parties are registered users, the invoice goes through the infrastructure of GİB (the Turkish Revenue Administration) straight into the recipient's system. The recipient can accept or reject the document, and that response also comes back electronically. No paper printout is needed; the delivery record is kept in the system.
e-Archive: to a recipient who is not registered
If the recipient is not an e-Invoice user — end consumers and businesses outside the scope — the document is issued as an e-Archive Invoice. The invoice is created and stored electronically and delivered to the recipient by e-mail or as a paper printout. For the issuer the process is still fully electronic; it is reported to GİB separately.
Who decides the correct type?
Deciding by hand is error-prone, because a customer outside the scope today may become an e-Invoice user tomorrow. The right setup is this: before the invoice is issued, the recipient's VKN/TCKN (tax ID or national ID number) is checked against GİB's taxpayer list and the document type is chosen accordingly. In ELPO e-Belge you run this check with the Mükellef Sorgu tool in the portal by entering the VKN or TCKN.
What happens if the wrong type is issued?
If an e-Archive invoice is issued to a recipient who is an e-Invoice user, the document does not land in the recipient's system and a matching problem arises in accounting; fixing it requires cancelling and reissuing. In the reverse case, GİB finds no address to deliver the invoice to. Either way, extra workload and lost time follow — which is why checking the recipient before issuing the invoice matters.
Next step
You can check whether you fall under the scope in the guide to the switch obligation, and see the ELPO e-Belge page for all five document types.