VAT Rates and Invoice Rules in E-Commerce

Picking the wrong VAT rate is one of the most common invoicing mistakes in e-commerce stores — it directly affects both your VAT filing and your profit margin. This article covers the VAT rates that apply by product category, which rate shipping fees fall under, how to issue a return invoice, and the mistakes stores make most often.

VAT rates currently in effect in Türkiye

KDV (Türkiye's VAT) is applied in three main tiers:

• 20% — the standard (general) rate; the large majority of products and services for which no special reduced rate has been set by communiqué fall into this tier.
• 10% — the reduced rate; certain food products, textiles, and some basic necessities fall into this tier.
• 1% — the lowest reduced rate; some basic food staples, certain publications like newspapers and magazines, and some agricultural products fall into this tier.

Which rate applies to which product is set out in the schedules attached to GİB's General VAT Application Communiqué, and these schedules are updated from time to time. When you're adding a new product category, or if you're not sure about the rate for an existing one, you need to check your product group against the schedule attached to the communiqué, or ask your accountant — proceeding on a "it's probably 20%" assumption can lead to both under- and over-collecting VAT.

VAT on shipping / freight charges

A question that comes up often in e-commerce: "if I invoice the shipping fee as a separate line item, do I apply the same VAT rate to it?"

The general rule is that expenses like freight, loading, and packaging that accompany delivery of the goods being sold are included in the tax base and taxed at the rate that applies to the underlying delivery. In other words, even if you sell a product at 1% VAT and show shipping on a separate line, the shipping fee is still calculated at that same 1% tier — treating shipping as an independent "transport service" and invoicing it at a different rate (20%, say) is a common mistake.

The exceptions and details of this rule are set out in the General VAT Application Communiqué; if your cart mixes products at different VAT rates (a mixed cart), it's recommended that you work with your accountant on how the shipping fee should be split.

How do you issue a return invoice?

When a customer returns a product, the invoice documenting the sale needs to be closed out with a "reverse" transaction:

• If the buyer is a taxpayer with a VKN/TCKN (in other words, a business that can issue invoices itself), they issue you a return invoice for the returned goods.
• If the buyer is an end consumer (an individual customer who received an invoice under a TCKN, the national ID number), since they can't issue an invoice themselves, you as the seller issue a return document / expense voucher or return invoice — the "return invoice" flow in whatever e-invoice infrastructure you use is designed for exactly this scenario.
• Referencing the original sales invoice on the return invoice (stating which invoice it's a return of) makes matching easier on both the accounting and VAT-filing side.
• For partial returns (when only one product from the cart is being returned), the return invoice is issued only for the returned item and amount; it isn't treated as if the entire order were cancelled.

What is reverse charge, and how does it relate to e-commerce?

In some B2B sales to the EU (European Union), reverse charge applies in certain cases: the tax liability shifts from the seller to the buyer, and VAT is not shown on the invoice. This mainly comes up on certain goods/services sales made abroad. If you sell B2B internationally, you need to clarify with your accountant which transactions fall under reverse charge and how that should be reflected on the invoice — getting this wrong can lead to both under-collected VAT and problems for the buyer abroad.

Common invoicing mistakes

• Invoicing shipping at a different VAT rate. As explained above, the general rule is that shipping follows the rate of the underlying product.
• Placing a product group in the wrong VAT tier. Because reduced rates change fairly often, especially in categories like food, textiles, and stationery, not reviewing category-based VAT rules regularly leads to mistakes.
• Leaving the VKN/TCKN field blank or entering it incorrectly. VKN should be mandatory on corporate orders; a digit error in a TCKN can cause GİB to reject the invoice.
• Missing the invoicing deadline. Under the Tax Procedure Law, an invoice must be issued within a maximum of seven days from delivery of the goods or performance of the service; an invoice issued after this window carries the risk of a procedural violation.
• Not showing the discount amount as a separate line. On promotional sales, the discount amount should appear as its own line item on the invoice; showing only the already-discounted total creates confusion on the accounting side.
• Combining products at different VAT rates from the same order into a single line. In mixed carts, every product should be invoiced on its own line at its own VAT rate; combining them makes both reporting and auditing harder.

Frequently asked questions

What VAT rate do I apply to the shipping fee? The general rule is that shipping is taxed at the same VAT rate as the goods being sold. For example, shipping for a food product at 1% VAT is also calculated at 1%; invoicing shipping as an independent service at a different rate is a common mistake.

Where do I find out which VAT rate applies to a product? The schedule attached to GİB's General VAT Application Communiqué shows which goods and service groups fall under which rate. This schedule is updated periodically; you need to check the current schedule — and, if needed, ask your accountant — whenever you add or change your product category.

How do you invoice a mixed cart (products at different VAT rates together)? Every product is invoiced on its own line at its own VAT rate; you don't invoice under a single blended rate. How the shipping fee should be split across this kind of cart is also something that needs separate consideration.

When does reverse charge apply? Generally on certain B2B goods/service sales made abroad — especially to the EU — where the tax liability shifts from the seller to the buyer and VAT isn't shown on the invoice. Which transactions this covers varies by transaction type, so stores selling B2B internationally need to clarify this with their accountants.

How are tax rules managed in Daras?

In the Daras panel, the Tax → Tax rules screen lets you define a VAT rate by region (tax zone) x product category. For every rule, you enter a rate, a priority (which rule applies when more than one covers the same scope), an effective start/end date, and, if needed, a reverse charge flag. The panel ships with ready-made presets matching Türkiye's current VAT tiers (1%, 10%, 20%); you can start a rule from one of these presets with a single click and then complete the region/category match yourself.

When a category's VAT rate changes, it's recommended that you close out the old rule with "end" instead of deleting it — this way, your past orders' invoices stay unaffected while the new rate applies automatically to new orders. The priority field determines which rule wins when more than one is defined for the same region x category combination (a general rule plus a temporary campaign-period rule, for example).