The Difference Between e-Fatura and e-Arşiv Fatura

New e-commerce store owners often get tripped up by one question: "should I issue an e-Fatura or an e-Arşiv Fatura?" Both are electronic, and both run on the infrastructure of the Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı (GİB, the Turkish Revenue Administration) — but who they're addressed to and how they flow differ. This article covers the difference between the two, which one you should issue in which situation, how to check whether a buyer is registered as an e-Fatura taxpayer, and how cancellation and objection processes work.

What is e-Fatura, what is e-Arşiv Fatura?

e-Fatura (Türkiye's mandatory system-to-system e-invoice) can only be issued between two parties that are both registered with GİB as "e-Fatura taxpayers," and it's delivered directly to the buyer through GİB's system. It carries the same legal validity as a paper invoice; it's generated as XML in UBL-TR format and delivered to the other party through GİB's infrastructure.

e-Arşiv Fatura (Türkiye's e-archive invoice), on the other hand, is the electronic invoice you issue when the buyer is not registered as an e-Fatura taxpayer — in practice, this mostly means an end consumer or a taxpayer who isn't enrolled in e-Fatura. It substitutes for a paper invoice and is reported to GİB, but it isn't delivered to the other party through GİB directly — instead, it's emailed or handed to the customer as a link or PDF.

A third document type, e-İrsaliye (Türkiye's electronic waybill), is the electronic version of the delivery note issued when goods are shipped, independent of the invoice; it shouldn't be confused with e-Fatura or e-Arşiv Fatura.

The main difference between e-Fatura and e-Arşiv

• Recipient — e-Fatura goes only to registered e-Fatura taxpayer users; e-Arşiv Fatura goes to end consumers or buyers not registered for e-Fatura.
• Delivery — e-Fatura is delivered directly to the buyer through GİB's system; e-Arşiv Fatura reaches the customer by email, link, or PDF.
• Paper output requirement — neither requires one; e-Arşiv Fatura is generally just stored electronically.
• Typical e-commerce use — e-Fatura is used for business-to-business (B2B) sales; e-Arşiv Fatura is used for business-to-consumer (B2C) online sales.
• Export / special profiles — for e-Fatura, export, base invoice, traveler's exemption, and similar profiles are defined separately; the same profile logic applies to e-Arşiv Fatura.

In practice, the large majority of invoices an e-commerce store issues will be e-Arşiv, since most customers are individual consumers. e-Fatura applies when the other party is also an e-Fatura-registered company — a wholesale store invoicing another company, for example.

When do you issue e-Fatura, and when e-Arşiv?

The short rule is this: check whether the buyer is registered as an e-Fatura taxpayer first.

• If the buyer is registered with GİB as an e-Fatura taxpayer → you issue e-Fatura. Issuing e-Arşiv instead violates procedure.
• If the buyer isn't registered for e-Fatura (most individual customers, and some small businesses) → you issue e-Arşiv Fatura.
• Taxpayers who exceed a certain revenue threshold may be required to switch to e-Fatura (and, for e-commerce sellers, to the obligation of issuing e-Arşiv); always confirm the current revenue thresholds and the mandatory transition calendar against GİB's current communiqués, since these limits are updated periodically.

How do you check whether a buyer is registered for e-Fatura?

Issuing the wrong document type — e-Arşiv to a registered taxpayer, or e-Fatura to someone who isn't one — risks a procedural violation, so check the buyer's status before issuing an invoice:

• You can look up a buyer's VKN (tax ID number) on GİB's e-Fatura Registered Users query screen.
• The e-invoice infrastructure or integrator you use usually runs this check automatically, flagging "this VKN is an e-Fatura taxpayer" on the invoice creation screen.
• If you sell B2B and your customer orders through a corporate account, making the VKN field mandatory on the form and triggering this check at order time reduces the margin for error.

Where does e-İrsaliye come in?

e-İrsaliye is a document independent of the invoice, issued when goods are shipped — it carries information like "this product is being sent to this address, on this date, by this vehicle." It doesn't need to be issued at the same time as the invoice; it belongs to the shipping/logistics process. Most small e-commerce stores issue the invoice at order time and ship separately, but certain volume and taxpayer groups may be required to issue e-İrsaliye; this also depends on current regulation.

How do invoice cancellation and objection periods work?

This is the area where most mistakes happen, because the deadlines are short and differ by document type.

• The objection period for a commercial invoice must fall within a reasonable time from receipt of the invoice under the general provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code (in practice, this is commonly known as 8 days); if no objection is raised within this period, the invoice's contents are deemed accepted. Always check the exact deadline, exceptions, and current interpretation with current legislation or your accountant.
• For e-Fatura, the document sent through GİB's system can be rejected by the buyer; the rejection also has to happen within a specific window.
• Cancelling an e-Arşiv Fatura is generally done through GİB's e-Arşiv portal, tied to the day it was issued or a short window after; once that window has passed, a correction is generally handled with a return invoice or an accounting entry adjustment. Confirm the current cancellation window against GİB's current announcements — it can change over time.
• When you want to cancel a document that has already been accepted (approved by GİB), the reason for cancellation must be recorded and reported to GİB; cancelling without a stated reason violates procedure.

Frequently asked questions

Which one should I choose for my e-commerce store, e-Fatura or e-Arşiv? Both are used at the same time — this isn't an either/or choice. For every order, the system should select the correct document type automatically or manually based on the buyer's taxpayer status: e-Fatura for corporate customers registered for e-Fatura, e-Arşiv Fatura for individual customers.

Is an e-Arşiv Fatura valid without a printed copy? Yes — once an e-Arşiv Fatura is issued and stored electronically, it carries the same legal validity as a paper invoice; as a general rule, there's no requirement to hand the customer a printed copy.

I issued e-Fatura instead of e-Arşiv (or the other way around) by mistake — what do I do? You need to cancel the document and reissue it in the correct type. Since cancellation/correction windows are short, do this as soon as you notice, ideally together with your accountant.

Is e-İrsaliye mandatory? Not for everyone; certain revenue and sector groups may be required to issue it. You'll need to check current GİB communiqués for your own taxpayer status.

e-Fatura / e-Arşiv management in Daras

In the Daras store panel, the Compliance → e-Fatura screen lets you manage e-Fatura, e-Arşiv, and e-İrsaliye documents in a single list. When you create a document, you choose the type (e-Fatura / e-Arşiv / e-İrsaliye) and profile (Commercial, Base invoice, Export, Traveler's exemption); you enter the buyer's name, VKN/TCKN (tax ID / national ID number), amount, and VAT information, and optionally link it to the related order or customer record.

A draft document is queued with "Send to GİB"; the list then shows GİB's response — sent, accepted, or rejected, with the rejection reason if any. The ETTN number and PDF output can be tracked separately for every document. When you want to cancel an accepted document, the system asks you for a cancellation reason, which is both sent to GİB and logged in the audit record — so the answer to "why did I cancel this" is always at hand.

Checking this screen regularly matters for catching documents stuck in "error" status — invoices GİB rejected for technical reasons — and resending them quickly; a backlog of failed invoices causes problems for both accounting and VAT filing.