INVOICE AS AN EVIDENCE
An invoice shall be drawn up regarding the execution phase of a contract between the parties, which must conform to the requirement of form stated under Art. 230 of Tax Procedural Law (“TPL”).
Following information must be included in an invoice under Art. 230 of TPL:
- Date, serial and item number of the invoice,
- The name, (if available)trade name, business address, registered tax office and account number of the invoicer,
- The name, trade name, business address, registered tax office and account number(if available) of the invoicee,
- The description, quantity, price and sum of the goods or work,
- The delivery date and dispatch note of sold products
The invoicee may object to the content of the invoice. The consequences for not objecting has been regulated under Art. 21 para. 2 of Turkish Commercial Code(“TCC”). The provision is as follows: “If an invoicee has not raised an objection regarding the content of the invoice within eight days starting from the receiving date, the content shall be considered as accepted.” Objection to the invoice in practice, is made by sending a return invoice or serving a notice to the respondent.
In order for the consequences stated in Art. 21 para. 2 of TCC to arise, following conditions must be met:
- There must be a valid contract between the parties and invoice must be drawn out under the conditions stated under Art. 230 of TPL,
- The invoice must be reached to the respondent,
- There must not be any objections within the legal period.
In case of failure to object to an invoice, the invoice shall be considered a refutable presumption in favor of the invoicer. Since it is refutable, it is possible to prove the contrary. Even if there was no objection to the invoice within the legal period, the non objecting party can justify themselves in case of a discrepancy, commercial books and other evidence shall be considered.
Moreover, failure to object to an invoice does not consititute a presumption regarding completion of the work or the delivery of the goods, in case of discrepancy regarding these matters, burden of proof shall be on the invoicer. As an exception, a closed invoice constitutes a presumption that amount invoiced has been paid.
Finally, besides the ordinary items on an invoice(such as the sold product or the work’s quantity, description, value, price); some other items, which were not agreed in the contractual relationship between the parties, could be included on the invoice regarding the execution of the contract,. Not objecting to the invoice can not be construed, as those items shall be accepted, too.
In conclusion, if certain conditions were met, an invoice shall be an evidence in commercial disputes. In the event of failing to object to the invoice within the legal period; the amount, sold product, description of the work, quantity can be proved by invoice, however, the matters related to the fulfillment of the contract such as products’ delivery, the completion of the work can not be proved. Even though, the invoice could be considered as a presumption in favor of the invoicer, it shall not be regarded sufficient solely, the commercial books shall be inspected. For this reason, taking the possibility of conflict into account, it is recommended that; distrusting invoice as a single evidence, forming a written contract and in any case, duly keeping commercial books.