Bookkeping in Turkey
Commercial enterprises are obliged to keep books complying with their operational structure in order to follow-up their economic and financial positions and relations of debt/receivable and to document the results of each activity period.
According to the Tax Procedure Law and Turkish Commercial Code, the legal books that should be maintained by companies that keep their records according to the balancesheet method are as follows:
– Journal Ledger
– General Ledger
– Inventory Register
– Stamp Duty (Joint Stock Companies)
– Resolution Book (Joint Stock Companies)
– Management Resolution Book (Limited Liability Companies)
– Share Ledger
– General Assembly Meeting Minutes and Discussion Book
Below are certain critical issues for legal books mentioned in the tax laws:
– The above legal books must be certiied by the authorized personnel of the Trade Registry Oice during the incorporation process.
– Legal books should be printed as hardcopies if the company is not registered with the e-invoice/e-ledger systems.
– It is mandatory that the legal books be kept in the local language, in Turkish Liras, and in compliance with the Turkish Uniform Chart of Accounts; however, records in dual language are also allowed provided that they are in compliance with the Uniform Chart of Accounts.
– Real persons and legal entities in the status of a trader according to TTC must obtain both opening and closing approval for the boks kept on the basis of balance or operation account method. The general ledger for the previous year must be completed by the end of January each year, and the inventory register must be completed by the end of March and closing approval must be obtained from a notary public.
– Account period: Books are kept as of the account period under the tax law. In general, the account period corresponds to a calendar year, which commences on 1st of January and ends on 31st of December. However, special account periods may be adopted with the permission of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
– Special account period: The Ministry of Treasury and Finance will determine special account periods of 12 months each upon an application to be iled by those entities whose activities and nature of transaction do not correspond to an account period determined on a calendar year basis. A special account period is mostly allowed for taxpayers whose partners are foreign persons or entities that operate on a diferent fiscal year.