According to Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, the Turkish electronic invoicing system has already saved 650 million Turkish Liras ($293 million) of extra costs and prevented 100,000 trees from being cut.
The electronic invoicing system, which has been implemented in Turkey since 2010, has reduced costs for the taxpayers, marked an important step in curbing illegal financial activities and contributed to preserving the environment by reducing the need for paper, Simsek told Anadolu Agency.
Simsek expects the number of taxpayers using e-invoicing, which was approximately 20,000 as of Oct. 31, to double after the full implementation of the e-archive system, set for Dec. 30, 2014. Taxpayers that obtain e-archive permission from the Revenue Administration will be able to store invoices electronically.
The Minister has reminded that the system, together with the upcoming e-archive system, is a follow-up to the Electronic Bill Recording System (that was realized with a special permit to Turkish telecom firms). The Minister estimated the current 20,000 obligated taxpayers to rise to 40,000 in 2015, thus signalling a new communique announcement latest within 2015.
Simsek said the goal was to reach 100,000 users within two years, after all public institutions enforce taxpayers in the responsible sectors to use e-bills, adding the government aims to save around 2 billion liras from the electronic billing system.
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