Production of Commercial Books and Their Evidentiary Value
Commercial books are an important means of proof in commercial litigation; however, not every accounting entry proves the claim of its owner automatically. Under the Code of Civil Procedure, for the books to constitute evidence in their owner’s favor, conditions are assessed such as that they be kept completely and properly in accordance with the law, that the required opening and closing certifications exist and that the book entries corroborate one another. The other party’s books, the conduct in producing them, and instruments or other conclusive evidence may also affect the outcome.
In a review of the books:
- The type of books for the relevant accounting period
- Opening and closing certifications or their electronic equivalents
- Consistency between journal entries and the general ledger and auxiliary accounts
- Matching of e-Ledger files with berat certificates
- Whether entries were made on time and tied to a supporting document
- Consistency with invoice, waybill, bank and cash records
- Reciprocal entries in the parties’ books
- Carried-over balances and period-end transactions
- Transfer, offsetting, reversal and correction entries
- Foreign currency accounts and exchange rate valuations
- Allegations of entries created or altered after the fact
- Failure to produce all of the books or certain entries
- The link between the accounting entry and the actual commercial transaction
are investigated. A review of commercial books does not consist merely of reading the resulting balance. The supporting document for each transaction that makes up the balance, its counter-entry, the payment and return movements and the carry-over between periods must be traceable.
Where books and documents that a merchant is obliged to keep are lost or become unusable because of a fire, flood, theft, cyber incident or another cause, the retention obligation, documentation of the event, electronic backups and the conditions for requesting a loss certificate (zayi belgesi) must be assessed without delay. A loss certificate does not by itself prove the content of the lost records or that the transaction in dispute took place; the effect of the loss and of the other evidence on the file is examined separately.
The e-Ledger, Berat Certificates and Electronic Accounting Records
The e-Ledger is a system that holds in electronic records the information that must appear in the statutory books and whose integrity is verified through an electronic signature or fiscal seal and the berat mechanism. In a dispute, one should not settle for a PDF printout or a screenshot taken from an accounting program; the e-Ledger files for the relevant period, the berat certificates and their verifiability should be examined.
In this context:
- The journal and general ledger files for the relevant month or period
- Berat certificates serving as opening and closing certifications
- GİB approval records
- Fiscal seal or electronic signature information
- File integrity and verification results
- The entry date and the date the document was issued and processed
- The accounting voucher, journal entry number and link to the document
- Software or integrator changes
- Missing, corrupted or unreadable period records
- Backup, retention and production procedures
are assessed. The existence of an e-Ledger berat does not by itself prove that the commercial transaction underlying each accounting entry actually took place; the entries must be verified against supporting documents and counterparty data.
Precautionary Attachment, Preservation of Evidence and Protection of Records
Where there is a risk that collection of a commercial receivable will become difficult, precautionary attachment may come into play; where electronic records, commercial books or the state of delivery are at risk of being lost, preservation of evidence and other protective routes may come into play. Interim legal protection does not replace the main claim; the nature of the receivable and the legal situation to be protected must be identified correctly.
In this context:
- A matured receivable and prima facie proof
- Special conditions for a receivable that has not yet matured
- Security and proportionality
- The debtor’s assets and the risk to collection
- Enforcement of the precautionary attachment and supplementary steps
- Objection to the precautionary attachment
- Damage arising from wrongful interim protection
- Protection of e-Ledger, ERP, e-mail and system records
- The risk of loss of physical books and documents
- Determination of the current state of goods, a warehouse, work or a service
- Obtaining records held by third parties
are examined. Instead of capturing commercial records merely as screenshots, they should be preserved in a way that allows their source, date information, integrity and link to the relevant transaction to be verified.
Our Approach in a Book Review
The accounting period to be reviewed, the disputed items and the supporting documents are determined. The procedural conditions of the books are separated from the counter-records; where necessary, document preparation is coordinated with the financial adviser (mali müşavir) and those responsible for technical records.
Why is HMK 222 not merely an approval check?
In addition to the conditions of proper keeping and certification, the corroboration of the books by one another, the other party’s records, the conduct in producing them and other conclusive evidence are also assessed. A receivable line in your own book cannot be considered sufficient on its own in every file. There is a difference between the absence of any entry on the relevant matter in the other party’s properly kept books and a failure to produce the books at all. Under HMK Art. 222/3, in the first case a party’s own books cannot be used as evidence in its favor. The entries in properly kept books, whether favorable or unfavorable, also cannot be separated from one another.
How do you prepare for the expert report?
Specify which entry conflicts with which document, on the basis of the opening balance, payments, returns, offsetting and exchange rate and interest differences. Missing periods and items without a stated basis are also indicated. Rather than objecting only to the resulting amount in the report, the calculation method should be examined.
Do not delay in case of loss or record loss
For the loss of books and documents under TTK Art. 82/7, a thirty-day application period from the date the loss was learned is provided. Whether the event meets the conditions required by the article, the statutory retention period and the competent court are determined separately; not every technical failure results in a loss certificate being issued. The incident record and the existing backups should be preserved.