An invitation to provide an explanation (izaha davet) is a request that the taxpayer explain a preliminary finding concerning a possible tax loss. When the letter is served, first check its type, the relevant tax and period, and the thirty-day period. An explanation supported by documents, and where the conditions are met a correction of the return, may come into question. The invitation does not mean that the tax loss has been confirmed; however, leaving it unanswered does not make the procedure disappear. 1 2
An invitation to explain must be distinguished from an ordinary request for information, from notice that a tax audit has begun, and from a preliminary finding letter on the use of a forged or substantively misleading document. All of these may come from the tax administration; nevertheless, their application routes and consequences are not the same.
When is an invitation to explain issued?
Under Tax Procedure Law No. 213 (VUK), Article 370, an invitation to explain may be used for certain findings made before a referral to a tax audit or to discretionary assessment. It also matters that no informant report (ihbar) on the same matter was received before the date of the finding. The procedure is started by a preliminary finding of the competent authority, not by a request from the taxpayer. It cannot be said that an invitation must be issued before every audit. 1 3
A bank transaction, a sales notice or third-party data does not by itself explain the real nature of a transaction. The reasoning by which the commission reached its conclusion from the data should be understood; the explanation should answer that link. A long text describing the taxpayer's whole activity may be insufficient if it does not address the specific difference in the preliminary finding.
How is the scope of the preliminary finding determined?
The reference number, period, tax type, amount and the transaction the letter asks to be explained define the limits of the file. If an additional preliminary finding minute exists, it should be read together with the letter. Where more than one tax is affected, focusing only on the first difference seen in one return may leave the transactions for the other taxes unaddressed.
For example, a bank credit that is said not to have been recorded as income may, in its real nature, be a repayment of a loan. To show this, not only the receipt but also the original debt relationship, earlier payments and counterparty records may be needed. The defense should explain the legal and economic reason for the money rather than deny that it reached the account.
How long is the explanation period?
In a general invitation to explain, the explanation period is thirty days from notification. An explanation submitted within that period is evaluated by the commission within no more than forty-five days. An evaluation letter sent after an explanation is found insufficient may set a separate timetable for the return and for payment. These periods are not a single thirty-day period. 2 3
Which date governs electronic notification?
Under the electronic notification rule in VUK Article 107/A, a document sent to an electronic address is deemed served on the fifth day after the day it reaches that address. The date on which an email or text message is read may not be the same as the legal notification date. Service records should be kept, and the period should be calculated together with the VUK rules on computing time limits and on the last day. 1
The file calendar should have at least three separate lines: the notification of the first invitation and the last day for explanation; the registration date of the explanation submitted; and the notification of the evaluation result and, if any, the last day for the return and payment. The commission's continued review does not, by itself, extend the taxpayer's initial explanation period.
How is the explanation petition and document file prepared?
The explanation should answer each claim in the preliminary finding separately. Where there is a difference between records, the amount and cause of the difference should be calculated, and explanations such as a shift between periods, a refund, a cancellation, an advance payment or a non-business money movement should be supported by the relevant document. Using ready-made text that does not fit the concrete transaction makes the file harder to understand.
- The invitation letter, the preliminary finding minute and the service records.
- The relevant period returns and accounting entries.
- Bank transactions, invoices, contracts and delivery documents.
- A comparative calculation schedule showing the source of the difference.
- An attachment list showing which attachment supports each explanation.
Where is the explanation submitted?
According to the guide of the Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı, GİB), an explanation may be given in writing or orally to the commission; the invitation-to-explain procedures area of the Digital Tax Office (Dijital Vergi Dairesi) may also be used. When an oral explanation is given, check that the content recorded in the minutes and the attachments submitted have been correctly entered. In an electronic submission, it is important that the file matches the reference number and that the submission is completed. 2
Where a document does not exist, no explanation should be given as if it did. It is assessed which fact the missing document would prove, and whether another reliable record could show the same fact. A taxpayer who does not accept the preliminary finding should not stop at a conclusion sentence; they should show which line of the calculation is wrong and why.
What happens if the explanation is accepted or found insufficient?
If it is accepted that there is no tax loss, the result is that the matter is not referred to a tax audit or to discretionary assessment on that finding. This result does not mean that all periods and all transactions of the taxpayer become impossible to examine. The acceptance letter should be kept in the file, and it should be clear which finding the protection relates to. 1 3
If the explanation is found insufficient, the evaluation letter is examined for the return, correction and payment conditions. Where those conditions are met, a tax loss penalty (vergi ziyaı) may be applied at twenty percent of the tax loss. The tax itself and the explanation surcharge are paid separately; twenty percent does not mean that the total payment burden falls to twenty percent of the tax. 1 3
Return and payment together matter for the reduced penalty
After notice that the explanation is insufficient, the required return or correction and the payment of the overdue tax together with the explanation surcharge, within the statutory thirty-day period, are assessed together. A return alone is not enough. The return must correctly cover the relevant finding and the tax types it affects. 1 3
The explanation surcharge is tied to the late-payment rate in Article 51 of Law No. 6183. The rates for the relevant time intervals and the month fractions should be checked in the calculation. Applying the current rate as a single rate to all past periods may not be correct. The payment date on the assessment slip should be compared with the period calculated from the letter.
Why is the preliminary finding on forged or misleading documents separate?
Acts under VUK Article 359 are subject to special limits for a general invitation to explain. Nevertheless, Article 370(b) provides a separate route for certain preliminary findings that a forged or substantively misleading document may have been used. This route cannot be read as a general protection for the act of issuing a forged document. 1
The 2026 limit and the five percent criterion
For 2026, the document amount limit is 870,000 Turkish lira (TL). The legal provision is built on the basis that the amount does not exceed this limit or, even if it does, that it does not exceed five percent of the total goods and services purchased in the relevant year. It cannot be said that both conditions must always be met together. Amounts excluding taxes, the relevant year and the effect of earlier preliminary findings should be checked separately. 1 3
Applying the 700,000 TL amount from the 2025 guide to 2026 transactions automatically is incorrect. The relationship between the year under review and the monetary threshold that applies must be determined for each file; for past periods, the current amount should not be used without any assessment. The limit in this heading is not a general debt ceiling for all invitations to explain.
In an SMİYB preliminary finding letter, one should not assume that a second thirty-day period will necessarily be given after the evaluation letter, as in the general explanation procedure. The return and payment conditions of this special route are assessed from the notification of the first preliminary finding letter. Acting in line with the conditions does not prevent, where necessary, a tax audit and the completion of the tax assessment. 1 3
Relationship with voluntary disclosure, penalty reduction and settlement
A taxpayer who has been served an invitation to explain may not benefit from the voluntary disclosure provisions, limited to the finding that is the subject of the invitation. This limitation should not be stretched beyond its subject to conclude that voluntary disclosure has closed for all tax types. If voluntary disclosure is being considered for another transaction, the conditions of Article 371 are examined separately. 1 This topic is also covered in the article on filing a return with voluntary disclosure.
For a penalty reduced under the general Article 370(a), penalty reduction and settlement (uzlaşma) options are assessed within their own conditions. The penalty under Article 370(b) is subject to an exception as regards settlement; the reduction under VUK Article 376 may be examined separately. Under the current settlement regime, the tax itself is not within the same scope as the penalty. 1 2
Can an action be brought against an invitation to explain?
Every preparatory or explanation-request letter does not in itself constitute a final act that must be carried out. Whether it can be challenged is assessed according to its legal effect. Where a later notice of assessment, accrual or penalty act is concerned, the time limit for bringing an action and the application route for that act must be protected separately. 4
Placing a reservation of rights (ihtirazi kayıt) on a correction return filed after an invitation to explain cannot be presented as an unconditional guarantee of litigation. Administrative guidance, the timing of the return, the nature of the transaction and current case law must be assessed together. The relationship between a transaction carried out to obtain a reduced penalty and a challenge to the substance of the tax should be clarified before the return is filed.
Conclusion
The first step in an invitation-to-explain file is to determine the type and scope of the letter. The explanation should rest on concrete documents, and the explanation period and the return and payment periods should be tracked separately. The difference between a general invitation to explain and an SMİYB preliminary finding, and the 2026 monetary threshold, should be kept in view; the penalty advantage, the tax itself and judicial remedies should be considered together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an invitation to explain mean a final tax penalty?
No. As explained in the section "When is an invitation to explain issued?", the process is based on obtaining an explanation in response to a preliminary finding. Return to the related explanation
How long is the reply period?
For a general invitation to explain, it is thirty days. The distinctions between notification and the later stages, explained in the section "How long is the explanation period?", should also be checked. Return to the related explanation
Is 870,000 TL the upper limit for all invitation-to-explain files?
No. The amount explained in the section "The 2026 limit and the five percent criterion" relates to the preliminary finding on the use of a certain type of document. Return to the related explanation
Can a voluntary disclosure return be filed after an invitation?
For the finding that is the subject of the invitation, there is a statutory limit. The distinction of scope explained in the section "Relationship with voluntary disclosure, penalty reduction and settlement" applies. Return to the related explanation
Sources and legal bases
- Tax Procedure Law No. 213 (213 sayılı Vergi Usul Kanunu), Articles 18, 107/A, 370, 371, 376 and supplementary Article 1; GİB record containing a note on the 2026 amount under General Communiqué No. 588 (588 sayılı Genel Tebliğ). Official source
- GİB, Guide to the Invitation to Explain Procedure (İzaha Davet Uygulaması Rehberi), October 2025; monetary amounts separately checked with a 2026 note. Official source
- General Communiqué No. 519 on the Tax Procedure Law (519 Sıra No.lu Vergi Usul Kanunu Genel Tebliği). Official source
- Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577 (2577 sayılı İdari Yargılama Usulü Kanunu), Articles 7, 14 and 15. Official source