Payment order (ödeme emri)

Scope

The enforcement director (icra müdürü) issues the payment order if the enforcement request meets the conditions of the law (İİK Art. 60). In the general attachment route, the payment order contains the warnings to pay the debt and costs within seven days, to notify within the same period any objection to the signature or to the debt, and, if no objection is made, to make an asset declaration (Art. 60), and it is sent for service on the debtor within three days at the latest from the enforcement request (Art. 61). In the attachment route specific to negotiable instruments, the payment period is ten days; the complaint, the objection to the signature and the objection to the debt are made to the enforcement court within five days (Art. 168). If the creditor, relying on the same instrument, chooses the general attachment route, the general rules apply (Art. 167). For public receivables, a separate payment order is issued under Law No. 6183 on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables (Art. 55).

Practical significance

In the general attachment route, the objection is communicated to the enforcement office, by petition or orally, within seven days from service (Art. 62). An objection made in time stays the enforcement proceedings; if no objection is made, the proceedings become final and the creditor may request attachment (Arts. 66, 78). A creditor whose proceedings have been stayed may bring an action for annulment of the objection before the court of general jurisdiction within one year from service of the objection (Art. 67); if the proceedings are based on one of the documents listed in Art. 68 (for example, an instrument containing an acknowledgment of debt whose signature has been admitted or has been certified by a notary), the creditor may also, within six months, request removal of the objection from the enforcement court (Art. 68). Because the periods start with service, the proper conduct of service is also important. A precautionary attachment previously imposed turns automatically into final attachment if the debtor does not object in time (Art. 264).

Concepts often confused

A payment order is confused with the enforcement order (icra emri) in enforcement with a judgment. An enforcement order is sent in proceedings based on a court judgment or a document with the nature of a judgment (İİK Arts. 32, 38); the debtor cannot stay these proceedings by objecting to the enforcement office, but may request the enforcement court to postpone enforcement on grounds listed by law such as satisfaction of the debt (itfa), grant of time (imhal) or the statute of limitations (Art. 33). A payment order, on the other hand, is sent in enforcement without a judgment, where the claim is not based on a judgment; in the general attachment route an objection made in time stays the proceedings (Art. 66), whereas in the attachment route specific to negotiable instruments an objection made to the enforcement court does not stay enforcement steps other than sale unless the court issues a stay decision (Arts. 169, 170). Attachment is the stage after the payment order. In payment services legislation, a payment order is the instruction a payment service user gives to the payment service provider for a payment transaction (Law No. 6493 on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions, Art. 3); it has no connection with the payment order in enforcement law.