An application against a tax payment order differs from an objection to the enforcement office in private-law receivables. To annul a payment order relating to a tax receivable, an action is, as a rule, filed before the tax court within 15 days of notification. An objection petition submitted to the tax office does not take the place of this action. Because filing an action does not stop collection on its own, a stay of execution is assessed separately where an attachment is ongoing or imminent. 1 2
This article addresses the legal basis of the payment order, the grounds for an action, notification and the calculation of time limits, the extension of company debts to individuals, the asset declaration (mal bildirimi) obligation and the contents of the file to be prepared. The review concerns tax receivables; for Social Security Institution (SGK) premiums and other public receivables, the court with jurisdiction may vary under the special law. For this distinction, see the section “Is Law No. 6183 the collection law for every receivable?”
At what stage is a tax payment order issued?
A payment order is the act aimed at the compulsory collection of a public receivable that has not been paid when due and has become enforceable. A tax or penalty notice (ihbarname), by contrast, relates to the stage of assessment and imposition of the penalty. That these documents contain similar amounts does not mean that they are the same act or that they are subject to the same time limit for an action.
In the initial review, the type, period and due date of the debt, the principal tax, the penalty and the ancillary amounts should be separated. An action filed against the tax assessment, a stay of execution that has been granted, and a payment or offset that has been made can change whether the debt is enforceable. The fact that a debt appears in the administration’s records does not by itself prove that all the conditions for enforcement have been met; conversely, a general statement that the debt is unjustified does not by itself eliminate the payment order.
Does the time limit for an action against a notice restart with the payment order?
A payment order does not, as a general rule, reopen the time limit for an action against an assessment that has already lapsed. However, the collection of a debt that has not been properly notified, is not yet enforceable, has been paid or has been directed at the wrong person is assessed separately. The claimant should separate, on the basis of concrete documents, the allegation concerning the merits of the assessment from the allegation that the collection act is unlawful. For details on this subject, see the section on settlement on tax penalties.
Is Law No. 6183 the collection law for every receivable?
No. Law No. 6183 on the Procedure for Collecting Public Receivables is not the collection law for all private-law debts. A receivable of a public administration arising from a contract or a tort and a tax receivable may not be subject to the same procedure. The fact that the institution issuing the payment order is a public institution does not by itself determine the court with jurisdiction. For a payment order relating to a tax receivable, the tax courts have jurisdiction; for non-tax public receivables such as SGK premiums, the special law governing the receivable and the rules of jurisdiction are researched separately. The time-limit and action assessment in this article centers on a payment order relating to a tax receivable; it should not be assumed that the time limit and route described here apply as they are to another public receivable. 1
How is the time limit for an action against a payment order calculated?
The time limit in Article 58 of Law No. 6183 is 15 days. The time limit is calculated from the day following notification. Whether the last day falls on a holiday and the statutory extension provisions are also checked separately. Relying solely on the date on which the document was issued may start a time limit that has not yet begun, and it may equally conceal a time limit that has already lapsed. 1 2
Which date is decisive for electronic notification?
An electronic notification within the scope of Article 107/A of the Tax Procedure Law (Vergi Usul Kanunu) is deemed made at the end of the fifth day following the date on which it reaches the electronic address. The date of an SMS, the viewing of the e-mail or the day on which the document is opened does not take the place of this rule. The evidence record of the electronic notification should be added to the file. In the case of physical notification, the service receipt (mazbata), the person who received it and the procedure applied are examined. 3
In an allegation of defective notification, the date of learning and the applicable special provisions matter. Rather than postponing the filing of an action in reliance on the invalidity of the notification, the protection of the time limit should be considered by explaining the manner and date of learning. Nor should it be assumed that an application to the administration suspends the time limit for the action; in tax disputes, the limitation on the application of Article 11 of the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577 (İYUK) is taken into account.
On what grounds can annulment of a payment order be requested?
Article 58 of Law No. 6183 regulates the allegations that there is no such debt, that the debt has been partially paid, or that it has become time-barred under the statute of limitations. The grounds for the action should be built in such a way that they show how this framework is met in the specific case.
Absence of a debt and enforcement against the wrong person
The absence of debtor status, the extinguishment of the receivable subject to enforcement, or the failure of the statutory conditions of personal liability are at the center of this review. The tax identification number, the company title, the status in which the person is held liable and the period stated in the payment order are checked together. The same name or an old shareholding record is not by itself a sufficient assessment.
Payment, offsetting and duplicate enforcement
In a bank receipt (dekont), not only the amount but also the tax type, the period, and the accrual and collection numbers matter. A payment made toward another debt may not show that the debt subject to the action has been paid. The submission of a request for offsetting (mahsup) is also distinct from the offsetting actually being carried out. The same receivable may be pursued against different liable persons; however, the amount collected must be deducted from the total debt, and duplicate collection must not occur.
Collection statute of limitations
The general rule is a five-year collection statute of limitations running from the beginning of the year following the calendar year in which the public receivable fell due. However, grounds of interruption and non-running may change the outcome. It is not sufficient merely that five years have passed since the tax period. The dates of acts such as payment, notification of the payment order and attachment should be put in order together with their legal validity. The assessment statute of limitations under the Tax Procedure Law and the collection statute of limitations under Law No. 6183 are not the same. 1 For details on this subject, see the section on statutes of limitations and time limits for bringing an action.
Can a payment order be sent to a shareholder or manager for a company’s debt?
The liability of a limited liability company shareholder is assessed under repeated Article 35 of Law No. 6183; the liability of the legal representative arising from tax duties is assessed primarily within the framework of Article 10 of the Tax Procedure Law. In general public receivables, repeated Article 35 and the relevant special provisions are also important. The statuses of shareholder and manager cannot be used in place of one another.
As regards a shareholder, the capital share, the period of shareholding, the share transfer and the conditions for collection from the company are examined. As regards a legal representative, the period of duty and authority, the tax duty alleged not to have been fulfilled, and the relationship with the inability to collect are investigated. The enforcement file showing that the conditions for collection from the company have been met may be requested from the court. A person’s departure from the company does not automatically remove liability for the earlier period, just as having served in the past does not justify holding that person liable for all debts.
Does filing an action stop the attachment?
A payment order is a collection act. For this reason, filing an annulment action does not stop collection on its own. Under Article 27 of the Administrative Procedure Law, a stay of execution requires that clear unlawfulness and damage that is difficult or impossible to remedy be shown together. 4
For example, while it is shown with clear bank receipts that the debt subject to the payment order has been paid, it may be explained with bank records that the freezing of the account blocks wages or obligatory operating payments. The court does not rely solely on the word “hardship” in the petition. An understandable connection should be established between the act subject to the action, the damage and the documents submitted. A stay of execution is interim protection; it does not mean that the action has been definitively won.
Does an application for deferral or installments preserve the time limit for the action?
Payment, a deferral application, the action and a stay of execution do not take the place of one another. Making a deferral (tecil) or installment application does not preserve the 15-day time limit for the action; the time limit for the action may lapse while discussions with the collection unit continue. The acceptance of the deferral request, the security and the payment conditions should be documented separately, and the right of action should not be postponed in reliance on a deferral request that is not accepted or whose conditions are not fulfilled. Separate final days are tracked for deferral, the asset declaration and the action. 1 2
How are the petition and evidence file prepared?
The petition should contain the court, the parties, the date and number of the payment order subject to the action, the date of notification, the debt items objected to, the legal grounds, the evidence and the express requests. If a partial action is being filed, it must be stated without ambiguity which tax, period and amount are in dispute.
- All pages of the payment order and the notification evidence records.
- The debt statement, and the accrual and notice records.
- Payment bank receipts, and offset and cancellation (terkin) documents.
- Earlier court decisions and decisions on stays of execution.
- Shareholding, representation, share transfer and trade registry documents.
- A chronological enforcement table for the statute of limitations.
- Bank, income, expense and obligatory payment documents for interim protection.
The requests for annulment and for a stay of execution are shown separately. An attachment applied subsequently is, depending on the specific circumstances, another act that must be challenged in a separate action. It should not be assumed that an action filed against the payment order automatically covers all subsequent acts.
What is an asset declaration and what does it cover?
An asset declaration (mal bildirimi) is the disclosure of the assets, rights and receivables sufficient to cover the debt, together with their location, nature and value. Rights and receivables held by third parties are also taken into account. The debtor’s income and information on how the debt can be paid are also part of the declaration. Within 15 days of notification of the payment order, the options of payment, asset declaration and action are assessed separately. 1 2
An asset declaration is not the same as an unlimited disclosure of all assets; the scope sufficient for the debt and the statutory content are the basis. The fact that the debtor has no assets at all does not remove the declaration obligation; this situation must be explained in the manner required by law.
What happens if an asset declaration is not made or is made untruthfully?
If no asset declaration is made, coercive imprisonment (tazyik hapsi) of up to three months, on a one-time basis and until the declaration is made, may come into question, depending on a decision given by the statutory procedure. This does not mean that the collection officer may directly issue an indefinite imprisonment order. A deficient declaration, an untruthful declaration and acts aimed at diverting assets are subject to different sanction provisions; for this reason, no knowingly untruthful statement should be made. 1 2
The declaration obligation is not suspended automatically on the ground that a payment plan is being discussed with the creditor administration.
What additional notices are made when there are no assets or when assets are acquired later?
A debtor who declares that there is no attachable property must, together with this declaration or within fifteen days of the date of the declaration, submit the last residence and business address, the registration information at other tax offices and public administrations where there is a continuing taxpayer status, and the copy of the population record specified in the law. This additional obligation does not have the same starting point as the time limit for the action, which runs from notification of the payment order. 1 2
If a person who has declared that there is no property, or who has not shown assets sufficient for the debt, later acquires property or his or her income increases, notice must be given to the collection office within fifteen days of the date of acquisition or increase. The fact that the first asset declaration was submitted does not remove this subsequent obligation; the failure to give timely notice of later-acquired property or an increase in income may also have separate consequences. 1 2
How is an asset declaration submitted electronically?
For an electronic asset declaration, the payment orders and asset declaration petition transactions in the Digital Tax Office (Dijital Vergi Dairesi) can be used. The record showing that the electronic petition was sent should be kept; creating a draft or closing the screen should not be regarded as a completed application. 2
What happens to the asset declaration if a partial action is filed or the debt is paid?
Filing an action against only part of the payment order does not remove the asset declaration and payment obligations for the part left outside the action. Which lines of the debt are disputed, and on what ground, should be shown clearly in the petition. If the whole debt has been paid within the 15-day period, the asset declaration obligation is assessed accordingly; partial payment, however, does not produce the same result as if the whole debt had been paid. 1 2
Asset declaration and dismissal of the action
An asset declaration is not the same act as payment or an action. Under Articles 58 and 59 of Law No. 6183 and the explanations of the Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı, GİB), the declaration obligation is monitored separately, taking into account the scope and outcome of the action. Where an action filed for the whole debt is dismissed in whole or in part, the 15-day asset declaration obligation running from notification of the dismissal decision is assessed. Special circumstances, such as the earlier attachment of property sufficient to cover the debt, are assessed separately. The absence of property may also require a declaration made in the proper manner. 1 2
Is an appeal (istinaf) or further appeal (temyiz) available after the decision?
The initial time limit for filing an action and the time limit for the legal remedy after the decision are not the same. Whether a legal remedy is available, the monetary threshold and the temporal application of the relevant procedural provision should be checked for the specific decision; the time limit for an appeal (istinaf) or further appeal (temyiz) running from the date of notification of the decision should be monitored separately. 4
By the decision of the Constitutional Court (AYM) of April 21, 2022, Case No. E.2021/119, Decision No. K.2022/48, the provision for a 10 percent increase on the amount in respect of which the party was found unjustified in a payment order action was annulled. The information about this increase in older online content should not be applied as a current rule. The annulment does not eliminate the principal debt, the ancillary amounts accruing by law or the litigation costs. 5
Conclusion
An effective action against a tax payment order requires first protecting the time limit and then documenting the debt and liability items. The notification record, the payment and enforcement statement, and the status in which the person is addressed should be examined together. If there is an attachment risk, the request for interim legal protection should be separately reasoned.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days does an objection to a tax payment order take?
For annulment of a payment order relating to a tax receivable, the basic time limit is 15 days from notification. For the calculation method, see the section “How is the time limit for an action against a payment order calculated?” Back to the related explanation
Does submitting a petition to the tax office take the place of an action?
No. An administrative petition does not take the place of an annulment action that must be filed in time before the tax court. Its effect on the time limit should not be assumed; the relevant explanation is in the time-limit section. Back to the related explanation
I paid the debt but a payment order arrived; what should I do?
It is checked that the bank receipt belongs to the correct tax and period, a correction is requested from the collection office, and the time limit for the action is protected. Details are in the section “Payment, offsetting and duplicate enforcement.” Back to the related explanation
If I file an action, is the attachment on my bank account lifted?
It is not lifted automatically. A stay of execution, the scope of the existing attachment and, where necessary, a separate action against the attachment are assessed. See the section “Does filing an action stop the attachment?” Back to the related explanation
If I lose the action, will I pay the 10 percent increase?
The former 10 percent increase for losing in payment order actions has been annulled. Other financial consequences may continue. See the section “Asset declaration and dismissal of the action.” Back to the related explanation
Sources and legal bases
- Law No. 6183 on the Procedure for Collecting Public Receivables, in particular Articles 35, 55, 58–59, 102–104. Source text
- Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı), Actions to Be Taken Against a Payment Order, March 2026, Publication No. 580. Source text
- Tax Procedure Law No. 213, Articles 10 and 107/A. Source text
- Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577, Articles 3, 7–8, 11, 27. Source text
- Constitutional Court (AYM), April 21, 2022, E.2021/119, K.2022/48. Source text