What is a Tax Plate? Who Should Get It? How to Query It?

What is a tax plate, what is it used for, how is it obtained, who is obliged to obtain a tax plate, what is the obligation to obtain and display a tax plate, what information should be on the tax plate, and what is the penalty for not having a tax plate?
The answers to all your questions about the tax plate that taxpayers obtain and keep in their workplaces are in this article.

What is a Tax Plate?

The tax plate is a document that shows the amount of earnings on which tax must be paid and the amount of tax on these earnings.
The format of the tax plate, the information it must specify, and the conditions and persons by whom it must be obtained are specified by the Ministry of Finance.
The regulations and sanctions regarding the tax plate are discussed in detail in Law No. 6111 and the Tax Procedure Law.

What is an e-Tax Plate?

The e-Tax Plate is an expression used for obtaining the tax plate through an online application and is no different from the tax plate we know. It is not a separate document.

Is it Mandatory to Display the Tax Plate?

The expression that was in Article 82 of Law No. 6111 and Article 5 of the Tax Procedure Law, which contain the principles and regulations regarding the tax plate, was as follows: “Taxpayers are obliged to hang the plate in their centers, branches, sales stores in a way that can be easily read and seen by business owners and taxpayers.”
For this reason, for a very long time in the Republic of Turkey, individuals and businesses obliged to obtain a tax plate have hung their tax plates in a visible place in their workplaces. However, this expression was revised in recent years, and the part that mandates hanging the tax plate in a visible place was updated to “…must obtain the plate.”
Therefore, individuals and businesses who are obliged to obtain a tax plate are no longer obliged to hang their tax plates in a visible place in their workplaces, but they must still obtain a tax plate.

Is it Mandatory to Obtain a Tax Plate?

As stated in Article 5 of the Tax Procedure Law, persons subject to Income Tax, persons whose earnings are determined within the scope of the simple procedure, and capital companies must obtain a tax plate.
These individuals and companies must obtain the tax plate, which states their earnings subject to income tax and shows the amount of tax on this earning, until the last day of May every year. Otherwise, a penalty will be imposed on these individuals and companies.

Who is Obliged to Obtain a Tax Plate?

Those subject to the tax plate obligation are as follows:

1. From Income Taxpayers

• Those with commercial earnings
• Those with agricultural earnings
• Self-employed professionals
  Each partner in ordinary partnerships, collective and limited partnerships

1. From Corporate Taxpayers

• Joint stock companies
• Limited liability companies
• Limited partnerships with share capital

What Information is on the Tax Plate?

The following information is on the tax plate:

• Name and surname
• Trade name
• Business address
• Tax identification number
• Affiliated tax office
• Type of tax
• Start date of business
• Main activity code and type of activity

In addition, documents showing the activity status (active, terminated, or liquidated) are also required:

• Tax bases declared for the last three years and taxes accrued for the calendar year to which these bases belong,
• Approval code to be generated by the Revenue Administration (GİB) information processing system.

How to Apply for an Online Tax Plate?

The e-tax plate, used under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance and the Revenue Administration (GİB), has brought practicality to the business of taxpayers. Now, for tax plate queries, online submission of Income Tax and Corporate Tax declarations to GİB is sufficient. With this submission, the taxpayer’s registration is created. Along with the registration, a printout of the barcode e-tax plate can be obtained online.
You can easily track your online tax plate application with two methods:

1. Tax plate query and tracking via GİB: Enter your tax ID and Turkish ID number, as well as the province and tax office address information, on the GİB Internet Tax Office login screen and click the “query” button. This way, you will see the stage of your online tax plate application.
2. Tax plate query and tracking via e-Devlet: Log in to the e-Devlet system and fill in the fields on the “e-Tax query” page. Then click the “query” button and easily see which stage your tax plate application is at.

How to Obtain a Tax Plate?

Taxpayers subject to income and corporate taxes must submit their tax declarations for these taxes to the Tax Office on the relevant dates. After this submission process, the Revenue Administration creates a tax plate for the taxpayers in line with their information and the information in their declarations.
The created tax plates are transferred by the Revenue Administration to the taxpayers’ internet tax office accounts. At this stage, taxpayers must print their tax plates before the end of working hours on the last day of May. Taxpayers can perform this printing process at the tax office or through certified public accountants or sworn-in certified public accountants authorized in accordance with Law No. 3568.

• Income tax taxpayers can print their tax plates starting from April 1st.
• Corporate tax taxpayers can print their tax plates starting from May 1st.
• The last date for printing the tax plate for both groups of taxpayers is May 31st.

How to Get a Tax Plate Printout?

You can get your tax plate printout by following the steps below:

• Log in to the screen at the Revenue Administration address and go to the page containing your information.
• Click the “Queries” button.
• Select "Tax Plate Creation" from the options in the opened window.
• Create your tax plate and print it out.

Where Should Tax Plates be Kept?

Let's look at the relevant regulations:

• If you are obliged to obtain a tax plate, you must keep your plate at your workplace's center, branch, or sales store.
• Farmers, on the other hand, should keep their plates in their offices for buying and selling activities directly related to agricultural work.
• It is also mandatory to keep a tax plate in transport vehicles that carry passengers or goods for a fee.
• If there is more than one floor or section in the workplace, there is no obligation to obtain and keep a separate tax plate for each floor and section.
• If you need to keep a tax plate in more than one place, you can get as many printouts as you want from the internet tax office.

Is There a Penalty for Not Having a Tax Plate?

Taxpayers who are obliged to obtain and keep a tax plate, if it is determined that they do not have a tax plate, are subject to a special irregularity penalty in accordance with subparagraph 4 of Article 353 of the Tax Procedure Law (VUK). The relevant subparagraph of the VUK says:
“4. (Amended: 25/5/1995 – 4108/8 art.) In cases where daily cash register, daily retail sales and revenue ledger, and ledgers whose maintenance and daily recording are mandated by the Ministry of Finance are not kept at the workplace, or transactions that should be recorded in these ledgers are not recorded daily, or are not submitted to those authorized for inspection and examination upon request, and in cases where taxpayers obliged to keep or display a plate for the implementation of tax laws do not comply with this obligation, a special irregularity penalty shall be imposed for each determination.”

How to Query a Tax Plate?

If you are wondering where to query the tax plate, let us tell you that this query is easily done online. In this way, the taxpayer can easily access the information on the tax plate of the workplace over the internet. Citizens can also see the tax status of the taxpayer they shop from or receive goods and services from if they wish.
There is no need to go to the tax office for all this information. The e-Tax plate query can be done on two platforms:

1. Tax Plate Query via e-Devlet

You can follow the steps below to query via e-Devlet:

• Log in to the e-Devlet application with your Turkish ID number and password.
• Go to the “Tax plate query” screen.
• Enter the tax ID number or Turkish ID number of the taxpayer you wish to query.
• On the screen that appears, you can verify the tax ID number of the institution or taxpayer you are querying, see whether they are an active taxpayer, and check their title.

2. e-Tax Plate Query via the Ministry of Finance Revenue Administration (GİB)

It is possible to query the tax plate with the tax identification number through the Ministry of Finance. With this application, the timeliness of the tax plate can be determined, and information about outdated tax plates can be obtained. Messages are sent to institutions and organizations if the taxpayer they queried has a new tax plate, or the current tax plate can be presented.