REGISTERED E-MAIL AND E-INVOICING IN TURKEY

ARTICLE: REGISTERED E-MAIL AND E-INVOICING IN TURKEY By Dr Leyla Keser Berber The legal validity f dcuments in electrnic frmat in Turkey is set ut in Elektrnik mza Kanunu N. 5070 (Electrnic Signature Law N. 5070). Hwever there are n regulatins fr the secure exchange f the data and dcuments between persns and institutins. There have been a number f research prjects and studies carried ut thrughut the wrld that deal with the security f e-cmmerce. One f the leading prjects is the STF 318 Registered E-Mail System research, part f which includes Standard N. TS 102 640 f the Eurpean Telecmmunicatins Standarts Institute. 1 TS 102 640 is, at the time f writing, made f three parts that were published in August 2008: Part 1: Architecture ; Part 2: Data Requirements and Frmats fr Signed Evidences fr REM and Part 3: Infrmatin Security Plicy Requirements fr REM Management Dmains. STF 318 is nw in the final stage f phase 3 that began in Octber 2008. Tw additinal parts have nw been prduced and the previus parts have been reviewed and slightly amended: Part 4: REM-MD Assessment Prfiles and Part 5: Interperability Prfile. All f these dcuments have nw entered a revisin and cmmenting phase by the relevant ETSI Technical Cmmittee (ESI). If everything ges smthly, these dcuments shuld be published in Nvember r December 2009. A furth phase has been deemed as necessary t achieve the fllwing tw main bjectives: t facilitate the interperability between REM systems, by laying dwn test cases and setting up at the ETSI premises a testing facility (named Plugtest (R)), and t develp, jintly with PEPPOL Wrk Package 8 (WP8) and the Universal Pstal Unin, suitable agreements t enable an interchange between systems based n the tw different prtcls: SMTP (ver which ETSI REM is based) and SOAP (used by PEPPOL and ne UPU specificatin). The registered e-mail system uses digital signatures and time stamp technlgies within a defined set f standards t prvide a number f services, such as: a.prviding assurance f the rigin f the electrnic dcument. (The level f assurance will differ in accrdance with the use f the technlgy. Fr a lw level f assurance, the sender s registered e-mail prvides reliable evidence (reliable since the message as a whle is signed) stating that a certain message was sent n a specified date and time frm ne specific mail address. A higher level f assurance will ccur where strng authenticatin is required by the sender, and the same evidence may assert the identity (physical r virtual) f the sender). b.prtecting the integrity f the electrnic dcument. (It may als prvide assurance f authenticity f the dcument. This is helped by the presence in a specific field that prvides evidence f a particular identifier based n the digest f the entire message. In this respect, the sender will nt be able t repudiate the message, even if the registered e-mail des nt carry the sender s signature. Cnversely, the recipient cannt deny having received the particular registered e-mail). c. Fixing the time and date f the peratin ver the electrnic dcument independently f the clcks n the cmputers r systems under the cntrl f the 1 See the Specialist Task Frce 318: Electrnic Signatures Applied t Registered Emails: frmats and plicies at http://prtal.etsi.rg/stfs/stf_ HmePages/STF318/STF318.asp. Pari Cmmunicatins Limited, 2009 Digital Evidence and Electrnic Signature Law Review, Vl 6 197

sender r recipient. d.where an peratin ccurs, it is asserted that the sender cannt deny the peratin ccurred. (In such a case, it is t be inferred that the sender signed the dcument with his r her wn digital signature). e.prvides fr the security and secrecy f the cmmunicatin during transmitting. Registered e-mail can be used t transmit fficial crrespndence between public institutins electrnically; the sending f fficial crrespndence between the private sectr and citizens electrnically, sharing dcuments securely and e-annuncements, e- bills, e-reprts, and e-cntracting. There is als a glbal standard, the Electrnic Pstal Certificatin Mark (EPCM), develped by Micrsft and Pste Italiane. 2 Cuntries that presently ffer such a system r a similar system Italy has had a registered e-mail system since 2005, as prvided by Decret Presidente della Repubblica 11 febbrai 2005, n.68 Reglament recante dispsizini per l utilizz della psta elettrnica certificata, a nrma dell articl 27 della legge 16 gennai 2003, n. 3 (Decree by the President f the Republic N 68/2005) and Il Decret Ministeriale pubblicat nella G.U. del 15 nvembre 2005, n. 266 (Decree by the Ministry fr Innvatin and Technlgies f 2 Nvember 2005). At the time f writing, there are 22 PEC prviders, supervised by a gvernment authrity (CNIPA). 3 In Switzerland, IncaMail is a stre and ntify system managed by the Swiss Pst. This system is peratinal. Althugh it des nt have any fficial legal standing, it is recgnized. 4 In the United States f Amercia, Rpst 5 is a registered e-mail system, and the United States Pst Office ffer a prduct called Electrnic Pstmark. 6 Legislatin regarding registered e-mail The Draft f the Turkish Cmmercial Cde empwers the Infrmatin and Cmmunicatin Technlgies Authrity 7 with regulative and supervisry duties. 8 But befre prviding an explanatin f the related prvisins, it is relevant t prvide an utline f sme details f the Draft Turkish Cmmercial Cde. The Turkish Cmmercial Cde (TCC) was adpted in 1956, arguably inspired by the best cdes f its age and since then, it has nly been spradically updated. An verall effrt t mdernize the TCC has been in prgress fr the past five years, and finally, the relevant Cmmissin f the Ministry f Justice presented the Turkish Cmmercial Cde Draft fr public pinin in late February 2005. The Draft Cde aims t regulate cmmercial relatins in line with the recent changes in the lcal and glbal business envirnment as well as technlgical and legal develpments, including EU legislatin. The Cmmissin has fcused in particular n electrnic transactins, infrmatin sciety services, cnsumer prtectin, minrity sharehlders rights and crprate gvernance. The Draft Cde aims fr an verall change and intends t create a digital cmpany which, it is believed, will be f mst interest t freign investrs. The Draft Cde was sent t Turkish Grand Natinal Assembly n 9 Nvember 2005, and remains pen fr discussin in Parliament. But because f the imprtance f ther issues, the Draft Cmmercial Cde has nt been included in the agenda f the Parliament till the next legislative perid. Cncerning registered e-mail, Article 18 f the Draft Cmmercial Cde reads as fllws: Tacir Olmanın Hükümleri I - Genel larak MADDE 18 (3) Tacirler arasında, diger tarafı temerrüde düșürmeye, sözleșmeyi feshe veya sözleșmeden dönmeye ilișkin ihbar veya ihtarlar nter aracılıgiyla, taahhütlü mektupla, telgrafla veya güvenli elektrnik imza kullanarak kayıtlı elektrnik psta sistemi vasıtasıyla yapılır. Ntificatins pertaining nn-perfrmance and/r terminatin f agreements will be made thrugh public ntery, registered mail, telegram r secure electrnic signature within the registered e-mail system 2 UPU S43-3 Standard, available frm http://www.upu.int. 3 Details can be fund (in Italian) at http://www.cnipa.gv.it/site/it- IT/Attivit%C3%A0/Psta_Elettrnica_Certificata (PEC)/; see als Rberta Falciai and Laura Liberati, The Italian certified e-mail system, Digital Evidence and Electrnic Signature Law Review, 3 (2006) 50 54. 4 Infrmatin (in English) is available at http://www.incamail.ch/en/. 5 http://www.rpst.cm. 6 http://www.usps.cm/electrnicpstmark/ welcme.htm. 7 http://www.btk.gv.tr. 8 Fr detailed infrmatin n Draft Turkish Cmmercial Cde please see http://www.pwc.cm/extweb/pwcpublicatins.nsf/ dcid/cd7a5c0fca3586028025718d0049d71e. 198 Digital Evidence and Electrnic Signature Law Review, Vl 6 Pari Cmmunicatins Limited, 2009

Article 1525 9 reads as fllws: The principles and prcedure regarding the registered e-mail system, the peratins and actins perfrmed via this system and the legal cnsequences f these peratins, the rights and bligatins f the cmpanies, real persns wh are the wners f registered e-mail addresses and the registered e-mail service prviders, the peratin f these service prviders will be determined by the rdinances which will be issued by Infrmatin Technlgies and Telecmmunicatins Authrity within 12 mnths frm the entry int frce f this Law. Registered e-mail studies in Turkey The Infrmatin and Cmmunicatin Technlgies Authrity (BTK) has develped a prject in crdinatin with the universities and private sectr cmpanies in rder t cntribute t the e-transfrmatin prcess and remve the bstacles that will help implement a number e-gvernment prjects that were set ut in the Infrmatin Cmmunity Strategy and Actin Plan, which was apprved by the High Planning Cmmittee. 10 The prject has been submitted t TÜBiITAK, the Scientific and Technlgical Research Cuncil f Turkey, 11 t be evaluated in the scpe f Public Institutins Research and Develpment supprt prgram (1007 Prgram) in the 2008 February-August perid. 12 The E-Transfrmatin Turkish Executive Cmmittee and preparatins fr legislatin The Infrmatin and Cmmunicatin Technlgies Authrity submitted a presentatin in respect f registered e-mail t the E-Transfrmatin Turkish Executive Cmmittee 13 at the 26th meeting, which was held n 26 December 2008. It is expected that the E- Transfrmatin Turkish Executive Cmmittee will recmmend that the BTK establishes a regulatry framewrk regarding registered e-mail, in crdinatin with the State Planning Organisatin. Since BTK has been empwered t deal with the regulatry and supervisry duties regarding registered e-mail, preperatins have begun t implement secndary legislatin. In this respect, the Infrmatin and Telecmmunicatins Authrity have initiated a research prject t bserve and survey what ther States are ding, and what internatinal regulatins and standards there may exist regarding this issue. Draft law n Incme Tax The draft law amending the Incme Tax law and ther relevant laws als includes a prvisin regarding the prvisin f an e-ntice using the registered e-mail system. Article 7 14 f the draft law amends Law N. 6183 n the Pursuit and Cllectin f Public Receivables. Paragraph (a) f Article 7, entitled seizure f mvables has been added t Article 77 f Law N. 6183. This prvisin states that mvables which have a register may als be seized by ntificatin t the register ffice. With the amendment t this regulatin, it is nw pssible t send a ntificatin and receive the respnse by electrnic means. E-Invice 15 With the 2005 E-Transfrmatin Prject f Turkey shrt term actin Plan (e-dönüșüm Türkiye Prjesi Kısa Dönem Eylem Planı), 16 the electrnic invice was fficially placed n the agenda. Later, with the Infrmatin Cmmunity Strategy Actin Plan (Bilgi Tplumu Stratejisi Eylem Planı), 17 the implementatin f the electrnic invice (Actin 64) has becme a prject in which the Head Office f the Ministry f Finance Incme Administratin tk ver as the institutin respnsible fr the implementatin f the cncept. 18 In February 2008, the Incme Administatin started the Electrnic Invice Registratin System. In the cntext f this system, the taxpayer is given permissin by the Incme Administatin t issue their invices electrnically n the cnditin that they sent the secnd cpy f the invice t the Incme Administratin. The system permits the issuance f the invices, prviding they are issued in pdf frmat and include a secure 9 This prvisin will be added int the Article with a mtin f Parliament. 10 Decisin N. 2006/38 dated 11.07.2006 and published in the Official Gazette N. 26242 dated 28.07.2006. 11 http://www.tubitak.gv.tr/hme.d. 12 http://www.tk.gv.tr/bt/kep/kepcalismalar.htm. 13 Fr e-transfrmatin Turkey Prjects, please see http://www.bilgitplumu.gv.tr/eng/default.asp. 14 MADDE 7-21/7/1953 tarihli ve 6183 sayılı Amme Alacaklarının Tahsil Usulü Hakkında Kanunun: a) 77 nci maddesinin snuna așagıdaki fıkra eklenmiștir. Resmi sicile kayıtlı lan menkul malların haczi, sicillerine ișlenmek üzere sicilin tutuldugu daireye teblig edilmek suretiyle de yapılır. Tahsil dairelerince düzenlenen haciz bildirileri, alacaklı tahsil dairelerince ya da alacaklı amme idaresi vasıtasıyla, psta yerine elektrnik rtamda teblig edilebilir ve bu tebligata elektrnik rtamda cevap verilebilir. Elektrnik rtamda yapılacak teblige ve cevapların elektrnik rtamda verilebilmesine ilișkin usul ve esasları belirlemeye Maliye Bakanlıgı yetkilidir. b) 88 inci maddesinin birinci fıkrasının snuna așagıdaki cümleler eklenmiștir. Tahsil dairelerince düzenlenen haciz bildirileri, alacaklı tahsil dairelerince ya da alacaklı amme idaresi vasıtasıyla, psta yerine elektrnik rtamda teblig edilebilir ve bu tebligatlara elektrnik rtamda cevap verilebilir. Elektrnik rtamda yapılacak teblige ve cevapların elektrnik rtamda verilebilmesine ilișkin usul ve esasları belirlemeye Maliye Bakanlıgı yetkilidir. 15 Fr e-invicing, please see leyla Keser Berber, e- Invice and the Digital Financial Accunting f Cmpanies, (Ankara 2006). 16 http://www.bilgitplumu.gv.tr/eng/default.asp; http://www.bilgitplumu.gv.tr/2005ep.asp. 17 Published in the Official Gazette in 2006. See als http://www.bilgitplumu.gv.tr/btstrateji/eylem_pl ani.pdf. 18 http://www.bilgitplumu.gv.tr/btstrateji.asp. Pari Cmmunicatins Limited, 2009 Digital Evidence and Electrnic Signature Law Review, Vl 6 199

electrnic signature (digital signature). The fllwing rganizatins have been given permissin t use the system t date: Turkcell, Vdafne, Avea, Türk Telekm, TTnet and BursaGaz. Article 242/II bis f the Tax Prcedure Law has been amended by the Law n. 5766 (dated 13.06.2008 published in the Official Gazzette N 26905) amending the Law n Public receivables and ther Laws. Article 242/II f the Tax Prcedure Law as amended nw reads as fllws: (Degis,ik madde: 04/06/2008-5766 S.K./17.mad) Maliye Bakanlıgı; elektrnik defter, belge ve kayıtların lușturulması, kaydedilmesi, iletilmesi, muhafaza ve ibrazı ile defter ve belgelerin elektrnik rtamda tutulması ve düzenlenmesi uygulamasına ilișkin usul ve esasları belirlemeye, elektrnik rtamda tutulmasına ve düzenlenmesine izin verilen defter ve belgelerde yer alması gereken bilgileri internet de dahil lmak üzere her türlü elektrnik bilgi iletișim araç ve rtamında Maliye Bakanlıgına veya Maliye Bakanlıgının gözetim ve denetimine tabi lup, kurulușu, faaliyetleri, çalıșma ve denetim esasları Bakanlar Kurulunca çıkarılacak bir yönetmelikle belirlenecek lan özel hukuk tüzel kișiligini haiz bir s,irkete aktarma zrunlulugu getirmeye, bilgi aktarımında uyulacak frmat ve standartlar ile uygulamaya ilis,kin usul ve esasları tespit etmeye, bu Kanun kapsamına giren ișlemlerde elektrnik imza kullanım usul ve esaslarını düzenlemeye ve denetlemeye yetkilidir. Bu Kanunun vergi mahremiyetine ilișkin hükümleri, bu kapsamda kurulan șirketin rtak, yönetici ve çalıșanları hakkında da uygulanır. The Ministry f Finance is authrized t determine the principles and prcedures regarding the preparatin, recrding and frwarding f the electrnic bks and dcuments in the electrnic envirnment; their prtectin, maintenence and submissin. The Ministry f Finance als brings the bligatin f the transfer f every item f infrmatin that shuld be n the bks and dcuments issued with permissin in the electrnic infrmatin and cmmunicatin envirnment t a private legal entity. The business prcedures and the auditin f this cmpany will be determined by an rdinance t be prepared by the Cabinet f Ministers. The Ministry f Finance is als authrized t determine the rules and prcedures regarding the frmat and the standards t be beyed in the infrmatin transfer. The prvisins related t tax cnfidentiality f this Law is applicable t the partners, executives and fficials f the cmpany. The Draft Ordinance n the Establishing, Operatin, Wrking and Accunting Principles f Electrnic Invice and Recrd Preservatin Services (Elektrnik Fatura ve Kayıt Saklama Hizmetleri Kurulușunun (EFKS) Kuruluș, Faaliyet, Çalıs,ma ve Denetim Esasları Hakkında Yönetmelik) that is defined by the abve amendment, has been prepared by the Incme Administratin. In the structure that has been set frth with the Draft, it is prpsed that the cmpany will be established in accrdance witht the prvisins f Article 8, which sets ut the sharehlding arrangements: Pay sahipligi Madde 8 Türkiye Odalar ve Brsalar Birligi, Türkiye Bankalar Birligi, Türkiye Katılım Bankaları Birligi,... EFKS nin kurucu rtaklarıdır Sharehlding Article 8 The Unin f Chambers and Cmmdity Exchanges f Turkey, The Banks Assciatin f Turkey, The Participatin Banks Assciatin f Turkey,... are sharehlders f EFKS. The electrnic invice registratin system The prpsed Electrnic Invice System is a starting pint fr the purpse f implementing the electrnic invice infrastructure and all f its cmpnent parts. In general, the Electrnic Invice Registratin System is a system which makes it pssible fr the first cpies f the invices t be issued in the frm f a digital dcument with a secure signature n it. 20 The first cpies are prepared t be given t the receivers f the invices. The first cpies f the invices which are issued under the Electrnic Invice Registratin System in the frm f paper r secure electrnic signed digital dcuments differ frm the invices which are issued within the scpe f the general prvisins in three 19 Negtiatins cntinue with related parties. 20 http://www.efatura.gv.tr/web/efatura/13. 200 Digital Evidence and Electrnic Signature Law Review, Vl 6 Pari Cmmunicatins Limited, 2009

pints: a.it is prvided that the invice identity number will be used in lieu f an invice serial number within the scpe f electrnic invce registratin system. b.the electrnic invice registratin system emblem shuld be printed n the tp middle f the invice. c. There is a requirement that the fllwing cmmentary be included in a clear and cherent way at the bttm f the electrnic invice issued within the scpe f electrnic invice registratin system: This invice is registered t the electrnic invice registratin system. Inquiries regarding the registratin f this invice suld be dne frm the internet addresss http://www.efatura.gv.tr. T date, six cmpanies have gained the right t issue electrnic invices within the scpe f electrnic invice registratin system after signing a prtcl with the Incme Administratin Authrity. Except frm ne natural gas cmpany, the ther cmpanies are in the telecmmunicatins sectr. 21 A tax payer may nly send an e-invice if they are within the scpe f the electrnic invice registratin system. Electrnic invices frmed by the taxpayers within the scpe f electrnic invice registratin system shuld be signed with a secure electrnic signature within the prvisins f Electrnic Signature Law N. 5070 in rder t prevent the alteratin f any infrmatin in the invice and t cnfirm the surce frm which the invice is received. The UBL standard has been chsen as the preferred standard fr e- invicing. 22 Up t February 2008, six cmpanies have begun t use the system. 23 Dr. Leyla Keser Berber, 2009 Dr. Leyla Keser Berber is a member f the editrial bard 21 http://www.efatura.gv.tr/web/efatura/13. 22 http://ubl.xml.rg/nde?page=5. 23 Fr mre infrmatin, please see http://www.efatura.gv.tr. Pari Cmmunicatins Limited, 2009 Digital Evidence and Electrnic Signature Law Review, Vl 6 201