Effective Repentance in Turkish Fake Invoice Cases 2026: What Must Be Paid under Tax Procedure Law Art. 359, Half or One-Third Reduction by Stage, Continuing the Tax Case after the Constitutional Court’s Annulment, Partial Payment and Several Periods, Pre-2022 Files (Provisional Art. 34), Effect on Suspension and Two Model Petitions

For a person investigated or prosecuted in Turkey for using or issuing fake invoices, effective repentance is a statutory reduction that halves the prison term or cuts it by one third. Under Tax Procedure Law (TPL) Art. 359, if the tax assessed because the acts in that article caused a tax loss, all of the late payment interest and surcharge, half of the penalties imposed and the surcharge on that half are paid during the investigation stage, the sentence is reduced by half. If they are paid during the prosecution stage before judgment, it is reduced by one third. Where no tax has been assessed and no penalty linked to tax has been imposed, the sentence is reduced by half. Whether this applies to a period for which tax can no longer be assessed because the assessment limitation has expired is discussed in Limitation Periods in Turkish Fake Invoice Cases. The investigation stage ends when the court accepts the indictment (Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) Art. 2(1)(e)–(f)). The Constitutional Court annulled the condition that no tax case be brought or that any case be withdrawn (E.2022/81, K.2023/153), so payment no longer requires giving up the tax case. The statute ties the reduction to payment alone and does not require an admission. This guide explains the items to be paid, the effect of the stage, the relationship with the tax case, the Art. 376 reduction and settlement, partial payment and continuing offences, the transitional rule for files that predate 15 April 2022, the effect on suspension of the sentence, and gives two model petitions. It reflects the law in force on 27 October 2026.

Three different tools: disclosure, preliminary finding, effective repentance

Turkish tax law has three separate mechanisms in evasion cases that depend on a notification or a payment. Voluntary disclosure is a notification made on the taxpayer’s own initiative before the act is detected, and it prevents Art. 359 from applying at all. A preliminary finding letter is a notification by the administration about small amounts of fake or misleading document use, and it lowers the rate of the tax loss penalty. Effective repentance is a payment made after the act has been detected, during the criminal investigation or prosecution, and it reduces the prison term.

When the door to voluntary disclosure closes is a contested question after KURGAN letters and Examination Preparation Letters; it is discussed in our guide on amended return or defence after a KURGAN letter. This page explains effective repentance, the option that remains once the act has been detected.

The statutory text and its elements

Effective repentance was introduced into TPL Art. 359 by Art. 4 of Law No. 7394, with effect from 15 April 2022. Its elements are as follows.

Two features of the wording stand out. First, the reduction applies to “the sentence to be imposed”: effective repentance does not affect whether the offence was committed, only the length of the sentence if there is a conviction. Second, the statute ties the reduction to payment alone. It does not require an acceptance of the charge, a confession or a statement of remorse. Payment can therefore be made alongside a defence that the transaction was real and that there was no intent, without being taken as acceptance.

How the amount is calculated

The amount to be paid has five items: two paid in full, one paid in half, and the surcharges linked to them. The basis of the calculation is the tax and penalty notice together with a current statement of debt obtained from the tax office.

Example: if TRY 1,000,000 of VAT has been assessed because of fake invoices and a threefold tax loss penalty of TRY 3,000,000 has been imposed, the amount payable before interest and surcharges is TRY 2,500,000: the TRY 1,000,000 tax plus TRY 1,500,000, half of the penalty. The late payment interest and surcharge on the tax and the surcharge on the half of the penalty are added. The other half of the penalty is not part of the payment condition for effective repentance; on the tax side, what happens to it depends on the outcome of any action against the assessment.

Because interest and surcharges change with the payment date, a current statement should be obtained from the tax office before paying, and the payment receipts should show clearly which item has been paid. The late payment surcharge rate has been 3.7% per month since Presidential Decision No. 10556 (Official Gazette, 13 November 2025).

Which stage, which reduction

The rate of reduction depends on the stage at which payment is made. The boundary between the stages comes from the definitions in the Code of Criminal Procedure: the investigation is the stage from the moment the competent authorities learn of a suspicion of an offence until the indictment is accepted, and the prosecution is the stage from acceptance of the indictment until the judgment becomes final (CCP Art. 2(1)(e)–(f)).

The period between the filing of the indictment and its acceptance matters. After the indictment is sent to the court, the investigation stage continues until the court accepts it, and a payment made in that period qualifies for the half reduction. If the court returns the indictment, the investigation stage also continues. The statute does not say how a payment made after the first-instance judgment is treated where the regional appeal court gives a new judgment in the case. The time limit in the statute is “before judgment”, and the safe course is to pay before the first-instance court gives its judgment.

Can the tax case continue?

Yes. Law No. 7394 originally made the effective repentance reduction conditional on not bringing a case in the tax court, withdrawing any case already brought and not appealing. The Constitutional Court annulled that paragraph by its decision of 13 September 2023 (E.2022/81, K.2023/153), published in the Official Gazette on 29 November 2023. Payment for effective repentance can therefore be made while an action against the assessment continues.

Under TPL Art. 112(3), taxes and penalties whose collection is suspended because a case has been brought may be paid in whole or in part during the case at the taxpayer’s request. If the case is decided in the taxpayer’s favour and the assessment is cancelled, tax collected without basis is refunded with interest at the deferral interest rate, calculated from the date of collection to the date the correction slip is served (TPL Art. 112(4)). Payment thus secures the reduction in the criminal file without any loss of rights in the tax case.

The 30-day periods on the tax side and the stage of the criminal file run independently. When the notice is served, the criminal investigation may not yet have begun. Whether to sue, whether to use the Art. 376 reduction and when to make the effective repentance payment should be planned together. How an assessment is built and challenged is explained in our guide on VAT deduction denied for fake invoices in Turkey.

Who pays and who benefits

Tax and the tax loss penalty are imposed on the legal entity, while the prison term for the acts in Art. 359 is imposed on the individuals who committed them (TPL Art. 333). In a company file, the payment is therefore made by the taxpayer company and the reduction is requested for the manager who acted for it. TPL Art. 359 does not specify who must make the payment; it requires the payment condition to be met for the tax assessed and the penalties imposed. The payment documents should therefore be filed in the investigation or prosecution file in a way that shows which assessment and which period they relate to.

Where there are several suspects or accused persons in the same file, the payment should be notified for each of them and the reduction requested for each separately. For an accomplice who had no benefit from the offence, the half reduction in TPL Art. 360 is also relevant. The personal exposure of managers is explained in our guide on personal liability of directors and managers in fake invoice cases.

Partial payment, instalments and several periods

The statute provides a reduction where the listed items are paid. It does not provide a proportional reduction for partial payment, so paying only part of the amount is not sufficient under the wording of the statute. If the debt is paid in instalments, the condition is still payment: the instalments must be completed before the end of the stage to which the desired reduction belongs. For the half reduction, payment must be completed before the indictment is accepted; otherwise, before judgment in the prosecution.

Where acts are committed over several calendar years or tax periods in pursuit of the same decision, Criminal Code Art. 43 applies and a single sentence is imposed (TPL Art. 359). Because a single sentence is imposed, the statute does not say how payment for only some periods is reflected in that sentence. Given that uncertainty, the safe course for a person seeking the reduction is to meet the payment condition for the assessments for every period in the file. If the assessment for one period has been cancelled or has become time-barred, that period’s position in the file needs separate assessment.

Files from before 15 April 2022: provisional Art. 34

Because effective repentance took effect on 15 April 2022, Law No. 7394 also added a transitional rule for earlier acts and files. Under TPL provisional Art. 34, persons against whom judgment had been given and whose files were at the enforcement stage could benefit from the reduction provided for the investigation stage if they paid within one year of the law’s entry into force. That period has expired.

Under the same article, those provisions also apply to files that were at the investigation or prosecution stage on the date the law was published, and payment must then be made before judgment. That wording matters: for files at the investigation or prosecution stage on that date, a payment made before judgment attracts the half reduction provided for the investigation stage. Files that were before the regional appeal court or the Court of Cassation on that date, and that require an assessment of the more favourable law, are reversed; the conditions relating to continuing offences are determined at a hearing.

The transitional article also contained a condition that no tax case be brought or that any case be withdrawn. The Constitutional Court annulled that sentence as regards files at the enforcement stage and at the prosecution stage (E.2022/59, K.2022/111 of 28 September 2022). For acts committed before 15 April 2022, the penalty ranges are also compared under the principle of the more favourable law (Criminal Code Art. 7(2)): before the amendment, the upper limits were three years for Art. 359(a) and five years for Art. 359(b).

How the reduction changes the final sentence

Criminal Code Art. 61(5) sets the order in which the sentence is built: the provisions on attempt, participation and continuing offences, then provocation, minority, mental illness and personal grounds for reduction, and finally the discretionary reduction. Effective repentance is treated as a personal ground for reduction, so it is applied after the increase for a continuing offence and before the discretionary reduction of up to one sixth (Criminal Code Art. 62). Its most important effect is that it can bring the sentence below the thresholds that decide how it is enforced. Suspension of the sentence (Criminal Code Art. 51(1)) and deferral of the announcement of the judgment (CCP Art. 231(5)) become possible for sentences of two years or less, subject to their other statutory conditions, including compensation of the loss caused to the public for deferral (CCP Art. 231(6)(c)). Sentences of one year or less are short prison terms that can be converted into alternative sanctions (Criminal Code Arts. 49(2), 50(1)).

The last two rows show that the timing of payment decides not only the length of the sentence but also how it is enforced. In a file with a continuing-offence increase, a payment left until the prosecution may not be enough to bring the sentence below two years. Whether suspension or deferral is actually granted depends on the court’s assessment of the other statutory conditions.

Step-by-step checklist

The steps from the decision to pay to the notification in the file are set out below. Each step aims to ensure that the payment covers the items the statute requires, at the right stage, and in a form that can be proved.

Payment and defence: is it an admission?

An effective repentance payment does not have to change the direction of the defence. TPL Art. 359 ties the reduction to payment and requires no admission. A suspect or accused person can therefore maintain that the transaction was real and that he or she did not know the invoice was fake, while paying against the possibility of a conviction. The petition notifying the payment should make that relationship explicit: the main request is a decision not to prosecute or an acquittal, and the effective repentance reduction is requested only without this being taken as acceptance, and in case the opposite view is taken.

The effect of payment on the tax side should be considered as well. In an action against the assessment, payment is not an acceptance of the tax debt; the case continues, and if the assessment is cancelled, the tax paid is refunded with interest (TPL Art. 112(4)). The decision to pay should therefore be taken knowing both the stage of the criminal file and the status of the tax case. The defence on the merits in the criminal case is discussed in our Turkish guide on the defence petition in a fake invoice criminal case (in Turkish).

Points for foreign-owned groups

In a foreign-owned company, the payment is made by the Turkish company but the reduction benefits the individuals in the criminal file, who may include foreign directors. Three points follow. First, the group’s internal approval for the payment should be obtained in time to pay before the indictment is accepted, since the difference between half and one third can decide whether the sentence can be suspended. Second, because the statute does not require an admission and the tax case can continue, the payment can be described accurately in group reporting as a payment made to secure a statutory reduction, without accepting the allegation. Third, the payment notice and every other document filed in the criminal file should be consistent with the company’s position in the tax case and with the managers’ statements, because the same facts are read in both files.

Model petitions

The two models below are English working drafts for group review. Petitions filed with a Turkish prosecutor’s office or court must be in Turkish and completed with the facts of the file. The first is for a file where the company has brought an action against the assessment and has also paid the amount required by TPL Art. 359 during the investigation. The second notifies a payment made during the prosecution, before the hearing.

Model 1: notification of payment during the investigation and request for a decision not to prosecute

Model 2: notification of payment during the prosecution

How Hukukçular Evi can help

An effective repentance decision requires the amount to be calculated correctly, the stage of the criminal file to be known and the tax case to be planned at the same time. Hukukçular Evi Ankara obtains and checks the tax office statement and the items to be paid, times the payment according to the stage, files the payment notice with the prosecutor or court without it being taken as acceptance, conducts the action against the assessment in the tax court, and assesses the transitional rule and the more favourable law in files that predate 15 April 2022. We work in English with foreign-owned companies, their managers and group legal teams. The scope of the service is described on our fake invoice defence page (in Turkish), and the lawyer’s profile is on the author page. You can reach us on +90 554 648 37 15 before any payment decision.

Frequently asked questions

What must be paid for effective repentance in a fake invoice case?

All of the tax assessed, the late payment interest and the late payment surcharge, half of the penalties imposed, and the surcharge on that half (TPL Art. 359).

By how much is the sentence reduced?

By half if payment is made during the investigation, and by one third if made during the prosecution before judgment. Where there is no assessed tax and no penalty linked to tax, the sentence is reduced by half (TPL Art. 359).

When does the investigation stage end?

When the court accepts the indictment (CCP Art. 2(1)(e)). A payment made after an indictment is filed but before it is accepted still attracts the half reduction.

We brought a tax case. Can we still benefit?

Yes. The condition not to sue was annulled by the Constitutional Court (E.2022/81, K.2023/153). Payment can be made while the case continues, and if the assessment is cancelled, the tax paid is refunded with interest (TPL Art. 112(3)–(4)).

Is paying an admission of the offence?

The statute ties the reduction to payment alone and requires no admission. The payment can be notified together with a request for non-prosecution or acquittal, without being taken as acceptance.

Should the company or the manager pay?

Tax and penalties are imposed on the company, while the prison term is imposed on the individual who committed the act (TPL Art. 333). The statute does not specify who pays; the payment should be filed for each suspect or accused person, showing which assessment it relates to.

Do we get a reduction if we pay part of the debt?

The statute provides no proportional reduction for partial payment. The listed items must be paid in full before the relevant stage ends.

Is an instalment arrangement enough?

The condition is payment. Instalments must be completed before the end of the stage whose reduction is sought.

What happens if we pay after the judgment?

The statute ties the prosecution-stage reduction to payment before judgment and provides no reduction for later payment.

What is the difference between effective repentance and voluntary disclosure?

Voluntary disclosure is a notification made before the evasion act is detected and prevents Art. 359 from applying (TPL Art. 371). Effective repentance is a payment after detection that reduces the sentence.

Does effective repentance apply to files from before 2022?

Under TPL provisional Art. 34, for files at the investigation or prosecution stage on 15 April 2022, the investigation-stage half reduction applies if payment is made before judgment.

Can the penalty be settled?

No. The tax loss penalty imposed for Art. 359 acts, and the penalty imposed on those who participate in them, are excluded from settlement (TPL Annex Art. 1).

Can the sentence be suspended after effective repentance?

If the final sentence is two years or less, suspension and deferral of the announcement of the judgment can be considered, subject to their other statutory conditions (Criminal Code Art. 51(1); CCP Art. 231). For Art. 359(b), a sentence set at the minimum with payment during the investigation and the discretionary reduction comes to one year three months.

Does the tax court case continue after payment?

Yes. Payment is not a withdrawal, and the court decides the assessment on its merits; if it is cancelled, the tax paid is refunded with interest (TPL Art. 112(4)).

Does the reduction apply to the issuer of fake invoices too?

Yes. The rule covers the acts in every paragraph of Art. 359. Where no tax is assessed and no penalty linked to tax is imposed on the issuer, the sentence is reduced by half without a payment condition.

Related guides

• Fake Invoice Allegations and KURGAN Tax Audits in Turkey — the entry point to this series
• Called to Give a Statement in a Turkish Fake Invoice Investigation
• Amended Return or Defence after a KURGAN Letter in Turkey
• VAT Deduction Denied for Fake Invoices in Turkey: How the Assessment Is Calculated
• Personal Liability of Directors and Managers in Turkish Fake Invoice Cases
• Supplier Due Diligence Against Fake Invoice Risk in Turkey
• Legal Guide for Foreign Investors in Turkey (Türkiye) 2026
• Tax Evasion Penalty and Effective Repentance Calculator (in Turkish)
• Defence Petition in a Fake Invoice Criminal Case (in Turkish)
• Challenging a Fake Invoice Assessment in the Turkish Tax Court
• Limitation Periods in Turkish Fake Invoice Cases
• Fake Invoice and KURGAN Decision Tool (in Turkish)
• Travel Bans in Turkish Fake Invoice Investigations
• Precautionary Attachment in Turkish Fake Invoice Cases