"When we buy from farmers, how will we issue the e-Müstahsil Makbuzu (e-Producer Receipt) without a wet signature, and what has to change in our systems?" The finance teams of traders, manufacturers and wholesale produce market (hal) operators that buy agricultural products will soon face this question. According to the announcement that GİB (the Turkish Revenue Administration) issued on May 22, 2026, it has been made mandatory for the e-Müstahsil Makbuzu to carry, in place of a wet signature on its printout, the SMS code sent to the phone of the müstahsil (the farmer-producer selling the goods), the phone number, and the details of the operator that sent the SMS.
Why now? Because the changes set out in the announcement will apply to every e-Müstahsil Makbuzu issued from November 5, 2026. As of October 6, the day this article is published, roughly one month remains to prepare.
The framework: the producer receipt and today's procedure
The müstahsil makbuzu (producer receipt) is a commercial document that takes the place of an invoice when goods are bought from farmers who are not taxed under the actual-basis procedure (gerçek usul). According to VUK (Tax Procedure Law) General Communiqué Serial No. 509, the e-Müstahsil Makbuzu is not a new type of document; it has the same legal status as the paper receipt.
The communiqué lists three groups that must use the e-Müstahsil Makbuzu: those who are required to switch to e-Fatura (Türkiye's e-Invoice system) and who issue producer receipts as part of their activity; those who trade in fruit and vegetables as commission agents or merchants under Law No. 5957 (on the regulation of fruit and vegetable trade); and taxpayers for whom GİB has made the transition mandatory.
In the practice to date, the receipt is signed with an electronic certificate and at least one paper printout is taken; both parties sign this printout by hand and it is given to the farmer, while the merchant's copy is kept electronically. The provision that lets the counterparty's details be verified through information technology in place of a wet signature was added by Communiqué Serial No. 573, published in the Resmî Gazete (Türkiye's Official Gazette) of November 12, 2024. The May 22, 2026 announcement turns this option into a requirement in the form of SMS verification.
What changes: three new pieces of information on the receipt
The technical details are in the e-Müstahsil Makbuzu Technical Guide, which GİB updated the same day. Version 1.1 of the guide updates two fields in the UBL-TR structure and adds a new section on issuance and delivery:
- Farmer side (AccountingCustomerParty): The SMS code sent to the phone of the party selling the goods is written on the receipt. In the Contact section, the telephone field holds the number the SMS was sent to, the name field the word "SMS", and the ID field the SMS code.
- Issuing party (AccountingSupplierParty): The details of the operator from which the issuer obtains its SMS-sending service are written in the other-communication field of the contact section.
In short, the change does not merely replace a signing method; it touches the field workflow at the moment of purchase, the farmer master data and the software that produces the document, all at once. The announcement draws attention to the importance of all relevant taxpayers and private integrators completing their developments before the mandatory date. Taxpayers that have completed the necessary development can also use the new procedure before November 5.
The cost of getting compliance wrong should not be overlooked either. The communiqué states that the penal provisions of the Tax Procedure Law will apply to anyone who does not issue, or does not receive, in this way a receipt that must be issued as an e-Müstahsil Makbuzu.
The personal data dimension
Under the new procedure, the farmer's mobile phone number becomes part of the receipt. Law No. 6698 (Türkiye's Personal Data Protection Law) defines personal data as any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. Article 10 of the same Law requires that, when data is collected, the data subject be informed about matters such as the purpose of processing, transfers and the legal basis. Whether the privacy notice addressed to farmers covers this new processing activity should be reviewed together with the legal and compliance teams.
A practical path: a readiness checklist for November 5
The steps below are a general framework derived from the requirements in the announcement and the guide; each organization should adapt it to its own issuing channel and purchasing structure.
- Determine the scope and the channel. Record whether you are an e-Müstahsil Makbuzu user and through which route you issue the receipt (the GİB portal, a private integrator or your own integration). The technical effort the change requires differs depending on this choice.
- Obtain the integrator and software schedule. Ask your private integrator or ERP provider, in writing, on what date the fields in version 1.1 of the guide will go live and when the test environment will be ready.
- Clean up the farmer master data. Every producer record should hold a current mobile phone number that belongs to the farmer personally. Missing, shared or incorrect numbers will stall transactions in the field on purchase day.
- Redesign the field workflow. At the weighbridge, warehouse or wholesale market point, define the step in which the SMS code is taken from the farmer and entered into the system: who will ask for the code, on which screen will it be entered, and how will the transaction proceed if the code does not arrive? The communiqué regulates certain exceptional cases in separate sections; confirm with your certified public accountant (mali müşavir) whether your own situation falls under them.
- Connect the accounting and ERP records. Test that the SMS code, phone number and operator details are carried into the receipt XML from the correct fields, stored together with the receipt record and matched with the payment record. Entering these fields by hand increases the risk of error; automatic transfer should be preferred wherever possible.
- Update the privacy notice. The purpose for which the phone number is processed, and where it is passed on through the receipt, should be stated in the information given to the farmer.
- Run an early pilot. The announcement allows those who have completed the development to use the new procedure before the mandatory date. A short trial at a small number of purchasing points makes problems visible before the mandatory date.
- Train the team and monitor. Give field staff a short set of instructions for applying the procedure; in the first weeks, report missing or rejected receipts on a daily basis.
For a broader framework on how e-Belge (e-Document) data can be used end to end in finance processes, see our article on e-Fatura and e-transformation.
Conclusion
SMS verification means that, on the e-Müstahsil Makbuzu, a digital verification record written onto the receipt takes the place of the wet signature. Although the technical change looks limited to a few fields, success depends on accurate farmer data, a code-collection step that works in the field, and a timely test with the integrator. Treating November 5, 2026 not as a software-update date but as a deadline by which the purchasing process is reviewed from start to finish reduces the operational risk of the transition days.
Why logistics experience matters here. The SMS code is collected where the goods arrive (the weighbridge, the warehouse or the wholesale market point) on purchase day, so a code that does not arrive, or a number that is missing or shared, can stall transactions in the field. Steps 3, 4 and 8 are therefore receiving-operations questions as much as software ones: who asks for the code, what happens when it fails, and how exceptions are reported each day. One of Orient Global's consultants brings more than 30 years in operations, logistics and supply chain: at a technology distribution company of roughly one billion dollars in scale, he ran logistics, warehousing, technical service and administrative operations end to end, building and leading teams of 100+ people and delivering lasting gains through KPI-driven programs. He has also managed nationwide warehouse and transport operations. An industrial engineer, he now brings that supply-chain discipline to SMEs through AI and automation. Meet our consultants.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not substitute for legal advice.
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