Issuing and Using False Invoices Is a Single Offence; Grand Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation

Court of Cassation, Grand Criminal Chamber, 02.10.2024, E. 2024/280, K. 2024/279

The decision of the Grand Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation treating the offences of issuing false invoices and using false invoices under Article 359 of the Tax Procedure Law as a single offence has been published. The essence of the decision, which marks a very important change in case law on tax offences, is as follows.

The offence of tax evasion committed by issuing false documents or using false documents under Article 359/b is an offence with alternative acts. The defendant must therefore be punished only once under that paragraph for the offence of using false documents; the fact that both alternative acts were carried out together may be taken into account in determining the basic sentence under Article 61 of the Turkish Criminal Code; and it must also be assessed whether the conditions for applying the rules on continuing offences within the framework of paragraph 9, added by Law No. 7394, are met. On these grounds the Chamber accepted the objection of the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation.

In my book The Offence of Failing to Present Books and Documents within the Scope of Tax Evasion, published in 2016, I had written that the offence of tax evasion is one with alternative acts. We have begun to see the decision reflected in practice; many trial courts and appellate chambers now treat the offences of issuing and using false invoices committed within the same tax liability as a single offence.