How does debt collection work for current account and invoice receivables?

One of the most common collection problems in commercial life is the failure to pay on time despite the delivery of goods or the provision of services. At this point, creditors often use two concepts together: current account receivables and invoice receivables . However, these two concepts do not always refer to the same thing. According to the Turkish Commercial Code, a current account agreement is a contract between two parties whereby they mutually waive their right to claim individual receivables arising from any legal reason or relationship, converting them into itemized receivables and payables, and claiming the remaining amount after the account is settled. It is not valid unless it is in writing. In contrast, an invoice is a commercial document issued by a merchant in exchange for the sale of goods, production, work, or provision of benefits; if the recipient does not object to its contents within eight days, they are deemed to have accepted its contents. Therefore, before initiating enforcement proceedings, it is crucial to accurately determine whether a genuine current account agreement exists or whether these are successive commercial transactions involving invoices

This distinction is not merely theoretical; it directly affects enforcement strategy. Because, according to the principle of integrity in the Turkish Commercial Code, receivables and payables recorded in a current account form an inseparable whole; neither party can be considered a creditor or debtor before the closing of the current account, and the legal status of the parties is determined only by the closing of the account at the end of the contract. Furthermore, the account is closed at the end of specific accounting periods, and the difference between receivables and payables is determined. The conclusion drawn from this regulation is: if a genuine current account relationship exists, as a rule, enforcement proceedings should be initiated not for each individual transaction item, but the balance . Invoice receivables, on the other hand, often represent the price of independent or successive sales/service transactions, and enforcement proceedings are structured accordingly.

What is a current account receivable?

To properly understand current account receivables, it's necessary to first examine the commercial nature of the current account agreement. According to the law, the parties here waive the right to claim their receivables individually; instead, they aggregate them into account items and can only claim the difference when the account is settled. This shows that not every invoice automatically creates a current account. A written agreement is required for a current account, and the receivable-payable relationship is based on a collective accounting logic rather than the independent tracking of individual items. Therefore, when referring to "current account receivables," in most cases, it should first be examined whether a current account has actually been legally established.

This is the point that is most frequently confused in practice. Because the parties conduct continuous commercial relations, they often say, "we are working with a current account"; however, the legal definition of a current account is a more technical structure. If there is no written current account agreement and the parties are simply issuing invoices consecutively and awaiting payment, it may not be accurate to say that a current account exists in every case in the legal sense. Considering the principle of integrity in the law, the fact that in a true current account the parties are not considered creditors or debtors before the account is closed necessitates that enforcement proceedings be structured directly according to this framework. This is a direct conclusion drawn from the text of the law.

What is the invoice amount?

According to Article 21 of the Turkish Commercial Code, a merchant who has sold goods, produced goods, performed services, or provided a benefit within the context of their commercial enterprise may request an invoice from the other party, and if payment has been made, this should be indicated on the invoice. The same article stipulates that if a recipient does not object to the contents of an invoice within eight days of receiving it, they shall be deemed to have accepted its contents. Therefore, invoices issued in commercial relationships are one of the important documents for payment requests and commercial transactions. Especially in disputes between merchants, failure to object to an invoice within eight days can have serious consequences.

The crucial point here is that the existence of an invoice and how to pursue a debt are not the same thing. In most cases, the invoice serves as the primary document supporting the debt; however, from the perspective of enforcement proceedings, the real question is: what legal relationship underlies the debt, whether the goods or services were delivered, whether the invoice was contested, and whether a genuine current account relationship exists between the parties. In commercial life, creditors often pursue multiple invoices in a single file; sometimes these are presented as current account balances. Therefore, the legal basis of the debt must be clarified before initiating enforcement proceedings. These statements are derived from a combined assessment of Article 21 of the Turkish Commercial Code and the provisions regarding current accounts.

What methods are used to initiate debt collection proceedings for current account and invoice receivables?

As a rule, the most common method for such receivables summary enforcement proceedings. According to Article 58 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the request for enforcement can be made to the enforcement office in writing, orally, or electronically. The request must indicate the creditor, the debtor, the receivable, and other essential elements. Then, if the enforcement officer finds that the request meets the legal requirements, they issue a payment order. In other words, current account balances or unpaid invoices can, in most cases, be directly subject to summary enforcement proceedings without waiting for a court decision.

However, there is an important strategic difference here. If there is a genuine current account agreement, according to the principle of integrity of the law, the enforcement should often be based not on individual invoice items, but the balance resulting from the closing of the account . In contrast, in the case of independent invoice receivables, the creditor can initiate enforcement proceedings without a court order by combining one or more invoices in the same proceeding and applying for the total amount owed. What is important for the enforcement office is that the amount of the claim and its basis are communicated to the debtor via a payment order; however, if an objection is subsequently raised, this legal basis will be discussed separately. This assessment is derived from reading Articles 94 and 97 of the Turkish Commercial Code together with Articles 58-60 of the Turkish Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law.

What does the debtor do after receiving the payment order?

In enforcement proceedings without a court order, the debtor may object within seven days of the notification of the payment order . According to Article 62 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the objection is submitted to the enforcement office either in writing or orally. The debtor may object to the entire debt, a portion of it, the interest, the costs, or the jurisdiction. This seven-day period also applies to invoice and current account receivables. If the debtor objects within the time limit, the enforcement proceedings are suspended according to Article 66 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. If the debtor objects only to a portion of the debt, the proceedings continue for the amount accepted.

At this point, the debtor's defenses regarding invoices and current account receivables may differ. The invoice may not have been contested at all; however, the debtor may still claim that the goods were delivered incompletely, that the payment was made, that a settlement was reached, or that the invoice amount has already been settled within the current account. If a genuine current account relationship exists, the debtor may also argue that the account has not yet been properly closed or that the balance subject to the claim is incorrect. While the fact that the invoice was not contested within eight days is significant data, it does not completely eliminate the debtor's defense in the enforcement file; it only shifts the focus of the argument. This conclusion is drawn from a combined assessment of Article 21 of the Turkish Commercial Code and Articles 62-66 of the Turkish Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law.

What does the creditor do if the debtor objects?

If the debtor objects to the payment order within the prescribed time limit, the enforcement proceedings are suspended. In this case, the creditor may, in accordance with Article 67 of the Enforcement within one year from the date of notification of the objection . This lawsuit is the main lawsuit in which the claim is proven according to general provisions. Especially in invoice and current account files, the delivery, service, offsetting, account reconciliation, and payment relationships between the parties are examined in detail in this lawsuit.

Document organization is of paramount importance at this stage. Invoices, delivery notes, current account statements, account closing tables, reconciliation letters, bank statements, email correspondence, and other commercial documents can determine the outcome of the case. The legal definition of current accounts and account closing provisions directly influence how the creditor establishes their claim. If a genuine current account relationship exists, the creditor is expected to explain when and how the account was closed. If the case involves a simple invoiced sales transaction, individual invoice and delivery data are more prominent. This interpretation stems from the logical combined application of Articles 89, 94, and 97 of the Turkish Commercial Code and Article 67 of the Turkish Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law.

What happens if the debtor doesn't object at all?

If the debtor does not object within seven days, the enforcement proceedings do not stop, and the creditor can proceed to the seizure stage. According to Article 78 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, after the deadline set in the payment order has passed, the creditor can request seizure without waiting for a declaration of assets. The right to request seizure expires one year after the notification of the payment order. Therefore, in enforcement proceedings without a court judgment based on an invoice or current account receivable, if the debtor does not object within the time limit, the creditor can now request seizure of the debtor's bank account, salary, vehicle, real estate, or rights and receivables held by third parties.

This is particularly important in commercial cases. Many debtors remain silent about payment orders, thinking, "the invoice is already disputed" or "the account can be corrected later." However, the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (EBL) system protects both factual rights and procedural time limits. While the debtor may still pursue legal avenues later if an objection isn't filed within the deadline, the initial opportunity for a defense within seven days is lost. This conclusion is drawn from reading Articles 62, 66, and 78 of the EBL together.

What should be considered when monitoring the current account balance?

The most critical issue in a genuine current account agreement is the closing and the determination of the outstanding balance. According to Article 94 of the Turkish Commercial Code (TTK), the account is closed at the end of specific accounting periods in accordance with the contract or commercial custom, and the difference between the receivables and payables is determined. Article 97 of the TTK stipulates that the items transferred to the current account constitute an inseparable whole, and neither party can be considered a creditor or debtor before the account is closed. Therefore, when initiating enforcement proceedings in a current account file, the claim should be based on the net balance resulting from the account, rather than on individual items.

The biggest mistake made in practice is to present each invoice as a separate debt, even when there is a genuine current account agreement between the parties. Considering the principle of integrity in the law, this approach is not correct in every case. Conversely, if there is no actual current account and only successive sales invoices exist, then the claim of a "current account balance" may become legally unfounded. Therefore, the creditor must correctly classify the commercial relationship before initiating proceedings: is it a written current account agreement or an open account/invoiced sales relationship? This question determines the entire course of the case.

How does failing to dispute the bill within eight days affect the enforcement proceedings?

According to Article 21/2 of the Turkish Commercial Code, if the recipient of an invoice does not object to its contents within eight days of receipt, they are deemed to have accepted its contents. This provision strengthens the creditor's hand, particularly in disputes between merchants. Because, in the case of invoices for which the debtor has not objected, this legal presumption of acceptance is taken into account when evaluating defenses that may be raised later. However, this alone does not eliminate all defenses of the debtor. Other defenses, such as payment, offsetting, incomplete performance, incorrect calculation, or current account relationship, may still be raised in the enforcement proceedings.

Therefore, the correct approach in practice is this: The creditor should use uncontested invoices as strong evidence in the collection process; the debtor, even if the invoice was not contested within the stipulated time, should not disregard other defense and payment documents in their possession. Silence regarding an invoice creates important legal data; however, it does not completely end the dispute in every case. This conclusion stems from interpreting the phrase "considered accepted" in the law within the context of a commercial relationship.

Conclusion

In current account and invoice receivables, enforcement proceedings operate on two seemingly similar but legally different grounds. According to the Turkish Commercial Code, a genuine current account agreement must be established in writing; receivables and payables should not be calculated individually, but rather based on the balance at the end of the account closing. In invoice relationships, failure to object to an invoice within eight days results in its content being deemed accepted. Under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, these receivables are in most cases pursued through summary enforcement proceedings; a request for enforcement is submitted to the enforcement office, a payment order is sent, the debtor has seven days to object, if an objection is filed within the time limit, the proceedings are suspended, if no objection is filed, the creditor can proceed to the seizure stage.

In short, success in collecting these types of receivables is not achieved simply by saying "I have the invoice" or "there is a commercial relationship." First, it must be correctly determined whether the relationship is truly a current account or an independent invoiced sale; then, the collection process should be established accordingly. For the debtor, the most important point is to take the payment order seriously and not miss the seven-day objection period. The biggest advantage in collecting commercial receivables through enforcement is correct legal classification; the biggest risk is confusing the concepts.