Deactivating or Scrapping a Fiscal Cash Register in Türkiye (2026)

If you are closing your business, shutting down for the season or replacing your device in Türkiye, there are three formal options for your fiscal cash register (ÖKC): transferring it to another taxpayer, temporary deactivation, or scrapping. All three run exclusively through the device brand's authorized service center; putting the device in storage, listing it on a second-hand site or throwing it away is not a formal procedure, and the device stays active under your name in the Revenue Administration's (GİB) records. These rules are specific to Türkiye's fiscal cash register regime. This guide reflects the legislation in force as of August 2026.

Which situation calls for which procedure?

Two questions decide it: will the device ever be used again, and if so, by whom? If another taxpayer will use it, transfer it. If you might use or sell it later, deactivate it temporarily. If it will never be used again, scrap it.

Your situation	Correct procedure	Legal basis
You are selling the device to another taxpayer	Transfer (new generation ÖKC only; transferring old generation devices has been prohibited as a rule since 2017)	Communiqué 465 Art.6; Communiqué 483 Art.3/4
You are closing the business but may use or sell the device later	Temporary deactivation	Communiqué 465 Art.7
Seasonal closure, closing a branch, long renovation	Temporary deactivation (not mandatory for short closures)	Communiqué 465 Art.7; Communiqué 60 Sec.5
You are closing the business and the device will never be used again	Scrapping	Communiqué 465 Art.8
The device is beyond repair or has reached the end of its life	Scrapping	Communiqué 60 Sec.4; Communiqué 465 Art.8
You bought a new device and the old one is left over	Scrapping or transfer	Communiqué 465 Arts.6 and 8

One nuance: an operating business cannot scrap its device at will. The Revenue Administration has ruled that as long as the ÖKC obligation continues, scrapping is only possible when the business closes, a new device is purchased, or the device reaches the end of its life, even if every sale is invoiced (Istanbul Tax Office Directorate ruling, 13.08.2012).

Transfers are outside the scope of this guide; the step-by-step process, document checklists and the restaurant takeover scenario are covered in the transfer guide. For the general framework of Türkiye's fiscal cash register obligation, see the new generation ÖKC guide.

Temporary deactivation in 3 steps, and reactivating

Temporary deactivation (in the legislation: closing the device to use) is a formal procedure that puts the device to sleep legally. For new generation devices, the process is set out in Article 7 of VUK General Communiqué No. 465 and takes three steps:

1. Apply to the authorized service center. Only the device brand's authorized service can perform the deactivation; neither you nor your accountant can do it on the device.
2. The service takes the final Z report and sends it to GİB. The last Z report, containing all fiscal data recorded up to the moment of deactivation, is transmitted electronically to the Revenue Administration's information system.
3. A deactivation annotation is entered in the TSM record. The device is marked as deactivated on the ÖKC TSM activation list and closed to use.

When you want to reactivate, the device goes through activation from scratch: the service applies the procedures in Articles 4 and 5 of Communiqué 465 (taxpayer status query, activation record) and the device is reopened for use. A deactivated device can also be sold; in that case the transfer procedure kicks in.

Let us be precise about duration: the legislation contains no provision on a maximum period for temporary deactivation. Neither Communiqué 465 nor Communiqué 60 sets an upper limit. The claim found in many online guides that "the device counts as scrapped if not reactivated within 6 months" has no basis in the legislation. Your device can sit deactivated for years; the deadlines that bind you relate to the business closure notification, not to the deactivation itself (see the deadline table below).

Seasonal businesses: what to do during the closed months?

Short answer: you have no obligation to produce Z reports on days with no sales, and short closures require no formal procedure at all. The Revenue Administration confirmed in a ruling dated 13.08.2012 that there is no obligation to issue a Z report on days without sales. There is no need to call the service center for annual leave or a few weeks of renovation.

For seasonal businesses the picture is slightly different. A coastal restaurant closing for six months has two options:

• Do nothing: legally possible; no Z reports are required on days without sales. But since the device appears active on GİB's side, the system keeps expecting a data flow from it.
• Have the device temporarily deactivated: the device is formally put to sleep in the TSM and woken up with an activation at the start of the season. For long closures this is the cleaner route that protects both the device and you.

The legislation defines temporary deactivation as a procedure performed "due to business closure or other reasons"; seasonal closures and long renovations fall under those "other reasons".

Scrapping step by step (new generation ÖKC)

Scrapping formally ends the device's life, and there is no way back. For new generation devices the process is set out in Article 8 of Communiqué 465:

1. Apply to the authorized service center of the ÖKC company that manufactured the device. Scrapping is performed by that brand's own service.
2. The service takes the final Z report and sends it to GİB. All fiscal data recorded up to the moment of scrapping is transmitted to the Revenue Administration's information system.
3. A scrapping annotation is entered in the TSM record. The device is marked as scrapped on the activation list.
4. The license certificate is cancelled. A scrapped device cannot be repaired and sold to someone else or ever reopened for use; there is no such thing as "reviving" a scrapped device.
5. There is no tax office step. Article 13 of Communiqué 465 removed the tax office deregistration, plate and permission letter procedures for new generation devices. The process ends with the TSM record.

If you start a business again after scrapping, you cannot bring the old device back; you must purchase a new one (General Directorate of Revenues letter, 07.12.1999).

Deadline table for those closing a business

The deadlines around closing a business are scattered across different communiqués and are often mixed up. As of August 2026, the correct table is:

Deadline	What it applies to	Legal basis
1 month	Notifying the tax office that the business has ceased (from the date of the event to be notified)	VUK Art.168/1
30 days	The closing taxpayer completing temporary deactivation or scrapping of the device	Communiqué 60 Secs.4 and 5 (Communiqué 465 sets no separate deadline for new generation devices)
30 days	Old generation devices: deregistration at the tax office after the service report	Communiqué 60 Sec.4/c
30 days	Mandatory replacement under Communiqué 557: scrapping the old device (counted from the new device's invoice date)	Communiqué 557 Art.4
90 days	Scrapping a leftover old device once the new generation ÖKC obligation begins (historical; no old generation devices remain after 1.7.2024, so it has no practical application)	Communiqué 465 Art.8/ç

The 30-day deactivation and scrapping periods come from Communiqué No. 60, which remains in force; its provisions continue to apply where they do not conflict with the new generation rules. On the new generation side, Articles 7 and 8 of Communiqué 465 set no separate deadline for these procedures, so the 30 days is the cautious measure inherited from the old generation regime. For an operator closing a business the practical rule is simple: complete the notification and the device procedure within the same 30-day window.

Ignoring the procedure has a price: without the registration and certification procedures a device cannot be sold, rented, transferred or made available for use (Law No. 3100, Article 4/3), and special irregularity fines apply to those who breach the rules (Law No. 3100, repeated Article 8). For the current amounts, see the 2026 fine list.

Who keeps the fiscal memory, and for how long?

The fiscal memory stays with the taxpayer; it is not handed over to the service center or the tax office (Communiqué 60, Section 4). When an old generation device is scrapped, the service removes the fiscal memory and gives it to you for safekeeping; the rest of the device (housing, printer, drawer) can be left with the service as scrap. The retention obligation covers only the fiscal memory; the Revenue Administration has confirmed by ruling that there is no obligation to keep the other units such as the register body, computer or printer (Large Taxpayers Tax Office Directorate, 23.08.2011).

On duration, the accurate statement is this: the legislation contains no specific written period for how many years the fiscal memory must be kept. The Revenue Administration refers to the record retention rules of the Tax Procedure Law for Z reports and journal rolls; VUK Article 253 requires those obliged to keep books to retain them and their supporting documents "for five years starting from the calendar year following the year they relate to". You should treat this general 5-year period as the minimum for the fiscal memory as well. Be cautious with any source quoting a firm number of years; the communiqués set no specific written period for the fiscal memory.

New generation devices bring one more simplification: in a transfer, the fiscal memory is not touched, removed or replaced (Communiqué 465, Article 6/ç). The old era's "memory reset" does not exist for new generation devices; your sales data is already held per taxpayer at GİB.

How to remove an old device that still shows as active at GİB

If you scrapped your device years ago but it still shows as active on the "Payment Recording Devices Registered in My Name" screen of the Digital Tax Office, the record was never actually closed. This is not a harmless clerical leftover: GİB keeps expecting a data flow from a device that looks active, and the taxpayer can face an inquiry.

According to GİB's announcement dated 08.03.2019, the route is:

1. First check the device's status on the "Payment Recording Devices Registered in My Name" screen.
2. If you still have the service report drawn up at scrapping or the old ÖKC plate, submit either one to have the record deleted.
3. If you have neither, file a written petition with your tax office requesting deletion of the record.

Do the same check when closing a business: do not consider the file closed until you have confirmed the device shows as inactive on the screen.

That is the device side; the software side is simpler. dojofood POS works with a Pavo fiscal cash register integration: sales flow to the register automatically, and no separate closing procedure is needed on the software side when the season ends or starts. Details are on the payment integrations page.

Official sources

• VUK General Communiqué No. 465 (Official Gazette 25.12.2015, No. 29573): new generation ÖKC transfer (Art.6), deactivation (Art.7), scrapping (Art.8), removed tax office procedures (Art.13)
• ÖKC General Communiqué No. 60 (Official Gazette 15.05.2004, No. 25463): scrapping and temporary deactivation procedure, 30-day periods
• VUK General Communiqué No. 557 (Official Gazette 30.12.2023, No. 32415 2nd repeated): replacement of old generation devices by 1.7.2024 and the 30-day rules
• VUK General Communiqué No. 483, current version (Official Gazette 30.09.2017, No. 30196): prohibition on transferring old generation devices (Art.3/4)
• Law No. 3100: transfer and use prohibition (Art.4/3), seizure protection (Art.9/3), penalties (repeated Art.8)
• Tax Procedure Law No. 213, current consolidated text: one-month deadline for the business closure notification (Art.168/1), five-year retention period for books and supporting documents (Art.253)
• GİB announcement, 08.03.2019: deletion of old device records still showing as active in the system

Rulings cited in the text: Istanbul Tax Office Directorate, 13.08.2012 (B.07.1.GİB.4.34.19.02-019.01-2536) · Large Taxpayers Tax Office Directorate, 23.08.2011 (B.07.1.GİB.4.99.16.01.0-3100 Mükerrer-101) · General Directorate of Revenues, 07.12.1999 (B.07.0.GEL.0.65/6518-64/53396). All are published in GİB's ruling system.

This content is for information purposes only; consult your tax advisor or certified accountant before acting.