Book certification procedures, which are of great importance for a transparent and reliable financial management, are an important process carried out to organize and audit the financial records of businesses and are generally applied at the end of the year. The main purpose of this process is to prepare the financial statements of companies and verify their financial situation. Book certification procedures are extremely important to increase the reliability of accounting records, reveal errors in financial management and ensure compliance with legal regulations. In this article, we will give detailed information about important issues such as what is the certification of ledgers, how are the ledger certification transactions carried out, where to learn the ledger certification information and the 2023 ledger certification deadlines.

What is Book Attestation?
Book certification is a process that verifies that the books that real and legal persons engaged in commercial and professional activities have to keep are in a certain order and standard. This process not only ensures that the books are reliable documents, but also protects the rights of the state and third parties. Taxpayers or business owners; It is obligatory to keep books such as journal and inventory book, business and farmer business book, manufacturing book, transportation tax book, self-employment earnings book and have them certified within the periods specified by law.

These books, which must be certified, are used for purposes such as determining the economic and financial situation of the business, debt and receivable relations, and the results obtained. Book certification is also important as a means of proof in commercial disputes.

How to Perform Ledger Certification Procedures?
During the certification of bound books, the pages are sealed with the official seal of the certification authority, one by one, by ensuring that the pages are arranged in order. Institutions that are allowed to use journals with rotating leaves must have the estimated number of leaves they will use certified according to the above principles.

Businesses that will use rotating journals submit the number of sheets they plan to use to the certification authority. In this way, new leaves to be used in the future are approved in advance. Before the additional sheets are used, they are arranged and subjected to certification, taking into account the page numbers recorded by the certification authority.

The sealing process is carried out by printing the official seal of the certification authority on each page of the book separately. In this way, it is verified that each page has been reviewed and approved by an authorized authority. After the certification process is completed, the ledger becomes ready for use and the records for the relevant period become a reliable document.

2023 Book Approval Periods
In 2023, businesses that want to carry out the book certification procedures determined by the Tax Procedure Law and the Turkish Commercial Code should take the following information into consideration:

Certification Periods According to Tax Procedure Law:

Those who have been working for a long time: The book must be certified in the last month before the year in which it will be used.
Accounting Periods Determined by the Ministry of Finance: It must be certified in the last month before the accounting period in which the ledger will be used.
Those who start working again, those who change classes and those who enter new liability: It must be certified before the date of starting work, changing class and entering into new liability.
Tax Exemption Shields: Must be certified within ten days from the date the exemption ends.
Situations of Filling in Ledgers Subject to Certification or Using New Ledgers: Those who are obliged to use new ledgers during the year must have them certified before they start using them.
Those who want to use the notebooks used in 2022 in 2023:

In accordance with Article 222 of the Tax Procedure Law, those who want to use the legal books used in 2022 in 2023 must have the certification renewed by the end of January 2023.

Ledger Opening Approvals According to the Turkish Commercial Code:

Journal Book
General Ledger
Stock book
Share Ledger
Board of Directors Decision Book
Opening approvals of these books must be made by the notary public until the end of the month before the first month of the period in which the books will be used (within December for those whose accounting period is a calendar year).