Competition Authority opened an investigation into Google’s advertising invoice preference

Competition Authority, on Friday Google He announced that he opened a new investigation against him. In the official statement, digital advertising applied in services billing It was stated that the method was under investigation. Accordingly, while Google invoices some advertisers and agency customers through its companies abroad, it issues invoices to some customers through its company in Türkiye. Thus, the tax burden arising for the same advertising service becomes central to the file.

However, the official text reveals that the allegations point to a concrete distinction on the tax side. In invoices issued abroad, in accordance with Turkish tax legislation stoppage load may arise. This burden does not occur for invoices issued through Türkiye. For this reason, different customers receiving the same service encounter different results in the total cost calculation.

On the other hand, there is a special emphasis in the investigation text that this difference creates additional costs for some advertisers. Some agencies and brands face a higher tax burden for the same advertising service, while other clients proceed with lower costs. Thus, proposal, budget and invoice items are directly affected in digital advertising investments. At this point, the official statement brings the competitive aspect of billing preferences into the field of examination.

However, the file is not limited to just accounting records or commercial operations. The Competition Authority is investigating whether this practice, which creates different costs for the same service, produces results in terms of competition law. The focus of the review is whether certain customers experience an advantageous or more costly deal than others. The investigation decision shows that these topics will be discussed in detail.

Competition Board examines Google’s economic integrity

In fact, the investigation does not proceed under a single company name. on file Alphabet Inc., Google Ireland Limited, Google LLC, Google International LLC And Google Advertising and Marketing Ltd. Ltd. are mentioned together. The Competition Board evaluates these companies within the scope of economic integrity. Thus, the question of which company the invoice was issued becomes one of the main topics of the investigation.

In addition, according to the information provided by Reuters, there was no immediate statement from Google at the time the news was published. The official process, on the other hand, proceeds along a line that includes the opening of an investigation and the review of information, documents and practices. Opening an investigation does not directly mean a decision of violation. The board makes an evaluation based on the data it will collect and the documents it will examine.

On the other hand, this development constitutes the last link in the competition files regarding Google in Türkiye. Competition Authority in recent years local search services, hotel inquiries, YouTube inventory And advertising technologies It also put Google under scrutiny in areas such as. Thus, in the digital advertising market, not only ad display, but also the sale, measurement, distribution and invoice of the ad have become among the auditing topics. When read together with the previous files, it seems that the institution looks at the Google ecosystem in a broader framework.

However, the Competition Authority 2025 dated online advertising industry review It also provides a separate background to the market situation. The report in question points out that online advertising is a multi-sided and complex field. The report also includes data on stakeholder data on Google’s publisher ad server side in Türkiye. In the 90-100 percent range as of 2021 There is information that it has market share. Thus, today’s investigation is considered together with the company’s weight in the advertising ecosystem.

Strictly speaking, the heart of the file is the final amount paid by advertisers. Whether the invoice is issued from abroad or from Türkiye can directly affect the cost of the campaign. This difference changes the price calculation of agencies and the total expenditure of advertisers, especially in large-budget campaigns. Therefore, the official statement is: Google advertising invoice, withholding tax burden, digital advertising investigation And Competition Authority brings together its titles in the same file.