Packaging and equipment end up in different places in the accounts. Single-use packaging is consumed with each shipment and expensed in that period. A returnable container is bought once, does the same job for years and is recorded as an asset. IAS 16 recognises such an item when it is probable that its future economic benefits will flow to the business and its cost can be measured reliably; the cost less residual value is then depreciated systematically over the useful life, which is reviewed at least at every year-end.
Turkish tax law adds a practical line. Under Article 313 of the Tax Procedure Law, fixtures costing no more than 12,000 TL in 2026 may be expensed straight away, while anything above that is depreciated. The threshold is reset every year, so the figure for the year of purchase applies.
The weak point of a returnable system is the container that goes missing: it sits on the books as an asset but is nowhere on the floor, so numbering and regular counts matter as much as the ledger. If the real service life outlasts the depreciation period, the container keeps working after it has been fully written down. On the GEBHARDT Isotec TBX, riveted and screwed parts can be replaced one by one, which stretches that period further.
