Through the Tax Procedural Code General Communiqué Serial No. 518 ("Communiqué), published in the Official Gazette dated 24th March 2020 and No. 31078 (repeated), regulations are made in relation to the taxpayers that will benefit from the "force majeure" regulations indicated under Tax Procedural Code No. 213 ("TPC") and in terms of tax applications.

Taxpayers that are accepted to benefit from the Force Majeure Regulations within the scope of the TPC and in terms of Tax Applications

Taxpayers that will benefit from the force majeure regulations in terms of tax applications indicated under the TPC, for the period between 1th April 2020 and 30th June 2020, are determined under the below mentioned categories.

a) Income Taxpayers

Taxpayers that are under "income taxpayer" status in terms of commercial, agricultural and self-employment income are within the scope.

b) Taxpayers that are directly affected by the Epidemic

The activity field of the taxpayers that are accepted to be directly affected by the epidemic and that will benefit from the force majeure regulations in terms of tax applications indicated under the TPC are determined as follows:

  • Retail Trade and Shopping Centers
  • Iron and Steel Industry
  • Automotive
  • Logistics and Transportation
  • Cinema and Theater
  • Accommodation
  • Food and Beverage Services
  • Textile and Garment Activities
  • Event and Organization
  • Health Services
  • Furniture Manufacturing
  • Mining and Quarrying,
  • Car Rental
  • Printed Publishing and Printing
  • Building Construction
  • Industrial Kitchen Manufacturing

c) Taxpayers whose activities are temporarily deactivated

Taxpayers in this category (whose activities are temporarily deactivated by the Ministry of the Interior) and considered to be within the scope of force majeure status in terms of tax applications may be exemplified as workplaces such as swimming pool, Turkish bath, hot spring, sports, game, wedding hall, barber and hairdresser.

Postponement of the Tax Obligations

For the above mentioned 3 groups of taxpayers, the submission periods of the (i) withholding, (ii) Value Added Tax (VAT), (iii) Form Ba-Bs, (iv) electronic ledger charts and the payment period of the taxes to be accrued based on these documents are postponed depending on the time period to which the mentioned financial documents pertain to.

Citizens at the Age of 65 (and Older) and Citizens Having Chronic Illnesses

For this category of taxpayers and members of possession, it is accepted that the force majeure regulations indicated under the TPC, in terms of tax applications, will be applied for the time period between 22th March 2020 and the date when the curfew will be cancelled.

The submission period of the declarations to be submitted during this time period and the payment period for taxes to be accrued based on these declarations have been extended until the end of the 15th day following the date when the curfew will be lifted.

You may find the full text of the Communiqué here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.