Law No. 7491 on Amendments to Certain Laws and Decree Laws was published in Official Gazette No. 32413 of 28 December 2023. The principal tax provisions it introduces are summarised below.
Reference: 2013/107, 28 December 2023
LAW NO. 7491 AMENDING THE TAX LAWS HAS BEEN PUBLISHED
(Law No. 7491 on Amendments to Certain Laws and Decree Laws was published in Official Gazette No. 32413 of 28 December 2023.)
The Law amends a number of tax laws. The principal tax provisions it introduces are summarised below.
I) Amendments to the Income Tax Law
1) The scope of the income tax exemption for social content producers and mobile application developers has been broadened.
Under repeated Article 20/B of the Income Tax Law as in force, an exemption applies to income derived from sharing content such as text, images, audio and video through social network providers on the internet.
Under the change made by Article 7 of the Law, in addition to income derived by natural persons producing social content by sharing text, images, audio, video and similar content over the internet and similar electronic media, and income derived by developers of applications for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets through electronic application sharing and sales platforms, income from services provided over those media such as individual courses, training, data processing and development and product promotion has also been brought within the exemption.
The new provision entered into force on 28 December 2023, to apply to income derived from 1 January 2024 onwards.
2) Half of the dividend income derived by natural persons from foreign companies in which they hold at least half of the shares has been exempted from income tax.
Under paragraph 4 added to Article 22 of the Income Tax Law by Article 8 of the Law, half of the dividends derived by natural persons is exempt from income tax, provided that they hold at least 50% of the paid-in capital of entities in the nature of joint stock or limited liability companies whose registered office and place of management are not in Türkiye, and that the dividends derived are brought to Türkiye by the date on which the annual income tax return for the calendar year in which they were derived must be filed.
Under paragraph 5 added by the same article, the President has been empowered to reduce to 0% or increase to 100% the statutory rate set at half of dividend income derived from foreign and domestic entities and the rate relating to the condition of holding at least 50% of the paid-in capital of foreign entities.
The exemption entered into force on 28 December 2023, to apply to income and gains derived from 1 January 2023 onwards.
3) The lump-sum expense deduction of five per thousand available to exporters and to natural persons and entities engaged in construction, repair, assembly and transport work abroad has been abolished.
Under the previous rules, under the first parenthetical provision in subparagraph (1) of the first paragraph of Article 40 of the Income Tax Law, taxpayers could deduct, in determining commercial income, expenses calculated at up to five per thousand of the revenue from exports and from construction, repair, assembly and transport work abroad, to cover expenses incurred in connection with those activities for which they could not obtain documentation.
Under the change made by Article 9 of the Law, the lump-sum expense regime available to taxpayers in respect of exports and construction, repair, assembly and transport work abroad has been repealed.
The new provision entered into force on 28 December 2023, to apply to commercial income derived from 1 January 2024 onwards.
4) The deduction rate for income derived from certain services provided abroad has been raised.
Under the previous rules in the first sentence of subparagraph (13) of the first paragraph of Article 89 of the Income Tax Law, taxpayers could deduct on their return, subject to certain conditions, 50% of the income derived from architecture, engineering, design, software, medical reporting, bookkeeping, call centre, product testing, certification, data storage, data processing and data analysis services provided abroad, and from education and healthcare services provided to non-residents.
Under the change made by Article 10 of the Law, a condition has been introduced that the whole of the income be transferred to Türkiye by the date on which the annual income tax return for the calendar year in which it was derived must be filed, and the deduction rate has been raised to 80%. The same amendment empowers the President to reduce the amount of income to be transferred to Türkiye to zero or to increase it up to the statutory level.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023, to apply to income and gains derived from 1 January 2023 onwards.
5) The President’s power to set the income tax withholding rate on progress payments made to those carrying out multi-year construction and repair work has been broadened.
Under subparagraph (3) of the first paragraph of Article 94 of the Income Tax Law, income tax is withheld on progress payments made to those carrying out multi-year construction and repair work, and under the same article the President is empowered to reduce that withholding rate to zero or to double it.
Under the paragraph added by Article 11 of the Law to the eighth paragraph of Article 94 of the Income Tax Law, the President has been empowered to set different rates, separately or together, on progress payments according to whether the work is contracted to public institutions and organisations and their affiliated, related and associated entities and whether those bodies fall within general or special budget administrations, and according to the duration and type of the work and whether the contractor is a main contractor, a subcontractor, or a resident or non-resident taxpayer.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
6) The President has been empowered to increase to 40% the withholding rate applied under temporary Article 67 of the Income Tax Law.
Under the provisions made by Article 12 of the Law in the sixth and seventeenth paragraphs of temporary Article 67 of the Income Tax Law, the President has been empowered:
- to increase, separately or together, to up to 40% the withholding rate applied under that article on income from securities issued in foreign currency and on interest income and profit shares from foreign currency accounts,
- to increase, separately, to up to 40% the rates in temporary Article 67 by reference to each capital market instrument, the issuer, the issue or acquisition date, the account type, the account opening date, the type of income and revenue and its maturity, the holding period and the persons deriving it, and, for gains from the redemption of investment fund participation units or their disposal in other ways, by reference to the fund’s portfolio structure.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
7) The application period of the withholding rates on salary payments and payments treated as salary made to athletes has been extended to 31 December 2028.
Under the existing rules in temporary Article 72 of the Income Tax Law, athletes’ salaries were to be taxed by withholding at the fixed rates set out in that article until 31 December 2023, with the salary income derived to be declared in an annual income tax return where it exceeded the amount in the fourth bracket of the income tax tariff. Article 13 of the Law extends the application period of that provision to 31 December 2028.
The same amending article empowers the President to reduce the withholding rates to zero and to double them.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
8) The application period of the exemption for gains from the disposal of warehouse receipts issued under the Agricultural Products Licensed Warehousing Law has been extended to 31 December 2028.
Article 14 of the Law extends to 31 December 2028 the application period of the personal and corporate income tax exemption in the first paragraph of temporary Article 76 of the Income Tax Law for gains from the disposal of warehouse receipts issued under Agricultural Products Licensed Warehousing Law No. 5300, which was due to expire on 31 December 2023.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
II) Amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Law
1) A corporate income tax exemption has been granted to Katılım Finans Kefalet A.Ş.
Under subparagraph (p) of the first paragraph of Article 4 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, entities established to provide guarantees exclusively for export loans in favour of exporters under Article 18 of Law No. 5910 on the Establishment and Duties of the Turkish Exporters Assembly and the Exporters’ Associations are exempt from corporate income tax.
Article 57 of the Law also brings within that exemption Katılım Finans Kefalet A.Ş., in which participation banks are shareholders and which was established to provide guarantees for all financing consistent with the principles of participation banking.
The new exemption entered into force on 28 December 2023, to apply to commercial income derived from 1 January 2024 onwards.
2) Half of the dividend income derived by entities from foreign companies in which they hold at least half of the shares has been exempted from corporate income tax.
Under the paragraph added by Article 58 of the Law to subparagraph (b) of the first paragraph of Article 5 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, half of the dividends derived by entities is exempt from corporate income tax, without the other conditions in that subparagraph being required, provided that they hold at least 50% of the paid-in capital of entities in the nature of joint stock or limited liability companies whose registered office and place of management are not in Türkiye, and that the dividends derived are brought to Türkiye by the date on which the annual corporate income tax return for the accounting period in which they were derived must be filed.
Under paragraph 2 as amended by the same article, the President has been empowered to reduce the tax burden rates in Article 5 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, separately or together, to zero or to increase them up to the corporate income tax rate, and to reduce the other rates, separately or together, to zero or to increase them up to 100%.
The exemption entered into force on 28 December 2023, to apply to income and gains derived from 1 January 2023 onwards.
3) The deduction rate for income derived from certain services provided abroad has been raised.
Under the previous rules in subparagraph (ğ) of the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, taxpayers could deduct on their return, subject to certain conditions, 50% of the income derived from architecture, engineering, design, software, medical reporting, bookkeeping, call centre, product testing, certification, data storage, data processing and data analysis services provided abroad, and from education and healthcare services provided to non-residents.
Under the change made by Article 59 of the Law, a condition has been introduced that the whole of the income be transferred to Türkiye by the date on which the annual return for the calendar year in which it was derived must be filed, and the deduction rate has been raised to 80%. The same amendment empowers the President to reduce the amount of income to be transferred to Türkiye to zero or to increase it up to the statutory level.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023, to apply to income and gains derived from 1 January 2023 onwards.
4) The President’s power to set the corporate income tax withholding rate on progress payments made to resident entities carrying out multi-year construction and repair work has been broadened.
Under subparagraph (a) of the first paragraph of Article 15 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, corporate income tax is withheld on progress payments made to resident entities carrying out multi-year construction and repair work, and under the same article the President is empowered to reduce that withholding rate to zero or to increase it up to the corporate income tax rate.
Under the change made by Article 60 of the Law to the fourth paragraph of Article 15 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, the President has been empowered to determine, separately or together, the withholding rate on progress payments made to resident entities according to whether the work is contracted to public institutions and organisations and their affiliated, related and associated entities and whether those bodies fall within general or special budget administrations, and according to the duration and type of the work and whether the contractor is a main contractor, a subcontractor, or a resident or non-resident taxpayer.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
5) The President’s power to set the corporate income tax withholding rate on progress payments made to non-resident entities carrying out multi-year construction and repair work has been broadened.
Under subparagraph (a) of the first paragraph of Article 30 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, corporate income tax is withheld on progress payments made to non-resident entities carrying out multi-year construction and repair work, and under the same article the President is empowered to reduce that withholding rate to zero or to double the statutory rate.
Under the change made by Article 61 of the Law to the eighth paragraph of Article 30 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, the President has been empowered to determine, separately or together, the withholding rate on progress payments made to non-resident entities according to whether the work is contracted to public institutions and organisations and their affiliated, related and associated entities and whether those bodies fall within general or special budget administrations, and according to the duration and type of the work and whether the contractor is a main contractor, a subcontractor, or a resident or non-resident taxpayer.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
6) Income from exports carried out through foreign trade capital companies or sectoral foreign trade companies may also benefit from the five-point corporate income tax rate reduction.
Under Article 32 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, the corporate income tax rate of 25% is applied at 20% for exporting entities, in respect of income derived exclusively from exports, through the five-point reduction granted to them.
Under the sentence added by Article 62 of the Law to the seventh paragraph of Article 32 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, manufacturing or supplying entities may also benefit from the five-point reduction in respect of income derived from exports carried out through foreign trade capital companies or sectoral foreign trade companies on the basis of an intermediated export contract.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023, to apply to income and gains derived from 1 January 2023 onwards.
7) The corporate income tax exemption applied to entities’ FX-protected deposit and participation accounts has been extended to 30 June 2024.
Under the change made by Article 63 of the Law to temporary Article 14 of the Corporate Income Tax Law, the corporate income tax exemption applied to entities’ FX-protected deposit and participation accounts has been extended to 30 June 2024.
In addition, under the paragraph added to the same article, the President has been empowered to extend that period, following its expiry, three times for periods not exceeding six months each, to reduce the income exemption to 0% or increase it up to the statutory level, and to determine the exemption rate, separately or together, by reference to the account type, the maturity of the accounts and the account opening date.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
III) Amendments to the Value Added Tax Law
1) VAT declared under the reverse charge may be deducted once it has been paid.
Under the subparagraph added by Article 30 of the Law to paragraph (1) of Article 29 of the VAT Law, VAT declared and paid under the reverse charge in the No. 2 VAT return by those responsible for withholding may be deducted.
The provision entered into force on 1 January 2024.
2) The President has been empowered to remove or reinstate, in whole or in part, the refund entitlement provided in the VAT Law and to determine the goods or services for which that entitlement is restricted.
Under the change made by Article 31 of the Law to the first paragraph of Article 36 of the VAT Law, the President has been empowered to remove or reinstate, in whole or in part, the refund entitlement provided in the VAT Law and to determine the goods or services for which that entitlement is thereby restricted.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
3) The filing and payment dates for the No. 2 VAT return filed under the reverse charge have been brought forward.
Under the changes made by Articles 32 and 33 of the Law to Articles 41 and 46 of the VAT Law, the date by which those responsible for withholding must file their No. 2 VAT returns has been brought forward to the evening of the twenty-first day of the month following the taxation period, and the date for paying the VAT declared in those returns to the evening of the twenty-third day of the same month.
These changes entered into force on 1 January 2024.
4) The VAT exemption for “projects to be carried out under the build-operate-transfer model”, “projects relating to healthcare facilities” and “projects relating to education and training facilities” under the relevant laws has been extended to 31 December 2028.
Under the change made by Article 34 of the Law to the first paragraph of temporary Article 29 of the VAT Law, in respect of:
- projects to be carried out under the build-operate-transfer model pursuant to Law No. 3996 on the Realisation of Certain Investments and Services under the Build-Operate-Transfer Model,
- projects relating to healthcare facilities that the High Planning Council has decided to have built against lease under additional Article 7 of Basic Health Services Law No. 3359, and
- projects relating to education and training facilities that the Ministry of National Education has decided to have built against lease under Article 23 of Decree Law No. 652,
for which a tender or assignment notice was to be published by 31 December 2023, the application period of the VAT exemption granted for the tendering of those projects and for supplies of goods and services made during the investment period to those assigned the project or undertaking it has been extended to 31 December 2028.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
5) The VAT exemption for supplies relating to urban public transport systems and infrastructure has been extended to 31 December 2028.
Under the change made by Article 35 of the Law to the first paragraph of temporary Article 32 of the VAT Law, the application period of the VAT exemption for transfers and supplies between the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, municipalities and their affiliated organisations of urban rail transport systems, metros, trams, cable cars, chairlifts and funiculars, together with their lines, stations, passenger terminals and stops and the facilities relating to those works, and their annexes or integral parts, has been extended to 31 December 2028.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
6) The VAT exemption for the transfer and supply of certain immovable property to the Social Security Institution, and for the transfer and supply of that property by the Social Security Institution, has been extended to 31 December 2028.
Under the change made by Article 36 of the Law to the first paragraph of temporary Article 33 of the VAT Law, the application period of the VAT exemption for the transfer and supply of immovable property to the Social Security Institution under temporary Article 41 of the Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law, and for the transfer and supply of that property by the Social Security Institution, has been extended to 31 December 2028.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
IV) Amendments to the Tax Procedure Law
1) A participation fee has been introduced for the information sharing regime.
Article 15 of Law No. 7491 added the following repeated article after Article 413 of the Tax Procedure Law.
“Participation fee:
REPEATED ARTICLE 413 – A participation fee of not less than 25 kuruş per query or returned record shall be charged for sharing, with public institutions and organisations outside the general government public administrations and with legal persons, information held in the Revenue Administration’s systems that may be shared with third parties under Article 5 of this Law, within the framework of that article. The amount of the participation fee may be determined by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance by taking into account, separately or together, the number, size and scope of the data queried or returned and, where the data is shared in bulk rather than by query, the number, size and scope of the data shared and the number of taxpayers. The Ministry is empowered not to charge a participation fee, or to charge a lower amount, to professional organisations having the character of public institutions and their umbrella organisations that obtain from the Administration’s systems information they could otherwise obtain from taxpayers under their governing laws, taking into account the type of data shared and the manner of sharing. Unless a new determination is made, participation fees shall be increased each year at the revaluation rate determined under this Law for the previous year. The Revenue Administration’s records shall be taken as the basis for determining the number of queries, returned records or the volume of data shared in bulk that forms the basis for the participation fee payable.
Participation fees shall be calculated by the Revenue Administration on the data shared in each three-month period of the calendar year and notified to those with whom the data was shared by the end of the month following that three-month period. Participation fees shall be paid to the Ministry’s central accounting unit by the end of the month following the month of notification.
No information shall be shared with those who fail to pay on time until payment is made. Participation fees not paid on time shall be followed up and collected by the tax offices, together with a late payment surcharge, under Law No. 6183.
The procedures and principles for the application of this article shall be determined by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.”
The provision entered into force on 1 January 2024.
2) The period of the incentive linked to the temporary article on depreciation has been extended.
Article 16 of Law No. 7491 replaced the expression “31/12/2023” in the second paragraph of temporary Article 30 of the Tax Procedure Law with “31/12/2024”.
The period, previously running to 31 December 2023, has therefore been extended by one year. Under that provision, for new machinery and equipment acquired by the end of the 2019 calendar year for exclusive use in manufacturing industry by taxpayers holding an industrial registry certificate under Industrial Registry Law No. 6948, or for exclusive use in R&D, innovation and design activities by taxpayers operating under Technology Development Zones Law No. 4691, Law No. 5746 on the Support of Research, Development and Design Activities and Law No. 6550 on the Support of Research Infrastructures, and for new machinery and equipment acquired by the same date under an investment incentive certificate, the depreciation rates and periods may be calculated by taking half of the useful lives determined and announced by the Ministry of Finance under Article 315 of the Tax Procedure Law.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
3) The profit or loss arising from inflation adjustment will not apply to financial institutions in the 2024 and 2025 accounting periods.
Article 17 of Law No. 7491 added the following paragraph after the third paragraph of temporary Article 33 of the Tax Procedure Law:
“The profit/loss difference arising from inflation adjustment made in the 2024 and 2025 accounting periods, including the advance tax periods, by banks, companies within the scope of Financial Leasing, Factoring, Financing and Savings Financing Companies Law No. 6361 of 21 November 2012, payment and electronic money institutions, authorised foreign exchange bureaux, asset management companies, capital market institutions, insurance and reinsurance companies and pension companies shall not be taken into account in determining income. The President is empowered to extend the periods determined under this paragraph, including the advance tax periods, by one accounting period.”
The financial institutions listed in the article will therefore apply inflation adjustment to their balance sheets as at 31 December 2023 under temporary Article 33 of the Tax Procedure Law, and in the 2024 and 2025 accounting periods if the conditions continue to be met, but they will not take the profit or loss difference arising from inflation adjustment into account in determining net corporate income for those periods.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
V) Amendments to the Law on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables
1) Attachment records may be issued electronically.
Article 4 of Law No. 7491 added the following sentence to the second paragraph of Article 78 of Law No. 6183.
“The attachment record may be issued electronically. The Ministry of Treasury and Finance is empowered to determine the procedures and principles governing attachment records to be issued electronically.”
Article 78 of Law No. 6183 is thereby amended to allow attachment records to be issued electronically.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
2) The period of the article allowing the Ministry of Finance to purchase, under certain conditions, the immovable property of those owing amounts under the Law on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables has been extended to 31 December 2028.
Under temporary Article 8 of Law No. 6183, applicable until 31 December 2023, the Ministry of Finance could purchase, without any entry in the budget’s revenue and expenditure accounts and at the value to be appraised by a commission to be formed under Article 6 of Law No. 4734, subject also to the favourable opinion of the debtor institution, immovable property owned by state economic enterprises and public economic institutions subject to Decree Law No. 233 (including those brought within the scope of privatisation) and their establishments, subsidiaries and participations, public banks continuing to operate under Law No. 4389, metropolitan municipalities, municipalities, special provincial administrations and their legal entities, or their affiliated organisations with separate budgets and public legal personality, that is free of any encumbrance and is required by central government public administrations or is to be dealt with under Law No. 4706 on the Evaluation of Immovable Property Belonging to the Treasury and on Amendments to the Value Added Tax Law, against those administrations’ debts to the State falling within the scope of that Law.
Under the same article, debts of those administrations to the State falling within the scope of that Law are written off in an amount equal to the value determined as above, which forms the basis of the title deed transactions for the purchased property. The article may also be applied to the immovable property (including property belonging to the shareholders of legal persons) of other taxpayers not listed above who owe amounts to tax offices within the scope of that Law and are found by an inspection report to be in severe hardship in paying their debts.
The article was due to expire on 31 December 2023. Article 5 of Law No. 7491 changed that date to 31 December 2028.
The article therefore extends to 31 December 2028 the application period of temporary Article 8 of Law No. 6183, which was due to expire on 31 December 2023 and which allows the purchase, without any entry in the budget’s revenue and expenditure accounts, of encumbrance-free immovable property required by central government public administrations or to be dealt with under Law No. 4706 of 29 June 2001, against debts to the State falling within the scope of Law No. 6183 owed by state economic enterprises and public economic institutions subject to Decree Law No. 233 (including those brought within the scope of privatisation) and their establishments, subsidiaries and participations, public banks continuing to operate, metropolitan municipalities, municipalities, special provincial administrations and their legal entities or affiliated organisations with separate budgets and public legal personality, and by other taxpayers found by an inspection report to be in severe hardship in paying their debts.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
VI) Amendments to the Expenditure Taxes Law (BITT)
1) The scope of the BITT exemption for amounts received under contracts and policies for insurance taken out in connection with housing finance has been redefined.
Under subparagraph (i) of the first paragraph of Article 29 of Expenditure Taxes Law No. 6802, amounts received under contracts and policies for insurance taken out within the housing finance defined in the first paragraph of Article 38/A of Capital Markets Law No. 2499 were exempt from banking and insurance transactions tax.
Under the change made by Article 6 of Law No. 7491, the BITT exemption now covers amounts received in connection with “housing loans extended, within housing finance, to consumers who do not own a dwelling registered in their name as at the date the loan is used, and the refinancing of those loans”.
The article therefore restricts the exemption, removing from its scope amounts received in connection with housing loans used, directly or through cooperatives, by those who own a dwelling registered in their name as at the date the loan is used.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
2) The scope of the BITT exemption for amounts received in connection with housing loans extended through cooperatives by the Housing Development Administration has been redefined.
Under subparagraph (r) of the first paragraph of Article 29 of Expenditure Taxes Law No. 6802, amounts received in connection with housing loans extended through cooperatives by the Prime Ministry Housing Development Administration and by banks were exempt from BITT.
Under the change made by Article 6 of Law No. 7491, the BITT exemption now covers amounts received in connection with housing loans extended by the Housing Development Administration through cooperatives “to consumers who do not own a dwelling registered in their name as at the date the loan is used”.
The article therefore restricts the exemption, removing from its scope amounts received in connection with housing loans used, directly or through cooperatives, by those who own a dwelling registered in their name as at the date the loan is used.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
3) The scope of the BITT exemption for amounts received by mortgage finance institutions and housing finance funds in connection with all transactions carried out within housing finance has been redefined.
Under the change made by Article 6 of Law No. 7491, the BITT exemption now covers amounts received in connection with “all transactions carried out by mortgage finance institutions and housing finance funds within the housing finance defined in the first paragraph of Article 57 of Law No. 6362, and housing loans extended by housing finance institutions under the same Law to consumers who do not own a dwelling registered in their name as at the date the loan is used, together with the refinancing of those loans”.
The article therefore restricts the exemption, removing from its scope amounts received in connection with housing loans used, directly or through cooperatives, by those who own a dwelling registered in their name as at the date the loan is used.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
VII) Amendments to the Stamp Duty Law
1) Certain stamp duty exempt transactions have been redrafted.
Paragraph (2) of additional Article 2 of Stamp Duty Law No. 488 provided that papers issued in respect of transactions relating to other foreign currency earning activities were exempt from stamp duty, in the case of main contractors (excluding subcontractors) undertaking investments included in the current year investment programme published by the Ministry of Development and holding a Tax, Duty and Charge Exemption Certificate, and public investments of the Ministry of National Defence, the Gendarmerie General Command and the Coast Guard Command not included in that programme, that are put out to international tender and won by them or that are financed in foreign currency — limited to the amount stated in the certificate and within its validity period, where the contractor is a resident taxpayer, on the whole amount for international tenders and, for those financed in foreign currency, in the proportion corresponding to the foreign currency — together with papers issued for sales and supplies of goods, materials and services produced by resident manufacturing companies for the company undertaking the work concerned.
Under the change made by Article 20 of Law No. 7491, the exemption now covers papers issued in respect of transactions relating to other foreign currency earning activities, in the case of main contractors (excluding subcontractors) undertaking investments included in the current year investment programme brought into force by presidential decree and holding a Tax, Duty and Charge Exemption Certificate, and public investments of the Ministry of National Defence, the Gendarmerie General Command and the Coast Guard Command not included in that programme, that are financed in foreign currency — limited to the amount stated in the certificate and within its validity period, where the contractor is a resident taxpayer, in the proportion corresponding to the foreign currency — together with papers issued for sales and supplies of goods, materials and services produced by resident manufacturing companies for the company undertaking the work concerned.
Since current year investment programmes are now brought into force by presidential decree, the article amends the reference to the (abolished) Ministry of Development in subparagraph (a) of paragraph (2) of additional Article 2 of Law No. 488. It also removes the exemption for investments put out to international tender, which does not serve the general purpose of the exemption, so that stamp duty exemption continues only for investments financed in foreign currency, which bring foreign currency into the country.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023, “to apply to tenders launched after the date of publication of the Law”.
2) The list of papers subject to stamp duty has been amended.
Under Article 21 of Law No. 7491, the expression “the tender decision” in the parenthetical provision of paragraph (2) of the section entitled “II. Decisions and minutes” of Table (1) annexed to the Stamp Duty Law has been replaced with “the tender decision and the contract concluded with the tendering authority in relation to the tender”.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
VIII) Amendments to the Fees Law
1) Ex officio corrections made by civil registry offices have been brought within the judicial fee exemption.
Under subparagraph (e) of the first paragraph of Article 13 of Fees Law No. 492, corrections made ex officio in the trade registry are exempt from judicial fees.
Under the change made by Article 22 of Law No. 7491, the subparagraph now reads “corrections made ex officio in the trade registry and corrections to be made ex officio by civil registry offices where the persons concerned are not at fault”.
The aim is to prevent hardship for citizens by exempting from fees the corrections made in the trade registry on the basis of ex officio corrections made by civil registry offices because of clerical errors originating from those offices where the persons concerned are not at fault.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
2) Ex officio corrections made by civil registry offices have been brought within the title deed and cadastre fee exemption.
Under subparagraph (c) of the first paragraph of Article 59 of Fees Law No. 492, the correction of errors made by the title deed and cadastre offices where the persons concerned are not at fault is exempt from title deed and cadastre fees.
Under the change made by Article 23 of Law No. 7491, the subparagraph now reads “the correction of errors made by the title deed and cadastre offices where the persons concerned are not at fault, and the correction of title deed records as a result of corrections made ex officio by civil registry offices”.
The aim is to prevent hardship for citizens by exempting from title deed fees the correction of title deed records on the basis of ex officio corrections made by civil registry offices because of clerical errors originating from those offices where the persons concerned are not at fault.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023.
3) References to “seaworthiness certificates” have been changed to “port clearance certificates”.
Article 98 of Fees Law No. 492 reads as follows:
“The following matters are exempt from fees:
- a) corrections relating to errors made by ship registry officers where the persons concerned are not at fault, and copies to be requested by courts, enforcement and bankruptcy offices and other official departments,
- b) seaworthiness certificates to be issued to merchant vessels calling at a port for reasons of force majeure and to national fishing and sponge vessels having special equipment such as holds, tanks or stores, for as long as they are used in fishing for any kind of marine product,
- c) seaworthiness certificates of tourist vessels carrying tourists and engaging in no other commercial activity, and of vessels used for scientific purposes.”
Article 102 of the same Law reads as follows:
“Reduction in the seaworthiness certificate fee: merchant vessels operating regular services between Turkish ports shall pay the seaworthiness certificate fee in full on departure and at one-fifth at the ports and piers they call at until their return; merchant vessels engaging in no commercial activity shall likewise pay the fee at one-fifth.”
Article 107 of the same Law reads as follows:
“No transaction subject to a fee shall be carried out unless ship and port fees are paid in full in advance. However, for vessels calling at piers without a harbour master’s office, the seaworthiness certificate fee shall be collected at the first port with a harbour master’s office at which they call.”
Under the change made by Article 24 of Law No. 7491, the expression “seaworthiness certificates” in the above articles has been changed to “port clearance certificates” and the expression “seaworthiness certificate” to “port clearance certificate”.
In line with the maritime legislation, the name of the seaworthiness certificate in Articles 98, 102 and 107 of Law No. 492 is thereby changed to port clearance certificate.
The provision entered into force on 1 January 2024.
4) Certain fee exempt transactions have been redrafted.
Under subparagraph (a) of paragraph 2 of additional Article 1 of Fees Law No. 492, transactions relating to other foreign currency earning activities were exempt from fees, limited to the amount stated in the certificate and within its validity period, in respect of “supplies, services and activities to be carried out by main contractors (excluding subcontractors) holding a Tax, Duty and Charge Exemption Certificate and undertaking investments included in the current year investment programme published by the Ministry of Development, and public investments of the Ministry of National Defence, the Gendarmerie General Command and the Coast Guard Command not included in that programme, that are put out to international tender and won by them or financed in foreign currency, where they are resident taxpayers, on the whole amount for international tenders and, for those financed in foreign currency, in the proportion corresponding to the foreign currency, together with sales and supplies of goods, materials and services produced by resident manufacturing companies for the company undertaking the work concerned”.
Under the change made by Article 25 of Law No. 7491, the expression “published by the Ministry of Development” in the relevant subparagraph has been replaced with “brought into force by presidential decree”, and the expression “that are put out to international tender and won by them or” and the expression “on the whole amount for international tenders and, for those financed in foreign currency,” in sub-subparagraph (i) of the same subparagraph have been removed.
Since current year investment programmes are now brought into force by presidential decree, the article amends the reference to the (abolished) Ministry of Development. It also removes the exemption for investments put out to international tender, which does not serve the general purpose of the exemption, so that the fee exemption continues only for investments financed in foreign currency, which bring foreign currency into the country.
The provision entered into force on 28 December 2023, to apply to tenders launched after the date of publication of the Law.
5) The port operations section of the fee tariff has been amended.
Under the change made by Article 26 of Law No. 7491, changes have been made to the section entitled “II – Port operations” of Tariff (7) annexed to Law No. 492.
Paragraph (3) has been redrafted as follows:
Subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph (8) have been amended as follows:
“a) Passenger ship safety certificate, cargo ship safety construction certificate, cargo ship safety equipment certificate, international load line certificate, cargo ship safety radio certificate, international tonnage certificate, international certificate of fitness for the carriage of liquefied gases in bulk, certificate of fitness for the carriage of liquefied gases in bulk, certificate of fitness for the carriage of dangerous chemicals in bulk, international certificate of fitness for the carriage of dangerous chemicals in bulk, international safety management code document of compliance, safety management certificate, international ship security certificate, document of compliance with the international maritime solid bulk cargoes code, document of compliance with special requirements for ships carrying dangerous goods, international high-speed craft safety certificate, special purpose ship safety certificate, international oil pollution prevention certificate, international pollution prevention certificate for the carriage of noxious liquid substances in bulk, international air pollution prevention certificate, international engine air pollution prevention certificate, international anti-fouling system certificate, authorisation certificate for the carriage of grain, international energy efficiency certificate, international ballast water management certificate, international sewage pollution prevention certificate, certificate of insurance or other financial security in respect of liability for the death of or personal injury to passengers, certificate of insurance or other financial security in respect of civil liability for oil pollution damage, certificate of insurance or other financial security in respect of civil liability for oil pollution damage caused by bunker fuel (separately for each certificate)”
Paragraph (10) has been amended as follows.
In determining the length of the craft, values below one metre are disregarded. However, the fees in this tariff for certificates issued to marine craft registered in the National Ship Registry, the Turkish International Ship Registry and the Mooring Register are charged at one third.”
The provision entered into force on 1 January 2024.
6) The section of the fee tariff on fees for mooring register certificates has been amended.
Under Article 27 of Law No. 7491, the first paragraph, together with the tariff, of the section entitled “XIII – Fees to be charged for mooring register certificates” of Tariff (8) annexed to Law No. 492 has been amended, and a sentence has been added at the beginning of the second paragraph.