Is there a tax coming on toys and bicycles? A clear explanation regarding the confusing item.

The bill regarding some regulations related to the Defense Industry and amendments to certain laws has been submitted to the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). The 12-article bill includes numerous provisions aimed at increasing the revenues of the Defense Industry Fund. The most striking one is the annual fee of 750 lira to be charged on credit cards with limits exceeding 100,000 lira. On social media, claims emerged that the new regulation would also impose taxes on toys such as dolls and tricycles. The Revenue Administration (GİB) stated that these claims do not reflect the truth.

The following statements were made in the announcement:

CLAIMS ARE NOT TRUE

Today, in some social media posts and press comments, it has been observed that the issue of including the item known to the public as "drone" in the scope of Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) in the bill regarding some regulations related to the Defense Industry, which was presented to the Planning and Budget Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey yesterday, has not been understood.

According to the ÖTV Law, the subject of the tax includes items listed in the annexed lists of the Law and defined by the Customs Tariff Statistical Position (GTİP). The GTİP name of the product is also determined by the Ministry of Trade according to international definitions.

With the 10th article of the bill sent to the Planning and Budget Commission yesterday, the term that should be written with the GTİP number (9503.00) in international definitions, which is known to the public as "drone," is the name that defines the main category of the item and is as follows:

"Tricycles, scooters, pedal cars, and similar wheeled toys; doll strollers; dolls; other toys; scale models and similar entertainment models (whether movable or not); all kinds of puzzles."

Up to this point, it is the name of the item, and the part that is actually included in the scope of the tax is the section written in parentheses afterwards: "(Only flying toys designed solely for entertainment purposes that are included in the customs tariff statistical position numbers 9503.00.75.00.00; 9503.00.79.00.00)."

In press comments and posts, due to the misreading of the Law, interpretations have been made that taxes have been imposed on tricycles, scooters, pedal cars, and children's toys like dolls based on the name of the item, and posts have been shared.

Since the ÖTV Law includes items defined by GTİP in the scope of taxation, it is seen that in cases where the item listed in the annex of the existing legislation is not intended to be fully included in the tax scope, the name of the item and the part subject to the main tax are narrowed down, and this narrowing is determined by the terms "only" or "solely."

In summary, it is not correct to interpret the terms that should be written as the name of the item in the writing technique of the Law as if a tax has been imposed on that item solely based on its name without delving into its content.

Therefore, the claims that ÖTV will be charged on toys such as tricycles, dolls, and pedal cars do not reflect the truth.

Respectfully submitted for the information of the public.