```html
With the communiqué published in the Official Gazette on October 18, 2024, by the Revenue Administration of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, it has become mandatory for non-taxpayers to make payments exceeding 7,000 lira to taxpayers through banks, financial institutions, or the postal administration.
According to the infographic prepared by the Revenue Administration (GİB) regarding the documentation requirement for purchases of goods or services exceeding 7,000 lira, all parties subject to the documentation requirement, including final consumers, must make their collections and payments for any goods or services exceeding 7,000 lira through intermediary financial institutions and document these collections and payments with the documents issued by these institutions.
HIGH PENALTIES ON THE WAY
For first-class merchants (balance sheet basis) and self-employed individuals who do not comply with the 7,000 lira requirement, a special irregularity penalty of 10% of the transaction amount will be imposed, starting from 20,000 lira for first-class merchants, 10,000 lira for second-class merchants (business account basis), record-keeping farmers, and those whose income is determined by simple methods, and at least 5,000 lira for others. In this case, consumers may face a penalty of at least 5,000 lira.
REVENUE ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCED PENALTY AMOUNTS WITH THE EXAMPLE OF AYŞE HANIM
In GİB's study on the subject, an example was given regarding who would be penalized and how. According to one example given here, final consumer Ayşe Hanım purchased a gold bracelet worth 25,000 lira from a jeweler. She paid the entire amount in cash. 10% of the transaction amount equals 2,500 lira. Since this amount is below the minimum penalty amounts determined for the year 2024, Ayşe Hanım will be fined 5,000 lira. If the seller jeweler is a first-class merchant, they will face a penalty of 20,000 lira, and if they are a second-class merchant, they will face a penalty of 10,000 lira. If those who make payments contrary to the documentation requirement voluntarily report the situation to the administration within 5 business days following the payment, no special irregularity penalty will be imposed on the payer.
MANDATORY EVEN FOR THOSE WITHOUT A BANK ACCOUNT
According to the communiqué published in the Official Gazette on October 18, 2024, it has become mandatory for non-taxpayers to make payments exceeding 7,000 lira to taxpayers through banks, financial institutions, or the postal administration. With this regulation, if the documentation requirement for collections and payments is not complied with, separate penalties will be imposed on both the payer and the payee. Whether the payer is a taxpayer or not will not be considered for imposing penalties. Individuals without a bank account or those who do not use credit cards will also be required to document payments exceeding 7,000 lira, so if these individuals make their payments to the sellers' accounts through banks or PTT branches and ATMs, it will be considered that they have complied with the documentation requirement.
WHAT IF THE AMOUNT REMAINS BELOW THE LIMIT?
In installment transactions, if the total amount of the goods or services exceeds 7,000 lira, each collection and payment must be made through intermediary financial institutions, even if the installment amounts remain below this limit. If the total amount of transactions made with the same person or institution on the same day exceeds 7,000 lira, even if each of the transactions remains below the limit set for each transaction, collections and payments related to the transaction will also have to be made through intermediary financial institutions from the transaction that exceeds the limit.
```
|