The innovations made by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance in the Tax Procedure Law have come into effect.

Another regulation has been added to the measures aimed at preventing the informal economy. In the regulation led by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the compliance costs and reporting obligations of taxpayers have also been reduced. The general communiqués of the Tax Procedure Law prepared by the Ministry's Revenue Administration have been published in the Official Gazette. The communiqués include regulations regarding a series of practices that reduce taxpayers' compliance costs and reporting obligations, eliminate bureaucratic processes, and support the fight against the informal economy.

BA-BS APPLICATION WILL NO LONGER BE USED

Accordingly, the Ba-Bs application, which has been used by taxpayers keeping books on a balance sheet basis since 2005 and where the purchases and sales of 1.6 million taxpayers were reported, has been discontinued.

The increase in the number of electronic documents used by taxpayers and the activation of inter-institutional data sharing have reduced the need for these forms. Taking this situation into account, the Ministry has ended the practice of collecting these forms, which were submitted monthly and created a workload for both taxpayers and professionals.

ZERO VEHICLE BUYERS WILL BE INCLUDED IN e-NOTIFICATION

With the electronic notification application introduced by the Revenue Administration (GİB) for the first time in 2016 and used by nearly 9.5 million people, notifications are made electronically and free of charge, and these notifications can be accessed via the Digital Tax Office and GİB Mobile.

NEW SYSTEM PROVIDES SAVINGS IN PUBLIC SECTOR

Additionally, individuals who receive e-Notifications are informed instantly via SMS and email.

Thanks to this application developed by the Revenue Administration and used by 8 public institutions, including the General Directorate of Security, the Ministry of Trade, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the public saves billions of lira in costs such as paper, toner, and postage. Furthermore, this application aims to eliminate long bureaucratic processes and prevent legal disputes arising from notifications.

To benefit more from the advantages of the electronic notification application, it is planned that starting from January 1, 2025, those who purchase zero vehicles will also be included in the electronic notification application. In this context, there will be no obligation for international organizations in Turkey that purchase zero vehicles and their non-Turkish citizen executives, as well as for disabled individuals with a disability rate of 90% or more and those under the age of 18.

PROCESSES IN PAYMENTS CLARIFIED

With the regulation made by the Ministry in 2013, POS devices that allow payment with bank cards in businesses providing retail goods and services were combined with payment recording devices that issue receipts, and the use of new generation payment recording devices that enable the integrated issuance of both documents was foreseen. Integration was made between the sales application software used by taxpayers for their sales and these devices, but this integration could not be fully achieved over time. With the published communiqué, the procedures for notifications to be made to the Revenue Administration have been clearly defined. Additionally, the conditions and limits that must be met to benefit from the exemption of payment recording devices have been updated, and it is foreseen that these limits will be increased each year according to the revaluation rate. Furthermore, those who do not meet these conditions for two consecutive years will have to start using payment recording devices again.

PENALTIES FOR FIRMS NOT COMPLYING WITH SALES TRANSACTIONS

Moreover, both software companies and manufacturers of these devices are responsible for the integration process that must be carried out between sales application software and new generation payment recording devices. In the event that it is determined that this responsibility has not been fulfilled, a separate special irregularity fine of 200,000 lira will be imposed on the relevant company and manufacturer for each determination. On the other hand, taxpayers who are required to obtain new generation payment recording devices but have been provided with individual POS devices by banks or payment institutions will also be fined 200,000 lira for each determination imposed on the banks and payment institutions that provided these POS devices.

TAX OBLIGATIONS IN ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENT

With the Digital Tax Office developed by the Presidency, all tax obligations such as submitting petitions, making notifications, making payments, and checking notifications can be carried out electronically without going to the tax office. A significant portion of taxpayers' tax obligations, especially the submission of petitions, declarations, and notifications, is fulfilled by professionals.

FINANCIAL ADVISORS' JOBS MADE EASIER

Taxpayers could authorize their employees listed in the Social Security Institution records to carry out transactions for the services available in the Digital Tax Office. With the communiqué, from now on, taxpayers will also be able to authorize independent certified public accountants with brokerage and liability contracts, as well as sworn financial advisors with contracts related to the certification of income or corporate tax returns, to carry out transactions in the services available in the Digital Tax Office. This way, financial advisors can log into the Digital Tax Office with their own information without needing the taxpayers' information and carry out the authorized transactions on behalf of the taxpayers.