Jewelers under the microscope! Inspections continue in 36 provinces

Teams from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance are deepening their inspections regarding businesses operating in the informal economy.

In this context, the Tax Inspection Board and the General Directorate of Risk Analysis had previously placed the jewelry sector under close surveillance—a sector about which Şimşek said, "The average monthly tax base declared by a jeweler is 16 thousand 46 lira. These are very low figures."—and conducted physical inventory audits at businesses in 9 metropolitan cities in July.

Acting on Minister Şimşek's instructions to continue the fight against the informal economy without interruption, teams consisting of tax inspectors from the Tax Inspection Board and revenue experts from the Revenue Administration have expanded their inspections. This time, the ministry teams conducted audits and physical inventory checks at over 500 large and high-risk jewelry businesses across 36 provinces.

CHECKING WHETHER THE ACTUAL GRAM WEIGHT OF GOLD IS ON THE INVOICE

During the audits of taxpayers operating in the jewelry sector, in addition to physical stock counts, checks were made to see if gold and precious stones were being bought and sold without invoices, and whether payments and collections were being carried out through bank accounts not belonging to the firm.

The inspections also investigated whether the invoices included the actual gram weight information for the products, and whether taxpayers were engaging in foreign currency trading without the necessary authorization certificates. Furthermore, many issues such as whether POS devices belonging to others were being used in these businesses were also examined.

"WE STAND WITH HONEST TAXPAYERS"

In his assessment of the matter, Minister of Treasury and Finance Şimşek pointed out that they are fighting the informal economy in every field with effective methods, stating, "Within the framework of our principle of tax justice, we continue to examine large and high-risk taxpayers who declare low income despite earning a lot."

Stating that they always stand with honest taxpayers, Şimşek used the expression, "We are determined to ensure tax justice by preventing the informal economy. Our inspections covering all sectors will continue to increase."