Ministry of Finance in the fight against the 'informal economy': 4 billion lira in irregular transactions detected
As part of the work carried out by the Tax Inspection Board (VDK) of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, it was revealed that 4 billion lira worth of unregistered watch trading took place in the 2023-2024 period.
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The VDK detected numerous irregular transactions, ranging from the sale of registered watches without issuing documents, the sale of watches obtained without registration, the sale of luxury watches and their imitations, to the trade of antique watches.
Millions of transactions were scanned, taking into account payments made through banks and intermediary institutions or via cash-on-delivery.
CONSUMERS VICTIMIZED BY UNDOCUMENTED PRODUCTS
It was determined that unregistered products were being sold through online marketplaces, social media platforms, or websites using methods such as virtual POS and cash-on-delivery. Within the scope of the investigations, it was noted that no documents were issued for these products after the sale, and that consumers were victimized due to these undocumented products.
The VDK identified the unregistered sale of 944 different brands and models of watches in the first stage. Some of the watches caught in the investigation consisted of imitation products of brands such as 'Rolex', 'Omega', and 'Patek Philippe'.
The VDK, which examined not only the trade of unregistered imitation watches but also consumer profiles regarding original watches, investigated the source of earnings for taxpayers who had no visible income during this process, taking into account the amounts they paid for luxury watches. Thus, work was also carried out on crimes such as money laundering and income concealment in the background.
Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek stated that the finance ministry has left no stone unturned in any sector or field, and spoke as follows:
“We promised justice and efficiency in taxation, and in line with this promise, we are continuing our fight against the informal economy without interruption. We are pursuing those who gain unfair profits and create unfair competition by causing tax losses and evasion. The most important issue for ensuring justice in taxation is the fight against informality. One of the foundations of the program is the fight against informality.”