President to be authorized in import and export decisions: Bill accepted

According to the amendment made to the Law on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency with the law, the President will be authorized to regulate and restrict the buying and selling of foreign exchange, money, securities and bonds, and all kinds of goods and assets made of or containing precious metals and precious stones, the refining of precious metals, and the export or import of all these goods and assets, commercial papers, and all kinds of instruments and documents used to secure payment from or into the country, and to take decisions to protect the value of Turkish currency.

If the unauthorized removal of all such goods and assets from the country or their entry into the country does not constitute a crime or misdemeanor under the provisions of the Anti-Smuggling Law, the person shall be punished with an administrative fine ranging from half to twice the current market value of the goods and assets; if the act remains at the attempt stage, the penalty to be imposed shall be reduced by half.

Those who operate without authorization in areas where an operating license or authorization certificate is mandatory shall be punished with an administrative fine from 50 thousand liras to 250 thousand liras, and all activities at the workplace where the unauthorized activity is carried out shall be suspended for one month. In case of recurrence of the unauthorized activity within 5 years following the date on which the administrative sanction decision regarding the administrative fine becomes final, the administrative fine shall be applied at the upper limit. If it is understood from the announcements and advertisements of those engaged in unauthorized activities or from the nature of the work they do that they have opened or operated the workplace solely for the purpose of engaging in activities that require an operating license or authorization, all activities at the workplace in question shall be permanently suspended and the administrative fine shall be applied at the upper limit. Suspension procedures shall be carried out by the governorships upon the request of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.

A delay interest, to be collected together with the fine, shall be applied to the administrative fine to be imposed, at the rate of the delay surcharge determined according to the Law on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables for the periods between the date of the misdemeanor and the date of collection.

In case of recurrence of the misdemeanors included in the provision within 5 years following the date on which the administrative sanction decision regarding the same misdemeanor becomes final, the penalties to be imposed shall be applied twice.

FEE TARIFFS FOR OPERATING LICENSES

With the law, an amendment is being made to the aforementioned Law in line with the Constitutional Court's cancellation decision. According to the provision listing the activities for which permission from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance is mandatory, it will be mandatory to obtain permission from the Ministry for commercial foreign exchange trading, for operating as a member of the Borsa Istanbul Precious Metals Market, for precious metal refining, and for operating within the scope of the Kimberley Process Certification System, which was decided to be joined by a Council of Ministers Decree.

With the law, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance will be authorized to cancel the licenses of joint-stock companies permitted under the legislation if it is determined that they are operating contrary to the determined economic purposes and subjects, and to determine operating regions for companies engaged in commercial foreign exchange trading by taking into account criteria such as the size, population, trade, and tourism volume of the provinces and districts where they operate.

Fee tariffs for joint-stock companies subject to operating licenses under the Law to engage in commercial foreign exchange trading, as well as fee tariffs for operating licenses to be granted to operate as a member of the Borsa Istanbul Precious Metals Market regarding precious metals and for operating licenses to be granted to engage in precious metal refining activities, are being enacted.

For the transfer of shares of the specified joint-stock companies to engage in commercial foreign exchange trading, to operate as a member of the Borsa Istanbul Precious Metals Market, and to engage in precious metal refining activities, the fee specified in the relevant tariffs shall be collected separately in proportion to the share ratio to be transferred. If the joint-stock company whose share transfer is permitted holds more than one operating license specified in this regulation, the fee specified in the relevant tariff for each operating license shall also be collected in proportion to the share ratio to be transferred. No fee shall be charged if the shares subject to transfer are inherited, if the share transfer arises from a court decision, or if the person who will take over the shares is the spouse, descendant, ascendant, or sibling of the current shareholder.

The fees to be collected under this provision shall be deposited into tax offices. Fee amounts shall be increased each year, effective from the beginning of the calendar year, by the revaluation rate determined and announced in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Procedure Law for the previous year. In the collection of fees determined in the fee tariffs within the scope of the regulation, the fee valid as of the date of the first application to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance shall be taken into account. The President shall be authorized to increase the amounts in the fee tariffs up to twice and reduce them by half.

OVERTIME REGULATION FOR REVENUE ADMINISTRATION (GİB) PROVINCIAL PERSONNEL

According to the amendment made to the Tax Procedure Law, in cases where the inspection slip is prepared in an electronic environment within the scope of the electronic inspection slip, including coordinate-based location information and photographs of the place where the inspection is conducted, the signature of the police, gendarmerie, headman (muhtar), or members of the council of elders shall not be sought.

According to the law, for civil servants and contracted personnel in the provincial organization staff or positions of the Revenue Administration (GİB) who are assigned to actually perform enforcement, collection, inspection, and widespread and intensive tax audit procedures outside the office, and who actually work outside normal working hours due to these duties, the 160 indicator figure, which is the basis for determining the overtime pay to be paid for each hour worked in this way, will be increased to 300. In addition, the overtime pay that can be paid for each personnel cannot exceed 50 hours per month, and the number of personnel who can be paid overtime pay cannot exceed 40 percent instead of 20 percent of the total number of civil servants and contracted personnel in the provincial organization staff and positions of the Revenue Administration. This provision will enter into force at the beginning of the month following the publication of the regulation.

According to the amendment made to the Value Added Tax Law, the delivery of light commercial vehicles, trucks, pickup trucks, off-road vehicles in the pickup truck group, and motorcycles that the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Interior, the Presidency of Defense Industries, and the National Intelligence Organization will purchase and use exclusively for national defense and internal security needs will be exempt from VAT.

Transfers and deliveries for the sale of real estate owned by foundations within the General Directorate of Foundations and mazbut foundations managed by this institution will also be exempt from VAT.

The Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV), which is calculated and secured during the import of goods included in list No. 1 attached to the Special Consumption Tax Law, including fuel and natural gas types, will be included in the VAT base. This provision will enter into force at the beginning of the month following the publication of the regulation.

According to the addition made to the provision regarding the exemption of the legal entity of the Organized Industrial Zone from all kinds of taxes, duties, and fees in transactions related to the implementation of the Organized Industrial Zones Law, this exemption will not cover the banking and insurance transactions tax to be paid in accordance with the Expenditure Taxes Law.

According to the amendment made to the Law on Public Officials' Unions and Collective Bargaining, provided that the subject does not constitute a crime, no administrative or financial investigation or prosecution can be initiated against the authorized or responsible officials of public institutions and organizations who provided clothing aid, uniform aid, protective clothing aid, protective clothing material, or protective equipment material to public officials until May 31, 2025, contrary to the procedures and principles in the collective agreements signed in accordance with the provisions of the Law and the decisions of the Public Officials Arbitration Board, and those that have already begun shall be removed from the process.