Major fines for cigarette companies from the Ministry of Trade

The Ministry of Trade has announced that a total of 215 million TL in administrative fines has been imposed on cigarette companies that issued double invoices.

The statement made by the Ministry of Trade is as follows:

"As the Ministry of Trade, our investigations and inquiries are continuing meticulously against all kinds of illegal attempts that may disrupt the free market mechanism, along with actions that may be subject to unfair competition.

In this context, within the scope of the examinations and investigations conducted by our Ministry's inspectors regarding the cigarette sector, a total of 215 million TL in additional tax assessments and related administrative fines have been imposed on cigarette companies.

In the investigation carried out by our Ministry inspectors, it was determined that double invoices were issued for cigarette raw materials such as tobacco (Virginia and Burley types) and filters imported with fake and low values, and that low-amount invoices were presented to our country's customs administrations. As a result of these attempted actions, procedures have been initiated for the collection of a total of 215 million TL in public loss, consisting of 53 million TL in additional tax assessments and a related 162 million TL in administrative fines imposed on the companies.

As the Ministry of Trade, we are monitoring attempts that disrupt market operations and are not in compliance with fair competition conditions with maximum sensitivity, and our efforts will continue uninterruptedly to prevent these and similar violations in all our sectors, including the sector in question, and to effectively implement our State's economic policies."