Passed by Parliament: Broad authority granted to the President on SCT and VAT

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey has accepted and enacted the “Bill on Amendments to the Law on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency and Certain Other Laws”. The law includes wide-ranging powers and regulations aimed at protecting the value of the Turkish Lira.

According to the accepted regulation, the President has been granted the authority to make decisions regarding restrictions or regulations on foreign exchange transactions, trade in precious metals and stones, the import and export of goods manufactured from these products, commercial bills, and payment instruments.

Within the scope of the law, serious sanctions have been introduced for those operating without permission in areas requiring an operating license or authorization certificate. Those engaging in such unauthorized activities will be fined between 50 thousand TL and 250 thousand TL, and all commercial activities of the workplace in question will be suspended for one month. Furthermore, if this violation is repeated within 5 years, the penalty will be applied directly at the upper limit.

One of the most notable articles of the law is the regulation regarding the Special Consumption Tax (SCT). The President will now be able to increase the lower and upper limits of the SCT bases for goods included in List II of the Law up to three times or reduce them to zero. This regulation also makes it possible to determine different tax rates for motor vehicles such as passenger cars, station wagons, and racing cars based on engine volume, range, and battery capacity.

Additionally, vehicles to be procured by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Interior, the Presidency of Defense Industries, and the National Intelligence Organization solely for defense and internal security purposes have been included in the scope of VAT exemption. Light commercial vehicles that are not produced domestically will also be evaluated under this provision.

With the new law, the powers granted to the Presidency for both the control of the domestic market and the flexible management of tax policies have increased significantly.