Attention millions of vehicle owners: Those who do not have this done will not be able to drive

Mehmet Hekim, Deputy General Manager of the Mint and Stamp Printing House, stated that the National Vehicle Recognition System (UTTS) will prevent tax losses in fuel and that the production center to be established for the system's infrastructure will also contribute to reducing the current account deficit by keeping foreign currency within the national economy.

With the National Fuel Tracking System (UTTS), developed by the Revenue Administration and planned to be implemented next year, the aim is to prevent tax losses caused by the use of irregular invoices in the fuel sector.

Furthermore, the system will ensure equal and fair competition in the fuel distribution sector. The UTTS, which consists of domestic software and hardware infrastructure, will contribute to national information security while also supporting employment through the ecosystem it creates.

The system, for which the General Directorate of the Mint and Stamp Printing House has undertaken the installation and operation duties, will begin to be implemented as of 2025.

Mehmet Hekim, Deputy General Director of the Mint and Stamp Printing House, stated in his assessment of the matter that the system will both protect the economy by preventing tax losses and provide opportunities for taxpayers such as information security, transparency, and the ability to achieve savings through campaigns.

Pointing out that efforts to establish a production center to ensure domestic production of software and hardware for the National Fuel Tracking System (UTTS) infrastructure are ongoing, Hekim shared the following information:

"With the hardware production center becoming operational in 2025, mass production of domestic UTTS hardware will begin on a local and national basis. Hardware imports from Germany, the UK, and China, which are currently being made for a temporary period, will come to an end. Thanks to domestic production, the foreign currency that would otherwise leave the country for hardware procurement will be kept within the national economy, contributing to the reduction of the current account deficit. Thus, the domestic technology ecosystem will also be supported through the production of high value-added technology."

Hekim emphasized that the design and infrastructure of the UTTS data flow were also prepared entirely within the country.

Pointing out that vehicle license plate information under the scope of the UTTS will be processed through software developed entirely by domestic software developers and engineering teams, Hekim stated, "Within the system, all data, including vehicle license plate information and similar details, will be stored on servers in data centers located in Turkey, which are subject to the supervision and control of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority."

In accordance with the Vehicle Identification System (UTTS) Communiqué, approximately 8 million vehicles acquired through leasing or included in business assets and used for work are required to be equipped with a digital tag, known as a Vehicle Identification Unit (TTB), which will contain the vehicle's license plate information, by no later than December 31, 2024.

Out of the 29 million vehicles registered for traffic in Turkey, taxpayers are currently benefiting from tax deductions by declaring fuel expenses for approximately 8 million of them.

During refueling, the manual entry of license plate information by station attendants allows for the creation of irregular invoices, leading to billions of liras in tax losses each year as fuel expenses on these invoices are deducted from taxes as business expenses.

With the implementation of the National Fuel Tracking System (UTTS), license plate information will be automatically transferred to the system, preventing tax losses.

The Vehicle Recognition System (TTS), which aims for customer loyalty in the fuel sector, offers advantages such as discounts, deferred payments, reward points, and fuel consumption control for corporate and commercial vehicles and vehicle fleets.

With the central infrastructure to be established under the National Vehicle Recognition System (UTTS), the current restriction of being able to subscribe to only one TTS program will be eliminated. Furthermore, with the UTTS infrastructure to be installed at all of the approximately 13,000 fuel stations nationwide, the number of stations offering TTS services will increase from 7,000 to 13,000.

The Fuel Tracking Systems (TTS) programs, which are currently utilized by 2.5 million out of the 8 million vehicles subject to the National Fuel Tracking System (UTTS), will operate in an integrated manner with the UTTS infrastructure, and the services received will continue without interruption.

Approximately 5.5 million vehicles that are not members of Fuel Recognition Systems (TTS) will also be ready to benefit from TTS programs at all 13 thousand stations thanks to the central infrastructure to be established.