New development
With Tax Procedure Law General Communiqué (“Communiqué“) No. 538, which came into force after being published in the Official Gazette dated 31 May 2022, new procedures and principles were stipulated regarding the provision of certain information on publications on the internet.
What does the Communiqué stipulate?
According to the Communiqué, intermediary service providers, social network providers and hosting providers that mediate the publications for the purchase, sale or rental of movable and immovable properties and goods and services must notify the Revenue Administration of their transactions every month.
The following fall within the scope of the notification and must be reported to the Revenue Administration electronically:
- The web address where the service is provided
- The name, surname/title and Turkish Identity Number/Foreigner Identity Number/Tax Identification Number of the service receivers and their workplace address
- The amount and date of each collection or sale transaction regarding the sale/rental of movable and immovable properties and goods and services performed on behalf of the service receivers
- The bank account information regarding the payment of the collected amounts to the intermediary service providers
Publishers are obliged to provide the information subject to their publications to the intermediary service providers, social network providers and hosting providers. Otherwise, intermediary service providers, social network providers and hosting providers will report those who do not provide information to the Revenue Administration.
The first notification must be made by 1 August 2022 for the period of June 2022. Intermediary service providers, social network providers and hosting providers are required to complete their applications for the use of the Revenue Administration Information Transfer Platform (BTRANS) before the first notification date. For the following periods, the information for the relevant month will be reported to the Revenue Administration by 11:59 pm on the last day of the following month through BTRANS.
The information subject to the notification must be stored electronically within the retention periods stipulated by Tax Procedure Law No. 213 for books, records and documents, and must be submitted electronically when requested.
The penal provisions of Tax Procedure Law No. 213 will be applied to those who do not fulfill their reporting obligation, make incomplete or misleading notifications or do not comply with the obligations imposed by the Communiqué.
Conclusion
It is important that the reporting obligations stipulated by the Communiqué to increase the level of tax compliance and the effectiveness of the fight against the informal economy are fulfilled in a timely and complete manner by the obliged parties, so as not to face any penalties in the future.
