Recent Development

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance ("Ministry") amended the Recycling Contribution Share Declaration General Communiqué ("Communiqué") on 22 February 2020 and determined the recycling contribution share declaration periods for products under the annex list no. (1) of the Environment Law. Plastic bags are also listed among the products that will be subject to the relevant amendments.

What's New?

Under the Environment Law, sales points, importers and other parties placing plastic bags and other products listed under the Environment Law on the market must submit recycling contribution declarations to the relevant tax offices. Accordingly, the Ministry amended the declaration periods under the Communiqué.

Annulled provision regulated that corporate income tax payers must submit their declarations monthly, whereas other taxpayers must submit their declarations in three-month periods. The new provisions do not provide such distinction regarding the taxpayers and determine declaration periods as six months for 2020 and three months for 2021 and the following years. The Ministry also revised the examples under Articles 4 and 12/B of the Communiqué in line with the amendments.

In addition, taxpayers who submitted their declarations for January 2020 and February 2020 do not have to include the information on the declarations submitted in the previous periods in the declarations they will submit in the first six-month period of 2020.

Amendments to the Communiqué are available here (in Turkish).

Conclusion

The Ministry extended the recycling contribution share periods under the Communiqué. All sales points, importers and other parties placing plastic bags and other products under the Environment Law on the market must carefully review the amendments to the Communiqué and submit their Recycling Contribution Share Declarations to the tax offices in the relevant periods under the Communiqué.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.