Fiscal Holiday Period
Fiscal Holiday is one of the financial practices implemented in Turkey, and it refers to the postponement of certain notification and payment obligations of accountants, financial advisors, and employers. Thanks to the fiscal holiday, employers and professionals can be able to find the opportunity to rest during the summer period.
According to the Act No. 5604 on the Establishment of Fiscal Holiday, the fiscal holiday is applied from the first to the twentieth (including the twenty) of July every year. If the last day of June is a holiday, the fiscal holiday starts from the day following the first working day of July.
Accordingly, since the last day of June coincides with Friday in the calendar year of 2022, the fiscal holiday will commence on July 1, 2022 and continue until July 20, 2022 (including this date).
Periods Covered by Fiscal holiday
According to paragraph (2) of Article 1 of the Act No. 5604, the following periods, the last day of which coincides with the fiscal holiday, will be deemed to be extended by seven days from the date following the last day of the fiscal holiday:
- In the assessment based on declaration, the submission period of the declarations that must be submitted within the legal period will be extended by seven days from the date following the last day of the fiscal holiday.
For example, if the last day of submission of the Tax Return falls on July 11, since the last day of this period, July 11, 2022, coincides with the fiscal holiday, the submission period of the said tax return will be extended by seven days from the date following the last day of the fiscal holiday, on 27 July 2022 (this date) will expire.
- In the assessment made by supplement, ex officio or by the administration, the payment period of taxes, duties and charges, tax penalties and delay interests that coincide with the fiscal holiday shall be deemed to be extended by seven days from the date following the last day of the fiscal holiday.
- The period for the taxpayers to request reconciliation or request reduction in penalty against the assessments made by supplement, ex officio or by the administration is 30 days from the notification date of the tax/penalty notification. If the last day of the application period coincides with a fiscal holiday, the said period will be deemed to be extended by seven days from the date following the last day of the fiscal holiday.
- The period regarding the submission of the information that must be provided within the scope of the provisions of continuous information shall be deemed to be extended by seven days from the date following the last day of the fiscal holiday.
Periods Not Covered by Fiscal Holiday Application
Special consumption tax, tax on banking and insurance transactions, special communication tax, tax on games of chance, and taxes, duties and charges levied and/or collected by customs administrations, special provincial administrations and municipalities (value added tax on imports, property tax, environmental cleaning) fiscal holidays will not be applied.
Periods Not Working Due to Fiscal Holiday
Accounting Posting Periods
In Article 219 of the Tax Procedure Law, the recording time of the transactions in the books has been determined.
According to the aforementioned article, transactions must be recorded in the books in a time that will not impair the order and clarity of the accounting in accordance with the volume and necessity of the business, and it is not appropriate to delay such records for more than ten days.
If the said registration periods coincide with the fiscal holiday, the period will not run during the fiscal holiday.
Notification Periods
Notifications are regulated between Articles 153 and 170 of the Tax Procedure Law and in Article 168 of the Law, the deadlines for notifications are determined.
In case the notification periods coincide with the fiscal holiday, the period will not run during the fiscal holiday.
Litigation Periods
The period of filing a lawsuit by the taxpayers against the assessments made ex officio or by the administration is 30 days from the notification date of the tax/penalty notification regarding the assessment.
If the filing period coincides with the fiscal holiday, the period will not run during the fiscal holiday. In the event that the last day of the litigation period extended due to the fiscal holiday coincides with the interruption period pursuant to the Administrative Judgment Procedure Law No. 2577, the period to file a lawsuit will be extended for seven days from the day following the day when the interruption ends.
Submission of Books and Documents During the Fiscal Holiday, Starting the Tax Investigation
In paragraph (4) of Article 1 of the Law No. 5604, “Except for the interim examinations made upon the court decision or the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office or pursuant to the provisions of the Tax Procedure Law, the submission of books and documents for examination purposes cannot be requested, and the examination cannot be started at the workplace of the taxpayer. ” The taxpayer will not be examined at the workplace during the fiscal holiday (except for the cases in the paragraph), and the books and documents will not be required to be submitted for the purpose of examination within this period.
An investigation started before the fiscal holiday period can be continued on the book-document submitted before this period; However, additional books, documents and information cannot be requested from the taxpayer during this period, and the taxpayer or tax officer cannot be invited to sign the report containing the determinations to be made as a result of the examination.
Information Request and Notification Procedures During the Fiscal holiday
In paragraph (5) of Article 1 of the Law No. 5604, “During the holidays, requests for information are not notified to taxpayers, tax and penalty officers, except for tax and penalty notices and deduction requests. However, in the notifications made during the holiday period, the period starts to run from the last day of the fiscal holiday. provision is included.
According to the aforementioned paragraph, tax/penalty notices will not be notified to taxpayers and tax and penalty officers during the fiscal holiday; In the notifications made during the holiday, the period will not run during the fiscal holiday.
The Main Issues of the Fiscal Holiday Application
Law No. 5604 on the Establishment of Fiscal Holidays entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette No. 26476 on 28/3/2007. According to the aforementioned law, a fiscal holiday is applied from the first of July to the twentieth of every year. However, if the last day of June is a holiday, the fiscal holiday will start from the day following the first working day of July.
Fiscal holidays affect many times. These include the payment period of taxes, the period of filing a lawsuit, the tax inspection process, the accounting registration period, and the declaration and notification period. According to this; In the assessment based on the declaration, the submission periods of the declarations that must be submitted within the legal period, the payment period of the taxes, duties and fees, tax penalties and delay interests in the assessment made by supplement, ex officio or by the administration, the payment period of the tax penalties and/or the penalties imposed, requesting reconciliation The periods specified below, which coincide with the fiscal holiday on the last day of the periods regarding the periods regarding the applications to be made in order to benefit from the penalty or reduction in punishment provisions and the information required to be provided within the scope of the provision of continuous information, shall be deemed to be extended by seven days from the date following the last day of the holiday. Again, accounting recording periods, notification periods and filing a lawsuit regarding tax-related transactions, which must be made in certain periods according to the provisions of the Tax Procedure Law, will not run during the fiscal holiday. However, the specified periods start to run again after the end of the fiscal holiday.
In addition, the submission of books and documents for inspection purposes cannot be requested during the fiscal holiday, and the examination cannot be started at the workplace of the taxpayer.
