As it is known, a great disaster has been experienced in Turkey due to the effects of the twin earthquake experienced on February 6, 2023, and had a magnitude of 7.7 ML and 7.6 ML on the Richter Magnitude Scale.
Extraordinary measures were required due to the earthquakes that took place in a row on February 6, 2023, and heavily affected 10 provinces of Turkey. Within the scope of the earthquake disaster, it has been stated that the failure of employers and taxpayers to fulfill their obligations to the state for the provinces of Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa is to be accepted as “based on force majeure”. Accordingly, within the force majeure context some liabilities to the public are being postponed.
Obligations for the Social Security Institution Postponed Due to the Earthquake
The first postponement is being made for the obligations to the Social Security Institution inline with the Turkish Social Insurance Code. With the announcement published by the Social Security Institution (SSI), the payment periods of premium debts in the earthquake zone and the submission of information, documents and declarations that are obliged to be submitted to the SSI were postponed.
This coverage includes workplaces operating in Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa provinces as of the date of the earthquake disaster, and social insurance holders working or residing in these provinces are all included within the scope of the Article 91 of the Act No. 5510 between the dates of 06.02.2023 and 31.07.2023.
Accordingly, the following applications will be made for the employees and employers included in the scope of force majeure:
All kinds of information, documents, and declarations (including notifications of work accidents and occupational diseases) that are obliged to give according to the Law No. 5510 between 06.02.2023 and 30.04.2023, will be deemed to have been given within the legal period if given until 26.05.2023 (including this date) to the SSI.
Existing social insurance premium debts whose payment period has expired before 06.02.2023 and premium debts for the months of January, February, March, April, May, June 2023 will be postponed until 31.08.2023 (including this date) without the application of the delay penalty and delay hike that is specified in the Article 89 of Law No. 5510.
For the overdue debts that have been restructured pursuant to various laws or have been postponed and set up in instalments pursuant to the Law No. 6183 which have not entered into the condition of cancelling the restructuring/instalment transactions as of 06.02.2023 for the covered provinces is being postponed to the date of 31/08/2023 for the instalments due to be paid between the dates of 06.02.2023 and 31.07.2023.
The last payment date will be considered as 31.08.2023 for debts within the scope of borrowing and revival of social insurance payment days, whose last payment date is between 06.02.2023 and 31.08.2023.
Among those insurance holders or pensioners subject to control medical examination, those control medical examination dates were between 01.02.2023 and 31.08.2023 are being postponed to the date of 31.08.2023.
Overdue receivables to the SSI resulting from over or undue payments and public losses as of the date of 06.02.2023, whose restructuring/instalment transactions have not entered into the condition of cancellation and the SSI receivables in this regard that will accrue until the date of 31.08.2023 per the relevant legislation will be postponed to 31.08.2023 (including this date) without any delay penalty or delay hike to be applied.
Tax Obligations Postponed Due to Earthquake
With the announcement published by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance on February 7, 2023, extension decisions regarding tax liabilities were taken in Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa provinces. In this context, earthquake disaster has been declared as force majeure for taxpayers located in the earthquake zone until the date of 31 July 2023.
As of the earthquake date, the tax liabilities of the taxpayers in these provinces between 06.02.2023 and 31.07.2023 have been postponed.
During force majeure, the deadlines for submission of tax returns and notifications have been extended until the end of 15.08.2023, and the payment periods of taxes accrued on these declarations and notifications have been extended until 31.08.2023.
In addition, although the payment terms of the instalments to be paid in March, May and July 2023 within the scope of the debt restructuring laws numbered 7256 and 7326 are not yet postponed, it is being planned to extend these payments to the end of the force majeure state to August, October and December 2023. When this regulation will be made it will be announced accordingly by the Ministry.
