Turkey: The special consumption tax rate has been redetermined for tobacco products.

Turkiye

The Presidential Decision No. 3328 (“Decision”) on the redetermination of the special consumption tax rate for several products was published in the Official Gazette No. 31345 on 25 December 2020.

According to the Decision, the special consumption tax rate for tobacco products which includes cigarettes, cigarettes that were made out of alternative tobacco products, other manufactured type tobaccos and alternative tobacco products, homogenized or reformed tobaccos, tobacco extracts and fragrances and finally chewing tobacco, was decreased from sixty-seven percent (67%) to sixty-three percent (63%).

The Article 12(3) of the Special Consumption Tax Law No. 4760 regulates that the fixed tax amounts of the products specified within the List No. (III), namely cigars involving tobacco, open-ended cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes involving tobacco etc., shall be redetermined every January and July according to the consumer price index determined by the Turkish Statistical Institute. However, according to the Decision, this provision will not be applied for the period between January and June of 2021 to the products in respect of which the special consumption tax rate was redetermined.

In short, the Decision has redetermined the special consumption tax rate for tobacco products by decreasing it to sixty-three percent (63%) and has suspended the application of the provision regarding the redetermination of the fixed tax amounts for tobacco products for the first six (6) months of 2021.

For further information on the amendment to the special consumption tax rate and the suspension of redetermination of fixed tax amounts of tobacco products, please contact your regular CMS source or our local CMS expert Dr. Döne Yalçın.