Regulations Regarding the Earthquake Disaster

We had previously shared our announcement regarding donations and aid made to earthquake victims and relief organizations.

In this announcement, we will discuss the new regulations affecting tax laws:

- A State of Emergency (SoE) has been declared for 10 provinces. These provinces are: Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Şanlıurfa.

- For workplaces operating in the provinces where the State of Emergency was declared, as well as for insured individuals working or residing in these provinces, force majeure status has been applied between 06.02.2023 and 31.07.2023. Accordingly, the submission of documents, the payment of premium debts under Social Security Institution (SSI) and tax laws, and certain other obligations have been postponed.

- The "short-time working allowance" (SWA) practice was initiated in the regions where the State of Emergency was declared, employment termination was prohibited except in certain circumstances, and "cash wage support" began to be provided to those who became unemployed or could not benefit from the SWA.

- The VAT rate has been reduced to 1% for the delivery of prefabricated structures and containers (including installation and assembly works) made to disaster victims for use in the provinces where the State of Emergency was declared.

- Accommodation tax will not be charged on free-of-charge accommodation services to be provided to earthquake victims, and the services provided within this scope can be recorded as expenses.

- Documentation procedures were re-regulated for mobile fuel sales and purchases made via jerrycans or barrels.

- The requirement to pay 10% of the debt in order to obtain a certificate of no tax and SSI debt has been lifted until 31.07.2023.

- For companies receiving payments from public institutions, the "no tax debt" certificate will not be required until 31.07.2023.

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Although it does not directly concern tax law, we also wanted to include certain debatable topics:

- Inheritance status, legal heirship, obtaining death certificates (certificate of inheritance), the presumption that individuals who died in a family tragedy where the order of death cannot be determined are considered to have died simultaneously, and in cases where death cannot be definitively proven, the declaration of absence and its consequences.

- Claims for material and moral damages, determination of evidence for assets such as buildings, shops, automobiles, trucks, and furnishings, determination of liability, etc.

- Loss of official company books and documents, check obligations, employee compensation.

- Digital inheritance: the transferability of accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok of the deceased to heirs, and whether revenues generated from these can be directed to the heirs.

- Whether assets in crypto exchange accounts can be paid out to heirs.

- How applications under the Compulsory Earthquake Insurance (DASK) scope will be made and how much refund can be received.