On 18 March 2020, Turkey unveiled tax measures to help businesses and individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Main measures in relation to tax obligations are:

  • A six-month deferral of tax payments for value added tax (VAT) and income withholding tax. This will be applicable to certain sectors (e.g. retail, shopping malls, accommodation, logistics-transportation, food beverage, textile-garment, iron steel and automotive).
  • Accommodation tax will be implemented to 1 November 2020 instead of 1 April 2020.
  • VAT on domestic air travel will be reduced to 1% from 18% for a temporary period of 3 months.
  • Any kind of petitions to the tax office that needs to be submitted by 10 April 2020 must be submitted electronically via the tax authority website or mobile application.

Moreover, a Circular released on 17 March 2020, prescribed that the annual personal income tax return statutory filing deadline has been extended to 30 April 2020