20.12.2022/79
VAT Refund Request Deadlines
1. Transactions within the Full Exemption Scope
Article 32 of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Law No. 3065 stipulates that VAT shown in invoices and similar documents for transactions exempt from VAT under Articles 11, 13, 14, 15, and paragraph (s) of Article 17(4) shall be deducted from VAT calculated on taxable transactions. If there are no taxable transactions or the VAT to be deducted is less than the calculated VAT, the VAT that cannot be deducted may be refunded by the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the procedures it determines, provided that the refund request is made no later than the end of the second calendar year following the year the transaction was carried out.
According to the VAT General Application Communiqué, VAT refund requests for exempt deliveries must be submitted by filing a refund request within two years, starting from the beginning of the year following the year the exempt transaction took place. If not, VAT taxpayers will lose their right to claim a refund.
Therefore, taxpayers wishing to request a refund must fill out the VAT column related to the exempt transaction in the relevant period’s declarations, no later than the end of the second calendar year following the year in which the transaction occurred. They must then submit a standard refund request along with the documents specified in the relevant sections of the Communiqué (including guarantees in cases where the refund is requested with a guarantee) to the tax authorities. For VAT refunds requested with a YMM VAT Refund Certification Report, the report must be submitted within six months from the end of the second calendar year following the year of the exempt transaction.
Accordingly, VAT refunds for transactions under the full exemption scope for 2020 must be requested by December 31, 2022.
2. Transactions Subject to Reduced Rates
On the other hand, according to Article 29/2 of the Law, for deliveries and services where the tax rate has been reduced by the President, any VAT that cannot be offset through deductions and exceeds the amount determined by the President must be requested for refund by the end of the following year.
Therefore, taxpayers must declare VAT subject to refund from reduced-rate transactions in any of the VAT returns for the January-November periods of the year following the year the reduced rate transaction took place (including correction returns submitted by the end of the year). The standard refund request, along with the documents listed in the relevant sections of the Communiqué, must be submitted to the tax authorities no later than the end of the following year.
For VAT refunds requested with a YMM VAT Refund Certification Report, the report must be submitted within six months from the end of the year following the year of the reduced-rate transaction.
Accordingly, VAT refund requests for transactions subject to the reduced rate in 2021 must be completed by the due date of the 2022/November VAT return, which is December 26, 2022.
Sincerely,
BİLGENER
