With the regulation made by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance to prevent VAT abuse on food and to eliminate hesitations on this issue, restaurants and cafes will calculate VAT as 10% on the food and beverages they sell.
The “Communiqué on Amendments to the Value Added Tax General Application Communiqué” prepared by the Revenue Administration of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance was published in the Official Gazette.
According to the regulation, businesses such as restaurants, cafes and patisseries that provide services will calculate the VAT as 10% (20% for alcoholic beverages) for the food and beverages they prepare and offer themselves and the products they sell there by purchasing them from outside.
All sales made by these businesses through methods such as sending to the address, pick-up and ordering by phone or online will also be within the same scope.
On the other hand, sales made by businesses that provide food and beverage services in areas where service can be provided to their customers, although they do not have a business license for food and beverage services, will also be evaluated within this scope.
While there is no increase in VAT rates, it is aimed to prevent abuses
As a result of the inspections, it was determined that some restaurants or cafes pretended to sell products such as meat, water and fruit juice instead of food and beverage services, and calculated the VAT rate as 1% instead of 10%.
While there will be no increase in VAT rates, the regulation aims to prevent wrong practices and abuses.
“There was no VAT increase”
Making a statement on the subject on his social media account, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said, “There was no VAT increase! An arrangement was made for the correct documentation of the VAT received by businesses from citizens. We would like to thank our citizens who showed sensitivity on this issue and gave us information.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz