Stamp Duty in Earthquake Zone
Does Stamp Duty Apply to Tenders for the Reconstruction or Repair of Disaster Areas?
In Article 1 of the Stamp Tax Law No. 488, the papers written in the table (1) attached to this Law are subject to stamp tax; in Article 3, the stamp tax payer is the signatories of the papers and the stamp tax of the papers issued due to the transactions between the official offices and the persons shall be paid by the persons; in Article 8, the official offices written in this law are the general and special budget administrations, special provincial administrations, municipalities and villages, and the economic enterprises affiliated to these departments with separate legal personality shall not be considered as official offices; In paragraph A/1 of the section titled "I-Papers related to contracts" of the table numbered (1) annexed to the Law, it is stipulated that contracts, commitment agreements and assignments containing a certain amount of money shall be subject to stamp tax at the rate of 9,48 per thousand; In the 2nd paragraph of the section titled "II- Decisions and decisions" amended by Law No. 5766, it is stipulated that all kinds of tender decisions of official departments and institutions with public legal personality, which are or are not subject to the Tender Laws, shall be subject to stamp tax at the rate of 5,69 per thousand.
According to the Stamp Duty Law, this law regulates the taxation to be carried out within its scope and explains the exemptions and exceptions provided. Some other laws also include exemptions and exceptions related to stamp duty. One of these laws is Law No. 7269 on Measures to be Taken and Assistance to be Provided Regarding General Life-Affecting Disasters, published in the Official Gazette dated 25.05.1959 and numbered 10213.
Article 1 of Law No. 7269 states that "The provisions of this law shall apply to measures to be taken and assistance to be provided in areas where structures and public facilities are significantly damaged or likely to be damaged due to earthquakes, fires, floods, landslides, rockslides, avalanches, displacement, and similar disasters that affect the general public." The law specifies the scope of its application.
Furthermore, Article 42 of the same law states that real estate transactions such as purchase, sale, mortgage, title-cadastre procedures, tenders, contracts, permits, and other transactions related to the reconstruction or repair of properties, as well as declarations, undertakings, and contracts made by beneficiaries of this law, shall be exempt from all types of taxes, fees, and duties.
Based on the provisions of the aforementioned article, in areas declared as general life-affecting disaster zones, real estate transactions, tenders, contracts, permits, and other procedures related to properties to be reconstructed or repaired that fall within the scope of Law No. 7269, as well as declarations, undertakings, and contracts made by beneficiaries of this law, will be exempt from all types of taxes, fees, and duties. Additionally, if stamp duty is paid for transactions within the scope of Law No. 7269, including progress payments, applications for correction and complaints can be made for refund of these taxes.
Considering the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023, the provinces of Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Şanlıurfa, and the Gürün District of Sivas, which have been declared as general life-affecting disaster zones, transactions carried out within the scope of Law No. 7269, including declarations, undertakings, and contracts, will be exempt from all types of taxes, fees, and duties. If these taxes are paid, applications for correction and complaints can be made for refund of these taxes.