Law Amending the Law on Regulation of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Alcohol Market and Certain Laws numbered 7423 (“Law”) was published in Official Gazette dated 10 December 2022 and numbered 32039.

In addition to the regulations made on the tobacco market within the scope of the Law, with the amendment made in the Electronic Communications Law, the period of deactivation of the electronic identity information of the devices that do not receive service from electronic communication networks has been reduced from 7 years to 1 year.

Regulations other than those whose effective date is specified below will enter into force on 1 January 2024.

Notable amendments brought by the Law as follows:

  • With the amendment made in the Tax Procedure Law, those who prevent the transmission of documents, information or data that need to be transmitted by interfering with the system established to ensure tax security in the tobacco and alcohol market, by physical or informatics, or cause the transmission of these in an untruthful manner, are sentenced to imprisonment from 3 years to 8 years. has been brought.
  • Within the scope of the Law on the Regulation of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Alcohol Market, the following regulations are included:
  • It is obligatory to establish a facility with an annual production capacity of 2 billion for those who want to produce macarons, leaf cigarette paper and cigarette filters. This has become effective on the day Law was published.
  • Administrative fines have been imposed on those who make inspection production in macaron and cigarette production facilities without notifying the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and without mandatory labeling.
  • Administrative fines are imposed on those who do not destroy the macarons and cigarettes produced for testing in the macaron and cigarette production facilities in due time.
  • Guarantees up to 50 million TL can be obtained in order to ensure the security of the receivables that may arise from the producers in the tobacco, tobacco products and alcoholic beverages market, excluding cooperatives.
  • Macarons have been added to the scope of the Special Consumption Tax Law.
  • With the amendment made in the Anti-Smuggling Law, those who trade tobacco without obtaining an authorization certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be sentenced to imprisonment from 2 years to 5 years. This has become effective on the day Law was published.
  • With the amendment made in the Electronic Communications Law, the period of deactivation of electronic identity information of devices that do not receive service from electronic communication networks has been reduced from 7 years to 1 year.

You may see the Law through this link. (only available in Turkish)