Vergi Hukukunda Mücbir Sebep ve Hukuksal Sonuçları Üzerine Eleştirisel Bir Yaklaşım ve Öneriler
Esra Ekmekçi Çalıcıoğlu, Gülsen Güneş, Mahmut Kaşıkcı, Gamze GümüşkayaBu makalede Vergi Hukukunda mücbir sebep kavramı ve hukuksal sonuçları eleştirisel bir bakış açısı ile ele alınmıştır. Bu kapsamda mücbir sebep kavramı ve hukuksal sonuçları vergi genel hukuku, vergi yargılaması hukuku, vergi icra hukuku, vergi ceza hukuku ve gümrük vergi hukuku açısından ayrı başlıklarda irdelenmiş, öneriler getirilmiştir. Yine güncel bir terim olan Felaket Hukuku üzerinde durulmuş ve COVID-19 konusunda alınan vergisel önlemler ile aynı konudaki idari işlem ve yargılama boyutuna ilişkin düzenlemeler de irdelenmiştir.
A Critical Approach and Recommendations on Force Majeure and its Legal Consequences in Tax Law
Esra Ekmekçi Çalıcıoğlu, Gülsen Güneş, Mahmut Kaşıkcı, Gamze GümüşkayaThe concept of force majeure and its legal consequences in tax law are discussed in this study with a critical perspective. Under separate titles regarding general tax law, tax procedure law, tax enforcement law, tax penal law, and customs tax law, the concept of force majeure and its legal consequences are examined. Tax measures which have been taken during the COVID-19 outbreak, coupled with regulations on the administrative and judicial process are examined and the current term “Disaster Law” is emphasized.
The COVID-19 outbreak has gained a global dimension and has been declared a global epidemic/pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020; this pandemic began at the end of 2019 in Wuhan, China. States, including our country, undertook various measures through monetary and fiscal policies to eliminate or minimize the negative effects of the epidemic on the social and economic life of citizens, in addition to the endeavors to fight the disease. These measures can be classified as “tax supports” (rate reductions, extending tax return periods, and extending tax payment periods) and “incentive packages.”
The global epidemic has introduced the implementation of International Disaster Law, which is mainly based on the concept of “force majeure.” Hence, this article comprises of six chapters. First, the concept, definition, and features of “force majeure” in tax law are discussed. In our opinion,
-The events called force majeure in a broad sense are unpredictable or inevitable; however, not always external.
-The person may have a defect in the formation of these events, but he or she should not be willing to take advantage of legal consequences.
-There must be a causal link between the force majeure and tax liability, except in cases of general disaster.
Force majeure is addressed in the Tax Procedure Law in an uncertain and unsystematic way. In this article, all of these issues have been criticized. The concept of force majeure is examined from a critical point of view in the first chapter, and suggestions are made including the introduction of a comprehensive new norm.
Moreover, under second chapter in terms of the process before and after the tax trial, the legal consequences of the force majeure are analyzed. In the third chapter, other legal consequences of force majeure are also discussed in detail including the ones concerning tax enforcement law and customs tax law, other than its effect on the terms.
The regulations specific to the COVID-19 outbreak introduced in the Turkish Tax Law and the International Tax Law are mentioned in the fourth chapter of our study. The authority of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance to declare force majeure and the limits of this authority have been evaluated within the context of the constitutional principles prevailing the tax law
The effects of the force majeure on judicial procedure law regarding tax proceedings are examined with a critical approach in the fifth chapter, and recommendations are made. First of all, it should be noted that all provisions regarding the terms related to the birth, use or termination of a right, the terms determined for parties in the Administrative Judicial Procedure Law and other judicial procedure laws, and the terms determined by the judge in this context were stopped until June 15, 2020, following the Temporary Article 1 of the Law No. 7226 on the Amendment of Some Laws published in the Official Gazette No 31080 (repeated), dated March 26, 2020.
It is a serious problem that there is no reinstatement institution in the Administrative Jurisdiction Procedure Law if a final term is missed due to the force majeure, which regulates the judgment procedure regarding tax proceedings in terms of the process after June 15, 2020. In our opinion, it is not possible to apply the provisions in the Tax Procedure Law regarding the force majeure and the effect of force majeure on certain terms to tax proceedings. At this point, we believe that the legal gap in the Administrative Judicial Procedure Law should be eliminated immediately, considering the requirements of the right to access to the court and taking into account the issues we have mentioned in our study
In the sixth chapter, the effect of force majeure on tax misdemeanors and tax crimes is tried to be embodied in the examples, and it is determined that the force majeure is a reason that eliminates the culpability in terms of Tax Criminal Law.
Finally, the COVID-19 outbreak necessitates some innovations in tax policy after the fight against the epidemic, which changed and transformed social and economic life. In this context, to understand the digitalization of the economy with tax law rules, to ensure that taxpayers can benefit from the right to information and other rights effectively, and to strengthen international cooperation, it is important (among others) to coordinate tax policy with health policy, trade policy, environmental policy, social and labor market policy, and monetary policies.