Article of Board Member H.Cahit SOYSAL entitled Fund against Foreign Exchange Policy: KKDF Was Published in Dünya Newspaper on 04.07.2022

Due to the foreign exchange shortage in the country recently, a new measure is put into effect almost every week. Limitations on foreign currency or gold accounts in order to be able to get a Currency Protected Deposit (KKM) account, Income-Indexed Securities (GES), TL credits are some of these measures.
Until yesterday, there was a fund that was not very noticeable, which, in my opinion, can be defined as "the fund that is opposed to the current foreign exchange policy". We are talking about the Resource Utilization Support Fund (KKDF).
With the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 88/12944 published in the Official Gazette No. 19835 dated 07.06.1988, a ”Fund to Support the Use of Resources" is being created. In the first article of the decision entitled “purpose” it is stated that “In order to direct investments in accordance with the goals stipulated in the development plan and annual programs and to reduce credit costs in specialized credits. Based on the paragraphs II-b, c of Article 40 of the Law No. 1211 amended by the Law No. 3098, a ‘Resource Utilization Support Fund’ has been established by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. In article 3 of the decision, the sources of the fund are in consumer credits provided by banks is 6% on other credits, financing credits …, 6% on credits provided by banks and financing companies from abroad, 6% in imports made according to the overdraft, term letter of credit and paying for goods. Decision No. 88/12944 is repealed by the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 2001/2698. However, it was adopted in the same year and published in the Official Gazette dated 03.07.2001 and numbered 24451, provisional article 3 of the law No. 4684 dated 20.06.2001 “Law on the Non-Amendment of Certain Laws and Decrees having the Force of Law” the decision of the said Council of Ministers is being revived again. Paragraph (a) of the said provisional article 3 is regulated as follows.

"a) Deductions from the Fund to Support the Use of Resources will continue to be collected in accordance with the repealed provisions until a new regulation is made on this issue and it is transferred to the Treasury accounts in order to write income directly to the general budget. The Council of Ministers is authorized to reduce the deduction rates up to zero or to increase them up to 15 points or to remove the deduction altogether.

The accrual and collection of these deductions is followed by the Ministry of Finance within the scope of the authorities regarding tax revenues, and the provisions of the Law No. 6183 on the Collection of Public Receivables are applied in the collection of deductions. Unpaid debts to banks due to support premiums to be paid from the Support Fund to specialized credits are considered as duty loss debt of the Treasury and action is taken within the framework of the provisions regarding the liquidation of these debts. The second paragraph of paragraph (a) referred to in Article 43 of the Omnibus Law No. 5281 published in the Law No. 5281 is amended as “These deductions are followed in accordance with the accrual and collection provisions of the tax laws”. Even though KKDF, which was collected from 6% in imports made according to acceptance credit, term letter of credit and payment against goods, was reduced to 3% in “Resource Utilization Support Fund Deductions and Special Consumption Tax Applied on Some Goods” published in the Official Gazette dated 13.10.2011 and numbered 28083. In the fourth article of the Decision, it is stated, "The KKDF deduction rate has been determined as 6% in imports made according to the accepted credit, forward letter of credit and cash against goods payment methods", and this rate is once again put into this rate.
As those who previously drafted the legislation can easily determine, a strange method was applied with the Law No. 4684 in order for KKDF to come into effect again. In fact, an abrogated Council of Ministers Decision is put into effect by a new Council of Ministers Decision, and the new provision is drafted. A Council of Ministers Decision that has been repealed cannot be revived by a law passed by a higher authority, the TGNA, which is the legislator. It is not difficult to understand the reason for this. Governments try to stay away from regulations that impose taxes, while the legal regulations that provide services in order to look cute to the electorate masses. This effort to stay away comes to the fore in the revival of KKDF. As a result, while the life of a significant part of the signatories of the Council of Ministers Decision No. 88/12944, which was put into effect in 1988, has ended, those who are still alive have ended their political activities decades ago. In this respect, the directive "not us, but those in power in 1988" reduces the pressure on the current governments.

Another reason for reviving a 1988 Cabinet Decision in 2001 is our obligations arising from the “Customs Union” established between Turkey and the European Union after 1996. Article 4 of the Association Council Decision No. 1/95 states that “From the date of entry into force of this decision, customs duties on imports and exports between the Community and Turkey, as well as taxes and duties with equivalent effect, are completely abolished. The Community and Turkey refrain from imposing new customs duties on imports and exports, as well as taxes and duties with equivalent effect, from this date on. These provisions are also valid for customs duties of a fiscal nature. For this reason, Turkey preferred to revive the
KKDF, which was put in 1988, in order not to impose a new tax with equivalent effect after 1996. As stated before, Turkey's commitment to “not impose new customs duties or taxes with equivalent effect” is a commitment not only to the European Union, but also to the World Trade Organization in accordance with the second article of the GATT Agreement.

KKDF deductions related to credits obtained from the domestic market by consumers and concerning the banking sector will not be evaluated by us. In this article, 6