REPORTING OBLIGATIONS OF INTERMEDIARY SERVICE PROVIDERS, SOCIAL NETWORK PROVIDERS AND HOSTING PROVIDERS AMENDED
General Communiqué No. 595 on the Tax Procedure Law, published in the Turkish Official Gazette dated 5 September 2026 and numbered 33361, amended General Communiqué No. 538. The amendment broadens the scope of information-reporting powers beyond electronic commerce to buying, selling, leasing, listings and advertising carried out through the internet and other digital environments, and revises the continuous reporting obligations of intermediary service providers, hosting providers and social network providers.
Scope of Reporting Powers Expanded Across Digital Environments
The provision in the Communiqué referring to the authority under Repeated Article 257 of the Tax Procedure Law has been expanded to expressly cover service providers, electronic commerce service providers, intermediary service providers, electronic commerce intermediary service providers, access providers, content providers, hosting providers and social network providers. Accordingly, the scope for imposing information and reporting obligations now expressly extends to cases where the internet or any other digital environment is used for economic and commercial purposes such as buying, selling, leasing, listings and advertising.
Monthly Reporting for Hosting and Social Network Providers
Hosting providers and social network providers that enable the publication of listings intended to facilitate the purchase, sale or lease of movable or immovable property, goods or services must report, for each monthly period, the internet address(es) through which the service is provided; the name/title and taxpayer-identification information such as Turkish ID No., Foreign ID No. or Tax ID No. of the persons served; and information relating to the relevant sale/lease listings electronically to the Revenue Administration’s systems.
Information to Be Reported by Intermediary Service Providers Updated
The existing monthly reporting obligation for intermediary service providers continues, while the required data set has been revised. The reference to “business address information” has been removed and replaced with taxpayer-identification information such as name/title, Turkish ID No., Foreign ID No. and Tax ID No. In addition, information relating to listings for the sale or lease of movable or immovable property, goods and services carried out on behalf of service recipients has been brought within the reporting scope.
Monthly Reporting Through BTRANS Continues
Under Article 5 of General Communiqué No. 538, which remains unchanged, reports will continue to be submitted monthly through BTRANS. Information for a given month must be submitted by 23:59 on the last day of the following month. The relevant data format and standards are announced by the Revenue Administration through BTRANS.
Change to the Responsibility Provision
Paragraph three of Article 6 of General Communiqué No. 538 has been repealed. That paragraph provided that intermediary service providers, social network providers and hosting providers were responsible for the accuracy of the information reported through BTRANS and for compliance with the prescribed format, standards and reporting method. The other responsibility and penalty provisions of the Communiqué remain in force.
Effective Date and Practical Considerations
General Communiqué No. 595 entered into force on its publication date. Businesses providing digital listing, intermediary or social network services should assess their status under the revised scope and review their processes for collecting taxpayer-identification and listing data and for making monthly BTRANS reports in line with the new rules.
