The legal obligor for the bandrol is not the consumer but the manufacturer and importer. Article 3 of Law No. 3093 on the Revenues of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation states it plainly: “Those who manufacture the devices specified in Article 1 of this Law before sale, and those who import them on entry into free circulation, shall be obliged to obtain a bandrol or label.”
Who issues the bandrol
The second paragraph of Article 3: “Such bandrols or labels shall be issued by the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation or by other institutions or organisations authorised by that Corporation.”
The base: the VAT base, levied once
Article 4(a) fixes the amount on which the charge is calculated: for manufacturers, the value added tax base on the sales invoice for the device (excluding special consumption tax); for importers, the value added tax base on the customs entry declaration (excluding special consumption tax). The charge is collected once.
Rates
Article 4(a) lists the rates by device type. The rates below are as they appear in the text of the Law.
| Device | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Colour television | 8% | — |
| Black and white television | 8% | — |
| Radio, portable radio-cassette, radio-record player | 8% | As amended by Law No. 3383 |
| Video | 12% | — |
| Combined devices (video-television-radio, video-television, radio-television) | 12% | — |
| Music sets and similar | 10% | As amended by Law No. 3383 |
| Mobile telephones | 6% | Added by Law No. 7033 (2017) |
| Computers and tablet computers | 2% | Added by Law No. 7033 |
| Land vehicles (where the device cannot be separately documented) | 0.4% | On the vehicle’s VAT base |
| Other vehicles | 0.01% | Same basis |
| Television receivers designed for connection to a video display or screen (including satellite receivers and set-top media boxes) | 10% | Added by Law No. 7033 |
| Any other device capable of receiving visual and/or audio broadcasts | 10% | As amended by Law No. 7033 |
“Device” is defined very broadly
The paragraph added by Law No. 7033 in 2017 widens the scope: “The expression device in this Law means the device as a whole that is capable of receiving any visual and/or audio broadcasts, whether by an internal tuner, the internet or any other means, with or without additional software or hardware support, even where its principal function is different.”
That definition is why mobile telephones, tablets and computers — devices whose principal function is not receiving broadcasts — fall within the bandrol regime.
Payment timetable
Article 5(a): manufacturers and importers are obliged to declare the charges they have collected under Article 4(a) on devices sold within a month, and to pay them, by the tenth day of the third following month at the latest, by way of a declaration to TRT. Otherwise the amount is collected together with interest accrued at the highest commercial credit interest rate in force for each day elapsed, under Law No. 6183 on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables (excluding the default penalty).
Devices brought in from abroad
Article 4(b) sets a separate regime: “The charges to be collected once on the devices specified in sub-paragraph (a) brought in from abroad otherwise than for commercial import purposes shall be fixed as lump sums by the President each year in December, to apply from the following calendar year.” For devices brought in individually, therefore, a lump sum set annually applies rather than a rate.
So does the consumer not pay?
In law the obligor is the manufacturer or importer; because the bandrol charge is reflected in the sale price, the economic burden falls on the end consumer. But the duties to file a declaration, to pay and to bear default interest are not the consumer’s.
Revenue items that were repealed
An important change was made to the revenue items in Law No. 3093 in 2021: sub-paragraph (b) of Article 2 was repealed by Article 5 of Law No. 7346 of 21 December 2021, and by Article 4 of the same Law the phrase “shares to be allocated from electricity energy revenue” was removed from Article 1. The practice of TRT taking a share from electricity bills was thus abolished together with its statutory basis.
TRT’s broadcasting regime is covered in the TRT rules guide and the right of reply in the TRT reply guide.