BSMV is the abbreviation of Banking and Insurance Transaction Tax (Banka Sigorta Muamele Vergisi). BSMV is a type of tax arising from banking and insurance transactions, calculated on profit or on the amounts or revenues of banking and insurance transactions.
Banks have become part of our daily lives. They have become institutions where we keep our money safely in cash, and where we take on debt up to certain limits through loans or credit cards.
BSMV is a tax we frequently encounter in transactions such as bank loans and pay to the state.
So how should BSMV be viewed from the perspective of payment institutions and e-money institutions?
When payment institutions and e-money institutions were first established, the commissions they collected from customers were taxed under VAT. However, because payment and e-money institutions carry out banking-like activities, it was being discussed that they should pay BSMV.
To prevent this confusion, the issue was resolved with the Expense Taxes General Communiqué Serial No. 91.
The Communiqué regulates payment services under five headings. These headings are:
- Virtual POS services
- Payment services related to e-money issuance
- Money transfer services
- Mobile payment services
- Bill payment intermediation services
The Communiqué states that services provided under all of these headings are subject to the Banking and Insurance Transaction Tax, not to Value Added Tax.
Example: Mr. (A) bought goods worth TRY 200 from a store that has an agreement with a payment institution. For the virtual POS service the payment institution provided to the store because of this transaction, it collected a TRY 10 commission from the store, and passed TRY 6 of this amount to Mr. (A)'s POS bank as commission for the service it provided. Accordingly, BSMV must be calculated on the TRY 4 retained by the payment institution, and the POS bank must calculate BSMV on the TRY 6 transferred to it by the payment institution.
You can access the Expense Taxes General Communiqué Serial No. 91 at the link below.
