Turkey launched on-site inventory inspections at 100 locations of businesses in the alcohol sector across 22 provinces as it continues a crackdown on tax evasion, Reuters reported, citing state-run media.
In a post on X, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said: “Tax inspections will be conducted on major alcohol sector businesses found to have discrepancies following the on-site inventory checks.”
The companies to be inspected, including some of the country’s largest alcohol producers, have a combined turnover of 100 billion lira ($2.91 billion), the state-run Anadolu agency reported.
The focus on the alcohol sector comes amid a broader government effort to shed light on the informal economy and identify tax evasion, in addition to criticism of the government due to high taxes it has been imposing on alcoholic drinks and tobacco products.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, an Islamist politician, has repeatedly taken a stand against alcohol and tobacco consumption.
In 2013, his government passed a law restricting the hours for alcohol sales, and during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, it introduced further curbs on sales, among other measures targeting the sector.
He has often advised Turks to drink ayran, made from yogurt, instead of rakı, the national alcoholic drink flavored with aniseed.