Waste oil usage in diesel to get tax cut

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Companies who use waste oil in diesel are to be awarded with a tax break. AP photo

Fuel distributors who use hazardous vegetable waste oil in diesel fuel are set to be awarded with a tax reduction, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

“In the event of detection of auto biodiesel, which is made of waste vegetable oil, in sold diesel fuels, up to 2 percent of the Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) will be paid back to the distributor,” Şimşek said today.

The government is hoping to kill two birds with one stone with the new scheme: reducing environmental pollution would be reduced and lowering the current account deficit by cutting diesel imports. 

Waste vegetable oils are harmful for the environment due to the hazardous chemicals they contain. The finance and environment ministries have therefore been working on the scheme aimed at introducing tax incentives for recycling waste vegetable oil.

“With this scheme, based on voluntariness, frying oils, which damage the environment if spilled, would be recycled in the energy sector,” Şimşek said.The ministries have completed the preparations and the regulation has been submitted to the Prime Ministry.