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Publish Date : 02-Feb-2015

Turkey expects raising around US $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion in extra funds for financing procurement through a fee men can pay to avoid conscription, said officials.

The Turkish government had announced a plan to raise billions of dollars for defense procurement through a conscription exemption fee, in December. The plan exempts all Turkish men older than 28 as of Jan. 1 who pay a lump sum of 18,000 Turkish lira (US $7,579), from military conscription. Turkey wants every male citizen over the age of 20 to serve five to 12 months in the military, on the basis of his education.

According to Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz, as of Jan. 22, nearly 113,000 Turks forwarded application to benefit from the system. More than 600,000 qualify for the scheme,however according to a Defense Ministry official, the final number is likely to fall between 150,000 and 200,000, which means that the government will collect between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion.

The money will go to the Defense Industry Support Fund, financing procurement programs. Procurement agency of Turkey, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), collects annual receipts through the fund. It includes revenues from levies and indirect taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gambling, and had been widely speculated to amount to $1 billion annually.

Yilmaz said, “(Thanks to the paid conscription system) We are both solving these people's [conscription] problem and giving financial support to the armed forces.”

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