Communiqué (No: 2024-32/69) ("Communiqué") amending the Communiqué (Communiqué No: 2008-32/34) on Decree No: 32 on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency was published in the Official Gazette dated February 28, 2024 and numbered 32474. The Communiqué introduced some exceptions to the prohibition of payment in foreign currency in certain agreements.
What Are the Amendments?
Prior to the amendment, although residents in Turkey were able to agree upon the contractual price and other payment obligations arising from
movable sale agreements, excluding vehicle sales agreements, in foreign currency or indexed to foreign currency,
it was mandatory for these payments to be made and accepted in Turkish Lira (TRY).
Pursuant to the amendment,
it has been made permissible to fulfill payment obligations in foreign currency in the following cases:
- Payment obligations pertaining to valuable securities denominated in foreign currency, which were issued prior to the date of April 19,2022, in relation to the fulfillment of sale contracts of movables concluded before the date of April 19,2022
- Payment obligations in relation to invoices issued before April 19,2022,
- Payment obligations in relation to precious metals and precious stones trading transactions realized in foreign currency in Borsa Istanbul A.Ş. Precious Metals and Precious Stones Market and the settlement of these transactions,
- Within the scope of the Communiqué on the Status of Foreign Trade Capital Companies and the Communiqué on the Status of Sectoral Foreign Trade Companies, exports to be performed through Foreign Trade Capital Companies (FTSC) or Sectoral Foreign Trade Companies (SFTC) based on an intermediated export agreement, and payment obligations regarding movable sale agreements for exports to be performed based on an intermediated export agreement through companies with the status of Export Consortium within the scope of the Decree on Export Supports and E-Export Consortium within the scope of the Decree on E-Export Supports,
- Payment obligations within the scope of movable sales agreements concluded for the delivery of goods subject to customs declaration, including liquid fuel (fuel provided to vehicles at ports and airports), as well as for the delivery of goods subject to transit and customs warehousing regimes, temporary storage, and free zone provisions under the Customs Law,
- Payment obligations regarding the delivery of goods subject to the movable sales agreement concluded with the companies operating in the free zone within the scope of foreign trade transactions.
Effective Date
Within the scope of the Communiqué, it is regulated that the payment obligations regulated in subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) can be fulfilled in foreign currency
as of April 21,2022 and the other subparagraphs (d), (e) and (f)
as of February 28, 2024. You can access the relevant Communiqué
here.
Cerensu Çetin Yenigün, Senior Associate
Esra İzmirli, Trainee Lawyer