Legal Updates

The Ministry of Trade announced that export restrictions had been imposed on fifty-four product groups exported from Turkey to Israel, effective from April 9, 2024.

In our 2023 Corporate Tax Reservation and Litigation note; we have examined the issues of "application of reduced corporate tax rate to earnings from services provided to foreigners in Türkiye (accommodation, health, etc.)" and "excess profit declared due to not subjecting the assets sold in 2023 to inflation adjustment".

Law Numbered 7499 on the Amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Certain Laws introduced long-awaited amendments to the Law Numbered 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data ("KVKK"). Law Numbered 7499 was published in the Official Gazette dated March 12, 2024 and numbered 32487. The provisions amending the KVKK will enter into force as of June 1, 2024.

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.

As of 10.01.2024, the authority to cancel trademarks, which was temporarily given to the courts by Article 26 of the Industrial Property Law No. 6769 ("IPL"), which entered into force on 10.01.2017, has been given to the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office ("TPTO"), whose founding purpose is to contribute to the effective protection and commercialization of industrial property rights by increasing industrial property awareness in all segments of society.

The "Regulation Amending the Regulation on Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade" ("Regulation"), which has been subject to a long period of study by the Ministry of Trade, was published in the Official Gazette dated December 14, 2023 and numbered 32399.

With the amendment published in the Official Gazette on December 19, 2023, effective as of 01.01.2024, the Regulation Amending the Price Labeling Regulation ("Regulation") introduced the obligation for establishments providing food and beverage services such as restaurants, cafes, patisseries, etc. to display tariffs and price lists in places where consumers can easily see them. The primary objective of the Regulation is to ensure that consumers are informed in a correct and transparent manner.

With the Law No. 7471 on the Amendment of the Law to the Transformation of Areas under Disaster Risk and Certain Laws and the Decree Law No. 375 (the “Law”), which was published in the Official Gazette on November 9, 2023, a number of significant amendments were made in urban transformation practices.

The decision on the annulment case filed in the Constitutional Court (“CC”) regarding the Law No. 7416, which made substantial amendments to the Law No. 6563 ("E-Commerce Law") and entered into force on 07.07.2022, has been published in the Official Gazette No. 32317 dated 22.09.2023. The CC uphold the amendments related to the provisions of the E-Commerce Law and rejected the request for annulment by a majority vote.

The Law on the Leasing of Residences for Tourism Purposes and Amendments to Certain Laws ("Law") published in the Official Gazette dated 02.11.2023 sets forth significant obligations for lessors, intermediaries, and intermediary service providers enabling the electronic commerce platforms promoting short-term residence leases. This legislation mandates that residences leased for periods less than 100 days must be registered with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism ("Ministry") and non-compliance with the obligations thereto will result in administrative penalties. Further, lessors are required to obtain an authorization document from the Ministry and a plaque indicating the qualification of the residence. Non-adherence to these requirements will cause to incurrence of administrative fines. The Law will come into effect on 01.01.2024.

In accordance with the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 ("TCO"), lease relations are categorised under three main headings: (i) general provisions, (ii) residential and roofed workplace leases, and (iii) product leases. Properties to be leased as offices, warehouses, etc. for the purpose of conducting commercial activities will be subject to the provisions of "Residential and Roofed Workplace Leases".

The amendment made to the Notary Public Law numbered 1512 regulated that, real estate sale agreements, which could previously only be executed before the land registry offices, could now be executed at the offices of the notary public, as of 2023. With the public announcement made by the Union of Notaries of Turkey, the sale of real estate in the offices of the notary public has begun as of July 3rd, 2023, and actively implemented as of September.

The Ministry of Trade has presented the "Draft Regulation Amending the Regulation on Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade" ("Draft Regulation") for public opinion which has been in the works for a long time. The amendments made by the Draft Regulation, which will give a new direction to retail trade, are planned to enter into force on 01.01.2024.

The Law Amending the Law on the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and the Commodity Exchanges of Turkey and the Chambers and Certain Laws and the Decree Law No. 640 ("Omnibus Law") was published in the Official Gazette dated 01.02.2023 and numbered 32091. Since the enforcement dates of the regulations included in the Omnibus Law are different from each other, separate information is provided at the end of each section.

The Regulation on the Amendment ("Amendment Regulation") to the Regulation on Unlicensed Electricity Generation in the Electricity Market ("Regulation") was published in the Official Gazette dated 29 July 2023 and numbered 32263 and entered into force on the same date.