Starting a Business in Turkey
Turkey has a non-discrimination and equal treatment policy towards foreign investors, thus foreigners have the same rights and liabilities as locals. There are no rules requiring Turkish participation in the capital or management of a company with foreign capital; a company may be established with 100 percent foreign capital. Almost all sectors are open to foreign capital.
The company establishment procedures have been simplified to a great extent through the shift from a “screening system” to a “monitoring system” for foreign investments and through the elimination of the unnecessary procedures to set up a business for both local and foreign investors.
Registration Requirements
“The World Bank-Doing Business 2013 Report” summarizes all the procedures and requirements for establishing a business in Turkey.
Example: Standardized Company
City: Istanbul
Legal Form: Limited Company
Paid in Minimum Capital Requirement: TRY 1,250
Start-up Capital: 10 times GNI per capita
No. |
Procedure |
Time to complete |
Cost to complete |
1 |
Execute and notarize articles of association, signature declaration of the managers and commercial books.
The following documents are required:
The incorporation documents are exempt from the stamp tax. There are no fees to be paid for the articles of association and the signature declarations. However, there still are fees for notary services and for the valuable papers.
|
1 day |
Paper cost: TRY 118.13 Notary services: TRY 296.65 Total = TRY 414.78 |
2 |
Deposit a percentage of capital to the account of the Competition Authority.
To register with the Commercial Registry, founders must obtain the original receipt from Halk Bankası. This receipt shows that 0.04% of the company’s capital has been paid to the Competition Authority at the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) or a public bank.
|
1 day |
0.04% of capital |
3 |
Deposit the initial capital in a bank and obtain the certificate of paid-in capital.
If the whole capital of the company is not paid in advance, the capital of the company can also be paid in within three months following the registration. Kindly note that another option is to pay 25 percent of the capital wıthin the first 3 months following the registration of the company; the balance of the subscribed capital shall be paid within 3 years of incorporation.
|
1 day |
no charge |
4 |
File the incorporation notice form, commitment letter, and Chamber registration statement at the Trade Registry Office.
Founders must submit a petition for the establishment, incorporation notice form, the commitment letter, and the chamber of commerce registration statement to the Commercial Registry Office. However, the formation of a limited liability company does not require a court application. Thus, upon gathering the following documents, founders may begin the registration process:
Following the completion of the registration phase before the Commercial Registry, the Commercial Registry notifies the relevant tax office and the Social Security Administration ex-officio regarding the incorporation of the company. The Commercial Registry arranges for an announcement in the Commercial Registry Gazette within approximately 10 days as of the company registration.
A tax registration certificate must be obtained from the local tax office following the Commercial Registry Office notifies the local tax office.
If there will be employee(s), a social security number for the company must be obtained from the relevant Social Security Administration. For the employees, a separate application has to be made following the registration of the company with the Social Security Administration.
- First manager's signature: TRY 350 - Each additional manager's signature: TRY 250
Fee schedule for annual membership in the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (based on capital):
|
2 days |
TRY 150 (initial registration fee of Chamber of Commerce) + TRY 695 (commercial registration including first manager’s signature) + TRY 246.20 (for each additional manager) + TRY 0.30 per word for publication+ TRY 2 (Trade Registry Gazette fee)+ TRY 50 (fee for start-up announcement) |
5 |
* Have a notary certify the legal books.
The founders must certify the legal books the day they register the company with the Commercial Registry. The notary public must notify the Tax Office about the commercial book certification.
Fee schedule for legal book certification:
|
1 day (simultaneous with previous procedure) |
TRY 206 (4 books) |
6 |
Follow-up with the Tax Office on the Commercial Registry’s notification.
The Commercial Registry Office notifies the Tax Office and the Social Security Administration of the company’s incorporation. In practice, to expedite the registration process, company representatives follow up on whether the notification has been received. A tax officer comes to the company headquarters to prepare a determination report. There must be at least one authorized signature in the determination report. Trade Registry Officers send company establishment form which includes tax number notification to Tax Office.
|
1 day |
no charge |
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Source: Doing Business database
USD 1.00 = TRY 1. 1.84890 (as of May 2013)