January 20–February 2, 2025 Official Gazette Review

I am sharing a summary of the developments published in the Official Gazette over the last two weeks, between January 20 and February 2, 2025.

The Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) published the Regulation on Amending the Regulation on the Certification and Support of Renewable Energy Sources. The renewable energy source fee will no longer be applied to main equipment used in production facilities that have benefited or are currently benefiting from the renewable energy support mechanism.

The Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency (SEDDK) published the Regulation on Amending the Regulation on Insurance Agents. Under the new regulation, the certificate of conformity, previously issued by the Undersecretariat of Treasury, will now be issued by the Agency. Applications from agents that do not have any deficiencies in their conformity certificates will be evaluated by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB).

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance published the Communiqué on Amending the Communiqué (No: 2008-32/34) Regarding Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency (Communiqué No: 2025-32/71). Residents in Türkiye will be able to utilize loans obtained from abroad through banks. The procedures and principles regarding the utilization of loans obtained from abroad by bringing them into the country through a bank in Türkiye will be determined separately by the Ministry.

The Ministry of Trade published the Communiqué on the Prevention of Unfair Competition in Imports (Communiqué No: 2025/3). This covers the announcement of anti-dumping measures whose validity expired in January 2025, as well as the announcement of existing anti-dumping measures that will expire in the second half of 2025, within the framework of the legislation on the Prevention of Unfair Competition in Imports.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye published the Communiqué on Amending the Communiqué (No: 2010/2) Regarding the Printing Format of Checkbooks and the Amount Banks are Obligated to Pay to the Bearer (No: 2025/3). In this context, if there are no funds in the account for the check, the bank will be obligated to pay 12,650 TL if the check amount is 12,650 TL or more, or the full check amount if it is below 12,650 TL.

The Capital Markets Board (SPK) published the Communiqué on Amending the Communiqué on Financial Reporting Principles of Investment Funds (II-14.2) (II-14.2.Ç). While the annual financial statements of funds were previously disclosed to the public within 60 days from the end of the period, this period has now been extended to 90 days. Funds that sell their shares only to qualified investors have been exempted from the obligation to prepare a portfolio distribution report under the new communiqué.

The Ministry of Industry and Technology published the Domestic Goods Communiqué (SGM-2024/10). The communiqué determines the procedures and principles for obtaining a domestic goods certificate. It is now possible to obtain a domestic certificate for software products as well. For this, the domestic contribution rate must be 51% or higher. Seeds produced and sold in nurseries affiliated with the General Directorate of Forestry and private nurseries must be registered by the authorized unit and possess a forest plant passport. Live animals born or raised in Türkiye and products obtained from these animals will be considered domestic goods. The conditions for domestic status include the product being entirely produced, raised, or obtained in Türkiye, or that the significant stages of the production process and the essential labor and actions deemed economically necessary have been performed in Türkiye. Plant and animal-based products must be collected in Türkiye, and in terms of hunting, animal products must be hunted in Türkiye or on the Turkish continental shelf. Minerals and mining products extracted in Türkiye will also be considered domestic goods if they were extracted in Türkiye.

The Ministry of Health published the Regulation on Private Hospitals. The old regulation, published in 2002 and amended 45 times to date, has been repealed. A grace period until the end of 2028 has been granted for those who have received preliminary permits but have not yet obtained a license. With the new regulation, it has been legalized that the requirement of not having committed a crime, introduced for those who wish to own a private hospital, will not apply to private hospitals that are already licensed or have received preliminary permits. Regulations regarding foundation university hospitals were made, and staffing opportunities were provided to private health institutions collaborating with foundation universities. Medical technology was included in the scope of the regulation. A clear provision was made stating that health personnel will work in private hospital staff under a contract and as insured employees within the scope of Law No. 5510, which means that physicians currently working by establishing their own companies will return to salaried employment. The employment of temporary physicians outside the staff quota was regulated in detail. As of January 1, 2025, physicians who have an active private practice and do not work in another health institution will be allowed to work temporarily outside the staff quota in a maximum of two private hospitals in the same province if they close their private practices. The restrictions introduced by the old regulation regarding physicians with private practices being able to treat their patients by utilizing private hospitals are also included in the new regulation. A requirement has been introduced for private hospitals to obtain an accreditation certificate from the Turkish Health Services Quality and Accreditation Institute under the Health Institutes of Türkiye (TÜSKA) within at most three years from the date they are licensed. The regulation includes the requirement to hang an information sign stating “This hospital does not have a TÜSKA accreditation certificate” in a visible place for patients in hospitals that do not or cannot obtain this certificate, and that these hospitals will be reported to the Social Security Institution (SGK) by the ministry every January.

The Constitutional Court decided to annul the Additional Article 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The said annulment decision will enter into force 9 months after its publication in the Official Gazette. The article determined the finality limits in lawsuits and stipulated that the amount on the date the decision was rendered would be taken as the basis for the application of monetary limits regarding appeals/cassation. If a new regulation is not made by the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) during this process after the annulment provision enters into force, the limits on the date the lawsuit was filed, rather than the date the decision was rendered, will be taken into account regarding the finality limit.

With Presidential Decree No. 9504, the Decision on Amending the Decision on Providing Financial Support under Favorable Conditions by KOSGEB for the Purpose of Developing and Supporting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises was published. The amount of support provided has been increased from 3 million TL to 10 million TL.

The Ministry of Justice published the 2025 Tariff for Payments to be Made to Defense Counsel and Attorneys Assigned Pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Code, and a 40% increase was applied to the tariff.

With Presidential Decree No. 9487, the withholding tax rates regulated in the Income Tax Law were changed. The withholding tax rates to be applied on interest and profit shares to be paid to newly opened or renewed time deposit/participation accounts became 15% for accounts with a maturity of up to 6 months, 12% for accounts with a maturity of up to 1 year, and 10% for accounts with a maturity of more than 1 year. The withholding tax rate applied to investment funds was increased from 10% to 15%.