November 4-10 Official Gazette

I am sharing a summary of developments from the laws, decrees, regulations, circulars, and other legislation issued by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), the President, Ministries, and public legal entities published in the Official Gazette between November 4 and 10.

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) has decided to grant operating licenses to FUPS Bank A.Ş., Ziraat Dinamik Banka A.Ş., and Colendi Bank A.Ş., for which it had previously granted establishment permits.

The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) Chamber of Electrical Engineers has amended its main regulation. The regulatory change was made in accordance with the decision taken at the 49th Ordinary General Assembly of the Chamber of Electrical Engineers (EMO). The changes primarily focus on regulating membership processes, the distribution of duties, and prohibitions on holding positions in multiple bodies.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has published the Regulation on the Implementation of the Powers and Duties Granted to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism by the Tourist Guiding Profession Law. Henceforth, those who have graduated at least at the undergraduate level from departments other than tourism guidance departments at universities will be able to apply for the tourist guidance training program. In the written exam to be held at the end of the training program, candidates who score at least fifty points in each subject and an average of at least seventy points will be considered successful. It is now mandatory to participate in a field trip and pass a two-stage exam, consisting of written and oral parts, at the end of the trip. Successful completion of the training program is a prerequisite for participating in the field trip. Graduates of associate, undergraduate, or graduate programs in tourism guidance departments at universities will be able to apply directly for the field trip. Students of tourism guidance departments will be able to participate in field trips before graduation, provided they have completed at least fifty percent of the credit hours required for their program, and graduate students have completed their coursework phase.

The Union of Chambers of Tourist Guides (TUREB) has published the Tourism Guiding Profession Regulation. While the union's powers and responsibilities have been reshaped, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's authority for inspection and supervision has also been expanded. With this regulation, the services and activities of the tourist guiding profession, as well as procedures and principles regarding the disciplinary, registry, license, and work card processes for tourist guides, and courses, seminars, and training programs for professional specialization have been reorganized. TUREB has become fully authorized regarding the issuance of licenses and work cards.

Upon the application of the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Fisheries Registration Committee has registered two fish species, known as Sardine (Mediterranean) and Bogue (Boops Boops), for food use by detailing their morphological, biological, and genetic characteristics.

The Constitutional Court, in its decision dated 11.07.2024, ruled that in an individual application file, if there is no evidence that the applicant, who has been under detention for more than eight months even for catalog crimes, poses a risk of flight, destroying or altering evidence, or has failed to comply with judicial control, this situation constitutes a violation of the right to personal liberty and security.

The Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), with its General Assembly decision dated 06.11.2024, removed the province of Bilecik from the Sakarya jurisdiction regarding administrative and tax courts and attached it to the Eskişehir judicial district. The decision enters into force on 11.11.2024.

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Ministry of Trade have published the Communiqué on the Amendment of the General Communiqué on Electronic Ledgers. With this Communiqué, taxpayers who are required to keep books based on the balance sheet method and those who voluntarily choose to keep books based on the balance sheet method have been added to the groups of taxpayers required to be included in the e-Ledger application. From now on, as of 1/1/2025, taxpayers who are required to keep books based on the balance sheet method and those who voluntarily choose to do so as of this date must switch to the e-Ledger application and keep their books as e-Ledgers starting from 1/1/2025. For taxpayers who start a new business, restart a business, change classes, enter a new tax liability, or lose tax exemption as of 1/1/2025, those who will keep books based on the balance sheet method, either voluntarily or mandatorily, are required to switch to the e-Ledger application and keep their books as e-Ledgers from the date of starting business, changing class, entering new liability, or losing exemption. The upload deadlines for e-Ledger files have been updated to the 10th of the month for income tax payers and the 14th of the month for other taxpayers.

The Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency (SEDDK) has published the Communiqué on the Amendment of the Communiqué on the Tariff and Instructions and Working Procedures and Principles of the State-Supported Commercial Receivables (DDAS) System. A natural disaster additional coverage has been introduced to DDAS-Commercial and DDAS-Financing products, and the scope of the coverage has been expanded. The commission rate paid to agencies has been increased. A requirement for technical personnel to attend training and pass an exam in case of a fundamental change in the system has been introduced. Specifically for DDAS-Commercial, the scope of the coverage offered for the commercial receivables of SMEs has been expanded, providing SMEs with greater protection against risks for payments to be made by buyers, and creating a broader guarantee for the commercial receivables of SMEs. Regarding DDAS-Financing, it has been ensured that credit sales subject to the repayment of loans provided for the financing needs of SMEs are protected with broader guarantees.

The Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) Board Decisions have been published. An update has been made regarding the technical and economic power that holders of distributor and bunker delivery licenses must possess, as stated in the Petroleum Market License Regulation. The minimum amount of total assets that a legal entity applying for a distributor and bunker delivery license must have for a distributor license is now 125 million TL. Within the scope of the provisional article, it has been regulated that existing distributor license holders can submit their YMMM (Certified Public Accountant) approved balance sheets, prepared within the last 3 months, to EPDK by June 1, 2026, to prove that they meet the determined total asset amount. It was stated that for those with pending distributor license applications as of the date of publication in the Official Gazette, the application review and evaluation will be conducted after they submit their YMMM-approved balance sheets to EPDK. The fifth implementation period, during which the parameters underlying the revenue and tariff regulations of distribution companies and incumbent supply companies operating in the electricity market will be valid, has been determined as January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2030. Under the Electricity Market License Regulation, in case of share transfers involving a change of 10 percent or more in the partnership structure of a legal entity holding a pre-license, resulting in the arrival of a new indirect partner, it has been decided that the paid-in capital of the pre-license holding legal entity must be increased by 25 percent of the total investment amount related to the main source, regardless of the share transfer ratio, within 6 months from the notification date of the Board Decision regarding the approval, and that the relevant information and documents must be submitted to the authority. In calculating the paid-in capital amount, unit investment amounts based on the main source were determined between 18 million and 50 million liras per megawatt of mechanical installed power (MWm). According to the decision, it is required to document that the amounts within the framework of the capital increase determined for applications made in this context are provided through the use of foreign resources. If the share transfer transactions take place and the capital increase obligation is not fulfilled within the specified period, the approval will be considered invalid and the pre-license will be canceled.