Official Gazette / December 8-14, 2025

With an amendment to the Regulation on Workplace Opening and Operating Licenses, a path has been opened for applicants whose workplace opening and operating license applications were rejected by municipalities to appeal to the Ministry, and for the Ministry to grant the license if it finds the municipality's rejection decision to be erroneous. For residences rented for tourism purposes (i.e., AirBNBs), a requirement has been introduced for approval from all flat owners in the building, and if the building is located within a housing complex, from all flat owners in that complex. Furthermore, an occupancy permit and a fire department report have now become mandatory for all accommodation facilities such as hotels and holiday villages. 

With an amendment to the General Communiqué of the Tax Procedure Law, it has been enabled for taxpayers who will be taxed under the actual method starting from January 1, 2026, to have their accounting procedures handled by their own professional chambers. Previously, with a Presidential decree dated September 8, 2025, it had been decided that in provinces with Metropolitan Municipalities, "those engaged in manufacturing, buying and selling, construction, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles, operators of restaurants, entertainment and recreation venues, and those engaged in urban passenger transport" would be taxed under the actual method rather than the simple method as of 2026. The actual method means that tradespeople are subject to more detailed and costly taxation. Moreover, the law only grants authority to professional chambers for the simple method. Granting rights and obligations to chambers via a communiqué that are not in the law is in itself a situation contrary to the law. The Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants of Turkey has begun preparations to file a lawsuit for annulment. I believe that this situation, prepared by the Revenue Administration and which envisions the accounting service being performed collectively without establishing any communication with the taxpayer, is first and foremost a disrespect to their own professional group.

The Personal Data Protection Board has issued a principle decision to end the practice of taking photocopies of identity cards of people staying in hotels. This decision only concerns identity card photocopies. In accordance with the Identity Notification Law, the obligation for businesses to keep the identity information and check-in/check-out records of the person staying on a daily basis and to keep them ready for inspection by law enforcement continues.

The Regulation on Aid to Sports Clubs has been amended, introducing a requirement for sports clubs to have at least 20 athletes, to be registered in at least three sports branches, and to be participating in competitions in at least two of these to receive cash assistance. For umbrella organizations, at least two-thirds of the aid received must be used for the amateur activities of the clubs.

The Regulation on Portable Automated External Defibrillators has been amended, making it mandatory to keep the defibrillator in public and private institutions, as well as in public transport vehicles and public spaces. The device serves to keep a patient suffering a heart attack alive until medical teams arrive. It is planned that the devices will be deployed starting from the most crowded public areas in 2026 and expanded to include markets and gas stations by the end of 2028. 

The Regulation on Floating Solar Power Plants has been published, granting municipalities the right to establish floating SPP facilities on dam lakes and canals.

The Africa Research and Application Center has been established within the National Defense University to conduct scientific studies and train expert personnel in the fields of foreign policy, security, economy, and social affairs regarding Africa.