'Foreign currency' regulation at the Istanbul Financial Center: TL requirement lifted
With a new communiqué from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, participants operating at the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC) have been granted the opportunity to keep their books in foreign currency. This regulation allows participants exclusively engaged in the export of financial services or transit trade to keep their books in foreign currencies without the requirement of using the Turkish Lira (TL) starting from 2025.
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The General Communiqué on the Tax Procedure Law, prepared by the Revenue Administration of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, has been published in the Official Gazette and entered into force. The communiqué enables participants operating at the IFC to keep their books in foreign currencies.
According to information received from the Ministry, the IFC, established to create a more efficient financial infrastructure for Turkey and to contribute to the establishment of a global and regional sustainable financial environment, has begun to host many financial institutions of different natures since its inception.
In this context, in order to maintain this vision, the Ministry was granted regulatory authority under Article 7 of the Istanbul Financial Center Law regarding the ability of participants in the region to keep their books in foreign currency.
Aiming to increase the IFC's contribution to economic growth by developing financing and investment opportunities in the region, the Ministry used the authority granted to it by Law No. 7412 to issue the regulation allowing participants operating there to keep their books in foreign currency.
TL REQUIREMENT LIFTED
With the regulation, participants in the region who are exclusively engaged in the export of financial services or transit trade activities will be able to optionally keep their accounting records in any foreign currency for which the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey determines a daily exchange rate, starting from 2025.
In addition, detailed explanations were provided in the same communiqué regarding the ability of participants who have other activities in or outside the region to keep their accounting records for their branches in the region in foreign currency.
Thus, it is aimed to contribute to the vision of the IFC, which aims to be a vibrant and effective financial clustering region by hosting a wide range of institutions and organizations, and to attract participants of different qualities and on a global scale to the region by providing the opportunity to keep books in foreign currency.