New oversight and job descriptions for Diyanet publications and religious services approved in the Turkish Parliament

The legislative proposal on Amending Certain Laws and Decree-Law No. 660, consisting of 29 articles, has been approved in the General Assembly of the Turkish Parliament.

The proposal regulates the organizational structure, duties, and powers, as well as the appointment, financial, and social rights of personnel for the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency (TENMAK), the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs (MAPEG), the Competition Authority, and the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority.

With the proposal, the duties of the Presidency of Religious Affairs regarding the review of religious publications, the inspection of works involving translations or interpretations, and the determination of religious days are being reorganized in accordance with regulations canceled by the Constitutional Court ruling. 

While the duties of the general directorates affiliated with the Diyanet are being simplified and redefined, the General Directorate of Religious Services will, under this regulation, provide spiritual counseling and religious services based on cooperation in student dormitories, educational institutions, youth centers and camps, penal institutions, healthcare facilities, social service institutions, and similar places; it will enlighten the public on religious matters through written, visual, auditory, and digital media; and it will conduct spiritual counseling services for groups in need of support, such as immigrants, the disabled, those struggling with addiction, and disaster victims. 

The Presidency also enables its advisors and muftis to be assigned to different units and will determine personnel to be appointed for the first time through an examination process. 

According to the proposal, tax, fee, and customs exemptions for the Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mineral Research Agency (TENMAK) are being reorganized in line with the Constitutional Court's decision, and it is stipulated that TENMAK's goods and assets shall be considered state property and be subject to a ban on seizure.

TENMAK will not be considered an economic enterprise in terms of corporate tax due to the income it generates from its activities. Cash donations and aid made to the institution in exchange for a receipt may be deducted from the declared income or corporate earnings in the determination of the income or corporate tax base, provided that they are shown separately on the income or corporate tax return, within the framework of the provisions of the Income Tax Law and the Corporate Tax Law. 

The legislative proposal also introduces a provision for the real estate of the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs (MAPEG) to be considered state property and to be exempted from certain financial obligations.

News Source: 12punto