Establishing a Company in Turkey

Most of the entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) prefer to establish a limited company Ltd. However, you can set up your company according to any type you want to be that joint venture (JV), joint stock, or any other type of well-known companies. In this article, we are going to discover together the steps of establishing a limited company in Turkey, where the minimum capital of the company shall be around 12,000 Turkish Lira that is equivalent to $ 5000.

One person or one legal party is enough to establish a limited company in Turkey. Moreover, this company can be managed by foreigners, yet, they need to get a work permit. The percentage of ownership in the company for foreigners can be 100%.

Establishing a company: Imtilak real estate always recommend enlisting a lawyer, who shall be fluent in English or Arabic, to conduct transactions and official papers. We also advise recruiting a trustworthy accountant to do the financial work in the company you are establishing. Usually, you can establish a company in Turkey within one week.

Identification documents required to set up a company in Turkey:

1.      A copy of the passport translated into the Turkish language and certified by a notary.

2.      The tax number (Vergi Numarası), which you can get easily from the nearest tax center in your area.

Steps to set up a company:

1.      Preparing the documents and forms required, and certificating the company’s articles of association by a notary.

2.      Depositing 25% of the capital value in the bank.

3.      Registering the company in the Commercial Register Office and the Chamber of Commerce Office.

4.      Providing the original version as well as two certificated copies of the company’s articles of association to the Commercial Register Office within 15 days from the date of authentication and certification by the notary.

5.      For limited companies, they must be compatible with article no.279 of the Turkish Commercial Code.

The company name must be mentioned explicitly and clearly in the Articles of Association. Also, please be aware that the company’s articles of association will be publicly published in the official newspaper of the Commercial Register.

Once the company is listed in the Commercial Register Office, it must be registered in the Local Tax Office where the tax certificate is issued, which must be displayed and put clearly in the workplace.

An employee of the local tax shall visit your office or store in a few days to verify the information mentioned and the tax certificate.

The Commercial Registration Office shall notify the Ministry of Labor and Social Security about the establishment of your company, therefore, all the workers and employees, including the managers, of the company must be listed in this ministry “Social Insurance.”

All the official documents of the company must be certificated at the notary at the same day of the company registration.

The Insurance: The social and retirement insurances are compulsory in Turkey for all the employees in the companies, and that means for managers and employees as well. The company must pay the insurance premiums regularly for each employee and worker in the company. The insurance value is about 265 Turkish Liras per month.

The accountant of your company must arrange and prepare all the official papers and documents. If you did not pay the insurance, for any reason, you would have to pay all the previous amounts from the first day of the establishment of the company (the date of naming you as a manager or employee of the company). You also should adjust the accounts and the monthly payroll schedules. Please do not forget to prepare the rental agreement of the place and contract with a trusted accountant to conduct all the financial matters of the company.

Sectors of Special rules: the work in some areas or sectors such as banks, financial institutions, insurance companies, exchange companies, and others are subject to the legislation and laws of the Turkish financial markets and they must be registered at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.