Recent Legislative Amendments (1)

The Communiqué on Electronic Commerce Information System and Notification Requirements

The Communiqué on Electronic Commerce Information System and Notification Requirements has been published in the Official Gazette dated August 11, 2017 and numbered 30151 (the “Communiqué”) by the Ministry of Customs and Trade (the “Ministry”).

The purpose of the Communiqué is to set forth the principles and procedures regarding registrations and notifications required to be made to the electronic commerce information system (“ETBİS”) by the entities specified under the Communiqué.

Article 5 of the Communiqué states that the following real persons or legal entities are required to be registered to ETBİS:

(i) Service providers that provide services over their own electronic commerce system.

(ii) Intermediary service providers. (Providing electronic commerce environment, which refers to a website, a mobile site or an application, to other entities.)

(iii) Service providers located in Turkey and contracts or orders through an intermediary service provider resident abroad and not engaging in e-commerce activities in Turkey.

The Communiqué should not be applied for the services that use individual direct communication such as electronic mail, phone call, short message or other similar ways of messaging.




The service providers that fall under the scope of the Communiqué have to register themselves to ETBİS before they commence their activities.

The items in Article 6 of the Communiqué shall be notified by the entities specified under the Communiqué such as; the registered e-mail address available for notice, the type of the electronic commerce, the type goods and services provided, payment method, the information on and the type of second-hand goods sales, the services received the banks, paying agencies or other financial institutions, information on cargo or logistics operators, information on intermediary service providers, the information on countries and addresses of the databases in which the personal data and client information are kept, the annual volume of the commerce per country in the presence of cross-border electronic commerce and any other information required by the Ministry time to time. 

The liabilities under the Communiqué will be effective as of December 1, 2017 and the entities specified under the Communiqué will fulfil their registration and notification requirements within 30 days the related date. Registered service providers and other required documents related to them shall be published on the relevant website of the Ministry. In addition, information related to the financial, logistic, infrastructural or intermediary institutions collaborated with must be reported on a monthly basis and the requirement for this specific notification will be applicable by January 1, 2018.

With the Communiqué, the Ministry aims to adapt its records to the virtual setting of modern-day commerce. Compliance with this new application will result in a better systematized, comprehensive and up-to-date registration method for commercial activities for the entities specified in the Communiqué.

Regulation on the Sale of Receivables of the State-Owned Banks and their Associated Financial Institutions to Asset-Management Companies

The regulation on the Sale of the Receivables of the State-Owned Banks and their Associated Financial Institutions to Asset-Management Companies (“Regulation”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated August 11, 2017 and numbered 30151 and entered into force on the same date. 

This Regulation sets forth the principles relating to the sale of frozen receivables (donuk alacaklar) of the state-owned banks and their associated financial institutions to asset management companies incorporated in Turkey.

According to the Regulation, the frozen receivables (donuk alacaklar) that are subject to the sale to asset management companies are defined under the “Regulation on Provisions and Classification of Loans and Receivables” of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency being governmental authority regulating Turkish banks. The Regulation also classified the loans and receivables monitored in the accounts of “Receivables to be Liquidated” and “Receivables Having the Nature of Loss” pursuant to Article 16 of the Financial Leasing, Factoring and Financing Companies Law numbered 6361, as frozen receivables (donuk alacaklar).

The Regulation sets forth the features of frozen receivables (donuk alacaklar) which may be subject to sale to the asset management companies and the relevant principles. Pursuant to the Regulation, the features of the frozen receivables that are capable to be sold to the asset management companies, the written policies relating to the sale, the board of directors decisions of the banks and their affiliated financial institutions to perform a cost and benefit analysis in consideration of factors such as efficiency, market conditions, payment potential, collateral standing and debtors’ assets and potential results of legal proceedings are determined by the stated owned banks and their affiliated institutions.

The Regulation also envisages that the state-owned banks and their affiliated financial institutions have to implement procedures complying with internal systems provisions of the Banking Law numbered 5411 together with any related regulation issued by Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency. These procedures should include the conditions that the frozen receivables (donuk alacaklar) subject to sale should have, sale method, tender periods regarding the sale, completion of tender process. In addition, the necessary registration, information and disclosure procedures regarding the sale of frozen receivables (donuk alacaklar) shall comply with the provisions of the Banking Law numbered 5411 and Financial Leasing, Factoring and Financing Companies Law numbered 6361 relating to account and book keeping.

Council of State Decision on Cabinet’s Decision on Turkey Time Zone

Pursuant to the decision of Cabinet published under the Official Gazette dated September 8, 2016, the summer time practice which was started to apply as of March 27, 2016 by way of advancing the clocks one hour further the time observed in the rest of the year, was sustained for all of the year as applicable for each year. Therefore, Turkey, which was Coordinated Universal Time (“UTC”) +2 for winter and UTC +3 for summer, was no longer applying East European time zone, and was participated in the group who applies UTC +3 as standard time zone for the whole year.

Pursuant to the Council of State decision dated September 14, 2017, the execution of the decision mentioned above has been suspended. Unless the Turkish government implements a new legislative arrangement setting forth the contrary, Turkey will apply +2 for winter and UTC +3 for summer. Although no official decision is adopted yet, pursuant to the statements made by Turkish authorities to media, it is understood that the government is planning to implement a new legislative amendment in order to continue to apply UTC +3 during the whole year.

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Yours faithfully,
YAZICILEGAL