Company registration in Turkey

Comprehensive Support Services for Company Registration in Turkey with Opening of a Bank Account

Brief Information on Jurisdiction

LLC (Limited Liability Company) in Turkey

• A limited liability company is a company whose capital is defined and divided into shares and which is liable for its debts with its assets only.
• Shareholders are not liable for the company’s debts, and their liability is limited to the size of the capital. However, shareholders and directors are personally liable to governmental authorities for the company’s debts which cannot be collected from the company, including taxes, administrative fines, and social security contributions.
• The authorized capital of a limited liability company is at least TRY 10,000 (Turkish lira). You can pay the entire capital within 24 months after the registration of the company. The payment schedule may be set in the company agreement or may be determined by managers as well.

Shareholder

To register a limited liability company, one shareholder is required. The maximum number of shareholders is 50. A legal entity or an individual can act as a shareholder. There are no residence requirements. One of the company’s shareholders must concurrently act as a director. Information about shareholders is stored in the Commercial Register and is available to the public. Shareholders are required to hold annual meetings to approve the financial statements for the previous year.

There is a possibility of obtaining a work permit in Turkey for shareholders. A shareholder who wants to obtain a work permit must own at least 20% of the company’s shares whose value must be at least TRY 40,000. As a general rule, to obtain a work permit you must employ 5 Turkish citizens for one work permit. There is an exception to this rule: the government does not demand this requirement to be met within the first 6 months after the registration of the company. Therefore, you can apply for a work permit within the first 6 months. In this case, the capital must also be paid up within the first 6 months.

Director

A director may be an individual or a legal entity. There are no residence requirements. Pursuant to the Turkish Commercial Code, members of the board of directors are not required to attend meetings in person: they can participate by electronic means of communication and approve decisions using electronic signatures.

Taxes

Corporate income tax in 2022 is 23%, and 20% from 2023. VAT is 18%. The total annual tax is assessed at the end of the year.

Audit

There is no obligation to undergo an annual audit.

Redomiciliation

It should be noted that redomiciliation of a company to another state is allowed if the hosting jurisdiction allows to do so. A similar procedure can be applied in the reverse order, i.e. from a foreign state to Turkey.

In-person Attendance

The shareholder’s in-person attendance in Istanbul is required for about 4 days.

Usually, 2−3 days are enough to complete all procedures, but it is better to leave one day in reserve to take care of any emergency.

After the company is registered, the power of attorney and the Signature Circular must be certified. This can be done at the Turkish consulate, but it is easier to certify documents during the shareholder’s visit to Istanbul.

Documents, Requirements and Information for Establishing a Company in Turkey

• Company name options to check availability (information about the business profile is added to the selected name)
• Description of the planned operations
• Structure description (director, shareholder, beneficiary)
• Amount of the authorised capital to be registered
• Must have an actual physical office
• Information about expected transactions on the account, forms of contracts to be concluded by the company, etc.

Time for Registering a Company and Opening an Account in Turkey

The process can take up to 2 weeks upon receipt of the original power of attorney for company registration.

Company registration service costs €6,500

This includes:

• Preparing documents for company registration in the register
• Opening a bank account (Vakif Katilim, Emlak Katilim banks)
• Obtaining tax numbers for the company’s directors/shareholders
• Providing a legal address (for 1 year)
• Registering the company with tax authorities

Cost of Optional Services

• Legal support to the company: €450 per month
• Accounting support to the company: €350 per month
• Current account manager (when selecting this service, a formal support contract is concluded + a power of attorney for communication with the bank is issued (the list of powers under the power of attorney can be agreed upon additionally): €350 per month
• Registration of a virtual telephone number in Turkey: €100 + maintenance from €10 per month
• A secure mailbox with a domain (e.g., info@example.tr) in the name of a company with a capacity of 5GB (more is possible): €200 per year

The prices for the annual maintenance of a foreign company are as per the prices for the current year and may be slightly adjusted depending on any changes in the prices of local agents.