Pursuant to Article 6 of the Regulation, the Ministry of Industry and Technology (‘Ministry’) authorises companies established under the laws of foreign countries to open liaison offices in Turkey provided that they do not carry out commercial activities in Turkey.
The documents required for the application to the Ministry to establish a liaison offices in Turkey are as follows:
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- Application form,
- The declaration containing the scope of the works to be carried out by the liaison office and the commitment that the office will not carry out commercial activities and the document showing the signature authority of the foreign company official signing the declaration,
- The Certificate of Activity of the foreign company certified by the relevant Turkish Consulate or in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Abolition of the Requirement of Certification of Foreign Official Documents prepared within the framework of the Hague Conference on Private International Law,
- Annual Report or balance sheet and income statement of the foreign company,
- The authorisation certificate to be given to the person(s) appointed to carry out the activities of the liaison office,
- Power of attorney in case the establishment procedures of the liaison office are carried out through another person.
Liaison offices are not allowed to engage in any commercial activity for generating income. The Ministry allows liaison offices to be opened only within the scope of the activities specified in the table below and for a certain period of time.
Scope |
Purpose |
Leave Duration |
Representation and hospitality | Representation of the foreign company before sectoral organisations and related organisations, coordination and organisation of business contacts of foreign company officials in Turkey, meeting their office usage needs | 5 years |
Control and audit of suppliers in Turkey in terms of quality and standards and procurement of suppliers | Inspection of the companies that have production made on behalf of the foreign company within the framework of the quality standards of the foreign company, supply of the product and producer demands of the foreign company | 5 years |
Technical Support | Providing training or technical support to distributors, providing support services to supplier manufacturers to increase their quality standards | 5 years |
Communication and information transfer | Collecting and transferring information on market developments, consumer trends, sales status of competitor companies and distributors, performance of the distributor company, etc. to be communicated to the foreign company having a business relationship with Turkey | 5 years |
Regional administrative centre | Providing coordination and management services for the foreign company’s units in other countries in relation to activities such as formulation of investment and management strategies, planning, promotion, sales, after-sales services, brand management, financial management, technical support, R&D, outsourcing, testing of newly developed products, laboratory services, research and analysis, training of employees | 10 years |
Market research | Analysing the Turkish market | 3 years |
Advertisement | Promotion of goods and services of the foreign company in Turkey | 3 years |