Regulation on Supporting the Opening, Operation, and Brand Promotion Activities of Offices-Stores Abroad
(Regulation No: 2005/4)
This Regulation has been prepared based on the "Government Aid Decision for Export" enacted by the Council of Ministers Decision No. 94/6401 dated 27/12/1994, and in accordance with the Decision No. 2005/10 of the Coordination Board of Money-Credit, dated 17/11/2005.
SECTION ONE
Purpose, Scope, and Definitions:
Purpose
Article 1: The purpose of this Regulation is to cover the expenses related to the promotion and/or trademark registration activities carried out by companies engaged in commercial, industrial/commercial activities, or software sector activities in Turkey, in order to ensure large-scale and long-term promotion of their products in foreign markets. These expenses, as well as the expenses related to the foreign trade activities for opening or operating units abroad, will be supported by the International Rules Fund, as per the Decision of the Coordination and Price Stability Fund.
Scope
Article 2: The companies eligible for the support under this Regulation are those engaged in commercial, industrial/commercial activities or the software sector in Turkey, Foreign Trade Capital Companies, and Sectoral Foreign Trade Companies.
Definitions
Article 3: In this Regulation, the following terms are defined as:
- Undersecretariat: The Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade,
- Foreign Trade Capital Company (DTSŞ): Companies with the status of Foreign Trade Capital Company granted by the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade,
- Sectoral Foreign Trade Company (SDŞ): Companies with the status of Sectoral Foreign Trade Company granted by the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade,
- Industrial/Commercial Company: Companies engaged in commercial and industrial activities under the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code,
- Commercial Company: Companies engaged in commercial activities under the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code,
- Software Company: Companies engaged in the software sector under the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code,
- Company: Refers to industrial/commercial companies, commercial companies, and software companies,
- Foreign Unit: Refers to a store, warehouse, office, or showroom opened abroad.
SECTION TWO
Supported Activities
I- Support for Stores
Article 4: In the case of opening a store abroad by industrial/commercial or software companies, as well as DTSŞs and/or their companies/branches operating abroad:
The store's:
a) Furniture and decoration expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with a maximum of 40,000 USD,
b) Rental expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 80,000 USD.
Article 5: In the case of opening a store abroad by commercial companies and/or their companies/branches operating abroad:
The store's:
a) Furniture and decoration expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with a maximum of 30,000 USD,
b) Rental expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 60,000 USD.
Article 6: In the case of opening a store abroad by SDŞs and/or their companies/branches operating abroad:
The store's:
a) Furniture and decoration expenses will be supported at a rate of 60%, with a maximum of 60,000 USD,
b) Rental expenses will be supported at a rate of 60%, with an annual maximum of 120,000 USD.
II- Support for Offices and Showrooms
Article 7: In the case of opening an office/showroom abroad by industrial/commercial or software companies, as well as DTSŞs and/or their companies/branches operating abroad:
The office/showroom's:
a) Furniture and decoration expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with a maximum of 25,000 USD,
b) Rental expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 50,000 USD.
Article 8: In the case of opening an office/showroom abroad by commercial companies and/or their companies/branches operating abroad:
The office/showroom's:
a) Furniture and decoration expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with a maximum of 20,000 USD,
b) Rental expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 40,000 USD.
Article 9: In the case of opening an office/showroom abroad by SDŞs and/or their companies/branches operating abroad:
The office/showroom's:
a) Furniture and decoration expenses will be supported at a rate of 60%, with an annual maximum of 30,000 USD,
b) Rental expenses will be supported at a rate of 60%, with an annual maximum of 60,000 USD.
III- Support for Warehouses
Article 10: In the case of opening a warehouse abroad by industrial/commercial or software companies, as well as DTSŞs and/or their companies/branches operating abroad:
a) Furniture expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with a maximum of 25,000 USD,
b) Rental and/or service expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 50,000 USD.
Article 11: In the case of opening a warehouse abroad by commercial companies and/or their companies/branches operating abroad:
a) Furniture expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with a maximum of 20,000 USD,
b) Rental and/or service expenses will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 40,000 USD.
Article 12: In the case of opening a warehouse abroad by SDŞs and/or their companies/branches operating abroad:
a) Furniture expenses will be supported at a rate of 60%, with a maximum of 30,000 USD,
b) Rental and/or service expenses will be supported at a rate of 60%, with an annual maximum of 60,000 USD.
IV- Support for Promotion Activities
Article 13: For companies with a foreign unit:
a) Advertising, promotion, and marketing expenses abroad for DTSŞs and SDŞs related to their products will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 300,000 USD,
b) Advertising, promotion, and marketing expenses abroad for companies with a domestic trademark registration certificate related to their products will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 150,000 USD,
c) Advertising, promotion, and marketing expenses abroad for companies without a domestic trademark registration certificate related to Turkish products will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 75,000 USD.
Article 14: For companies without a foreign unit but with a domestic and promotional trademark registration certificate in the target country, advertising, promotion, and marketing expenses abroad for their products will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 50,000 USD.
V- Support for Foreign Trademark Registration Activities
Article 15: Expenses related to the registration and protection of trademarks abroad, for DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies that have a domestic trademark registration certificate, will be supported at a rate of 50%, with an annual maximum of 20,000 USD.
SECTION THREE
Support Duration and Limits
Article 16: DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies can benefit from the support for rental and/or service expenses mentioned in the (b) clauses of Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of this Regulation for a maximum of three years for each unit. The start date of the support period for the unit is based on the date of the invoice/bank receipt for the first rental support payment.
Article 17: To support the furniture and decoration expenses mentioned in the (a) clauses of Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of this Regulation, payment documents related to these expenses must be submitted within six months from the date of the invoice/bank receipt that forms the basis for the first rental support payment, in accordance with Article 23 of this Regulation.
Article 18: Under the support elements covered by this Regulation, companies can benefit for a maximum of 7 foreign units, while DTSŞ and SDŞ can benefit for a maximum of 15 foreign units.
Article 19: DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies can benefit from the support for advertising, promotion, and marketing expenses mentioned in Articles 13 and 14 of this Regulation for a maximum of three years from the invoice date related to the first support payment for these activities.
Article 20: DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies can benefit from the support for trademark registration and protection expenses mentioned in Article 15 of this Regulation for a maximum of three years from the invoice date related to the first support payment for these expenses.
Article 21: DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies can also benefit from the support elements mentioned in Articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of this Regulation for foreign units opened before the publication date of this Regulation.
SECTION FOUR
Submission of Payment Documents and Payment
Payment Principles
Article 22: To benefit from the support payments for activities under this Regulation, expenses must be substantiated with payment documents. Other information and documents that may be required for payment, along with application-related matters, will be determined by the Undersecretariat through the Procedures and Principles to be established.
Submission of Payment Documents
Article 23: The payment documents related to the expenses made by DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies that will benefit from the support payments under this Regulation, along with the other documents related to payment as specified in the Procedures and Principles of Application, must be approved by the Commercial Attaché/Trade Representative in the region where the expense is made. If there is no Trade Attaché/Trade Representative in the country where the expense is made, approval must be obtained from the Turkish Consulates in those countries. These documents must be submitted within 6 months from the payment date (18 months for Article 15), as follows:
a) For companies, the documents should be submitted to the Secretariat General of the Exporters' Associations to ensure the necessary review is done and forwarded to the Undersecretariat,
b) For DTSŞ and SDŞ, the documents should be submitted directly to the Undersecretariat-Export General Directorate.
For calculating the above-mentioned 6 and 18 months, the date when the documents are registered by the relevant organizations is considered. Delays in postal services are not taken into account.
Payment
Article 24: After the necessary review, the Undersecretariat will inform the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) about the DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies approved for payment and the payment amounts. Upon receiving the notification from the Undersecretariat, the CBRT will make the payment as a priority.
Article 25: The expenses in the submitted documents in Turkish Lira will be paid in Turkish Lira, while the expenses in foreign currency will be paid based on the exchange rates of the Turkish Central Bank on the date of the payment document, and the corresponding Turkish Lira amount in USD. The payment will be made from the Support and Price Stability Fund.
SECTION FIVE
Other Provisions
Sanctions
Article 26: In the event that it is determined that a company, DTSŞ, or SDŞ benefiting from the support payments under this Regulation, or one applying for such support payments, has submitted misleading information and documents, legal action will be taken. In this context, requests for support from those subject to investigation, inquiry, and/or lawsuits will be suspended until a related audit report and/or judicial decision is obtained. If the court finds the offense to be proven, all requests for state aids under the "Export-Oriented State Aid Decision" (Council of Ministers Decision No. 94/6401 dated 27/12/1994) will be rejected indefinitely. The Undersecretariat is also authorized to take similar actions against individuals who have committed fraudulent acts resulting in acquittal decisions due to insufficient elements of the crime.
Support payments that are determined to have been unfairly obtained and/or used for purposes other than those intended will be recovered from the concerned parties in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 6183.
Application
Article 27: DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies that have previously benefited from support under the "Regulation on the Support of Opening and Operating Offices-Stores Abroad and Brand Promotion Activities within the Framework of Export-Oriented State Aid" published in the Official Gazette No. 23066 on 31/7/1997, and whose support period has ended as of the publication date of this Regulation, will not be entitled to benefit from the provisions of this Regulation for the same unit.
Article 28: DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies that were included in the support scope under the "Regulation on the Support of Branding Turkish Products Abroad and Establishing the Turkish Goods Image" published in the Official Gazette No. 25213 on 28/8/2003 will not be entitled to benefit from the provisions of this Regulation.
Authority
Article 29: The Undersecretariat is authorized to determine the procedures and principles for the implementation of this Regulation, to examine and resolve force majeure situations and disputes that may arise during the implementation, and to identify the DTSŞ, SDŞ, and companies to be supported under this Regulation in line with the principles, goals, and policies specified in the export strategy.
Repealed Legislation
Article 30: The 5th article of the Para-Credit and Coordination Council Decision No. 97/8 dated 24/7/1997, and the "Regulation on the Support of Opening and Operating Offices-Stores Abroad and Brand Promotion Activities within the Framework of Export-Oriented State Aid" published in the Official Gazette No. 23066 on 31/7/1997 have been repealed.
Transitional Article
Companies, DTSŞ, and SDŞ that were benefiting from support under the "Regulation on the Support of Opening and Operating Offices-Stores Abroad and Brand Promotion Activities within the Framework of Export-Oriented State Aid" published in the Official Gazette No. 23066 on 31/7/1997 as of the publication date of this Regulation, may continue to benefit from support within the periods and limits specified in this Regulation, provided that the duration and amount of support they have already received for each foreign unit are deducted according to the nature of the foreign unit.
Entry into Force
Article 31: This Regulation shall enter into force on the date of its publication.
Execution
Article 32: This Regulation shall be executed by the Minister to whom the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade is affiliated.