The Financial Crimes Investigation Board of Türkiye (“MASAK“) announced on May 14, 2024, that it has updated the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Guide (“Guide“) and the MASAK Online system, which regulate the procedures and principles regarding suspicious transaction reports specific to the banking sector. With the update, new suspicious transaction types, especially those made through social...

The Personal Data Protection Authority (the “Authority“) has commenced the public consultation process on the “Draft Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Transfer of Personal Data Abroad” (the “Draft Regulation“) with the publication of the announcement on 9 May 2024 on the Authority’s website (“Announcement”). This initiative follows the publication of Law No....

The Official Gazette of April 30, 2024, has published the General Communiqué No. 560 under the Tax Procedure Law (“Communiqué“), announcing a pivotal regulation for the upcoming fiscal period. According to the Communiqué, tax inflation adjustments as stipulated by Article 298/A of the Tax Procedure Law (“TPL“) will not be applied, a decision made public...

The Revenue Administration Presidency of Republic of Türkiye published the Tax Procedure Law (“TPL“) Circular No. VUK-167/2024-5 (“Circular“) titled “Extension of the Corporate Tax Return Filing Period” on 26 April 2024. This Circular extends the filing deadlines for the 2023 accounting period Corporate Tax Declarations, initially due by 30 April 2024, as well as the...

Law No. 7499 on the Amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Certain Laws (“Law Amendment”), which includes significant changes to the Personal Data Protection Law (“PDPL and the Law”), was published in the Official Gazette on March 12, 2024. With Law Amendment, Article 6 titled Processing of Special Categories of Personal Data, Article...

The long-awaited and important amendments to the Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (“PDPL and/or Law“), Bill No. 659 on the Amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code and Certain Laws and Decree Law No. 659, known as the “8th Judicial Package” which was submitted to Turkish Grand National Assembly (“TBMM”) on February...

  With the Communiqué (Communiqué No: 2024-32/69) (“Amendment Communiqué“) published by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance on the Amendment to the Communiqué on Decree No: 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency Numbered 2008-32/34, (“Communiqué”), amendments have been made to the implementation principles regarding the prohibition of payments in foreign currency...

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (“CBRT”) issued the Communiqué on the Redetermination of the Minimum Equity Amount of Payment and Electronic Money Institutions (“Communiqué”) and amended the minimum equity requirement set out in the Regulation on Payment Services and Electronic Money Issuance and Payment Service Providers (“Regulation”). Following the amendment, the minimum...

The Personal Data Protection Authority (“Authority”) published Guidelines on the Processing of Turkish Republic Identity Numbers (“Guidelines”) on January 16, 2024. The Guideline emphasizes that the Authority has received many complaints that the direct processing of Turkish Republic ID numbers is being preferred by data controllers/processors while other methods are possible. In this context, since...

With the decision dated October 11, 2023, and numbered E: 2020/76, K: 2023/172 (“Decision”), published in the Official Gazette dated 10 January 2024 and numbered 32425, the Constitutional Court (“Constitutional Court”) annulled certain provisions of the Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed through These Publications (“Internet...