16/12/2022

Why expand your business in Turkey?

turkey business 3

Do you have a professional project to set up your own business? Why not in Turkey!? Developing your business on the territory of this first partner of France guarantees the success of all your professional projects.

This country actually has many advantages to benefit from in this regard. Find out which ones.

Two types of companies in Turkey

Before you get to the recruiting stage in Turkey, it is best to know more about the types of businesses you can set up there.

Indeed, according to the Turkish Commercial Code, you have the right to create two legal forms of business, whether you are a resident or a foreigner. It is :

  • The limited company: it is the easiest legal form of Turkish company to set up and therefore the most popular for all small and medium-sized businesses. Its creation requires at least 2 partners and 5,000 Turkish liras in capital;
  • The joint-stock company: if your projects are larger, the company requires a minimum of 5 partners and a capital of 50,000 lire. You must also declare your joint-stock company and acquire a certificate of participation in order to be able to recruit in Turkey.

Apart from these two types of businesses, you can also set up a sole proprietorship or a general partnership, requiring no minimum capital. However, you are solely responsible for your business debts. Whether in the limited company or in the joint-stock company, the liability of the partners is limited to the amount of their contributions.

Quite easy business formation and recruitment procedures in Turkey

As mentioned above, Turkish business law places foreign investors and Turkish people in business creation on an equal footing. It imposes the same rights and duties on them. The same is true for recruitment procedures in Turkey. Only, if you are a foreigner and wish to set up your business in Turkey, you must still request a special authorization before investing in the project.

Whatever the legal structure of your future business, the procedures to create it are quite easy. You must first declare your activity to the trade declaration system or MERSIS. For this, you must bring some important documents:

  • Notarized copies of your company’s statutes required
  • The identity documents of all your associates;
  • Your corporate tax ID;
  • Bank receipts indicating the deposit of more than 25% of your capital in the bank and 0.04% paid to the Turkish competition authority (via the central or public bank);
  • A statement of commitment valid for all stages of your business.

Operating costs and labor laws in Turkey

The main advantage of setting up your own business in Turkey is to enjoy fairly low operating costs. Nevertheless, you must take into account some labor laws in Turkey.

Be aware that the gross minimum wage in Turkish territory is 1,777 liras. Moreover, as an employer, you must send to the social security and unemployment insurance of each employee the equivalent of 22.5% and 2% of this amount.

If the recruitment in Turkey is going well, you should not make your employees work more than 45 hours per week, which is less than 11 hours per day. If you schedule overtime, you will have to pay them 50% more than their base salary. In the case of work on a public holiday, it will be double the amount. The tax rate on dividends is 15%. For more informations on recruiting in Turkey, click here.