Amendments to the Communiqué on the Decree No. 32 on Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency (Communiqué No. 2008-32/34)

Communiqué on the Decree No. 32 on Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency (Communiqué No. 2008-32/34) (“Communiqué”) published in the Official Gazette dated February 28, 2008 and numbered 26801 has been amended and various restrictions regarding the payment methods applicable for the import of unprocessed precious metals have been imposed[1].

As per the amendment of Article 5 of the Communiqué, import of unprocessed precious metals can only be made through payment with “cash”, “cash against goods” and “free of charge”.

In accordance with Article 6 of the Communiqué, “free of charge” import of unprocessed precious metals may be possible in certain defined circumstances. In this context, it would be possible to conduct free of charge import transactions through precious metal intermediary institutions for the purposes of contribution as capital in kind to a legal entity in Turkey in accordance with Article 342 and 343 of the Turkish Commercial Code numbered 6102.   

Amendments to the Regulation on the Operating Principles of Precious Metals Exchange Intermediary Institutions and the Establishment of Precious Metals Intermediary Institutions

The above-mentioned amendments to the Communiqué were also reflected to the Regulation on the Operating Principles of Precious Metals Exchange Intermediary Institutions and the Establishment of Precious Metals Intermediary Institutions (“Regulation“) published in the Official Gazette dated May 21, 2007 and numbered 26528[2]. The recently introduced provision of the Regulation stipulates that all transactions required for “free of charge” import of unprocessed precious metals for the purposes of contribution to the share capital of companies will be detailed under the related provisions of the Turkish Central Bank’s Capital Movements Circular.

Amendments to the Turkish Central Bank’s Capital Movements Circular

Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance, with its letter dated February 25, 2021 and numbered 131766, introduced new provisions to the Turkish Central Bank’s Capital Movements Circular (“Circular”) in terms of contribution of unprocessed precious metals to share capital of companies as capital in kind in accordance with the above-mentioned amendments to the Communiqué and the Regulation. The procedures to be completed in case of contribution of precious metals as capital in kind within in the scope of the Circular are, briefly, as follows:

  • The payment method must be specified as “free of charge” in the customs declaration to be issued for the import of unprocessed precious metals and the customs declaration must also stipulate that the concerned unprocessed precious metals were brought to the country for capital contribution.
  • Precious metals intermediary institutions must prepare and submit to the customs authorities upon approval by Borsa Istanbul A.Ş., a notice regarding the payment method and purpose of import of unprocessed precious metals.
  • Unprocessed precious metals imported for capital contribution must be added to the share capital of the relevant company and such capital increase must be registered within 3 months from the date of arrival and the relevant registration certificate must also be submitted to Borsa İstanbul A.Ş. The imported unprocessed precious metals will be under blockage by Borsa İstanbul A.Ş. until the submission of the documents evidencing the registration of the said capital increase to Borsa İstanbul A.Ş.

[1] The amendments were made in the Communiqué (Communiqué No: 2021-32/60) on Amendment to the Communiqué (Communiqué No: 2008-32/34) on the Decree No. 32 on Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency published in the Official Gazette dated February 21, 2021 and numbered 31402.

[2] The amendments were made in the Regulation on Amendment to the Regulation on the Operating Principles of Precious Metal Exchange Intermediary Institutions and the Establishment of Precious Metals Intermediary Institutions published in the Official Gazette dated February 21, 2021 and numbered 31402.