Law No. 1567 on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency

Amended: 15/2/1954, Law No. 6258, Art. 1

Amended paragraph one: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 1 The President of the Republic is empowered to regulate and restrict the purchase and sale of foreign exchange, currency, shares and bonds, the purchase and sale of precious metals and precious stones and of all kinds of articles and valuables made of or containing them, the refining of precious metals, and the exportation from or importation into the country of all such articles and valuables, of commercial papers and of every kind of instrument and document serving to effect payment, and to take decisions for the purpose of protecting the value of the Turkish Currency.

Amended: 16/12/1942, Law No. 4328, Art. 1 Annulled by Constitutional Court decision of 17/6/2025, E. 2024/193, K. 2025/136

Amended: 24/12/2008, Law No. 5827, Art. 1

Any person who acts contrary to the obligations laid down in the general and regulatory acts issued by the President of the Republic under the provisions of this Law shall be punished with an administrative fine of from three thousand Turkish Liras to twenty-five thousand Turkish Liras.

Amended paragraph two: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 2 Where the act consists of taking the values listed in Article 1 out of the country or bringing them into the country without permission, the person shall, provided that the act does not constitute an offence or a misdemeanour under the provisions of the Law on Combating Smuggling No. 5607 dated 21/3/2007, be punished with an administrative fine of from half to twice the market value of the articles and values. Where this act remains at the attempt stage, the penalty to be imposed shall be reduced by half.

Those who import or export any kind of goods, values, services and capital, or who act as intermediaries in such transactions, and who fail to bring into the country their receivables arising from these transactions in accordance with the provisions of the decisions taken under Article 1 and within the time limits set in those decisions, shall be punished with an administrative fine equal to five percent of the market value of the values they are obliged to bring into the country. Those who bring their receivables into the country before the decision on the administrative fine becomes final shall be given an administrative fine in accordance with the provision of paragraph one. However, the administrative fine to be imposed may not exceed two and a half percent of the money required to be brought into the country.

Those who engage in sham transactions in imports, exports and other foreign exchange transactions with the intent of smuggling foreign currency or Turkish Currency shall be punished with an administrative fine equal to the market value of the values they are obliged to bring into the country or have smuggled. Where this act remains at the attempt stage, the penalty to be imposed shall be reduced by half.

Added paragraph: 16/5/2018, Law No. 7144, Art. 1 In matters for which obtaining an activity permit or an authorisation certificate is mandatory pursuant to the decisions, regulations and communiqués and other general and regulatory acts issued on the basis of this Law, those who engage in unauthorised activity without obtaining the required permit or certificate shall be punished with an administrative fine of from fifty thousand Turkish liras to two hundred and fifty thousand Turkish liras, and all activities at the workplace where the unauthorised activity was carried out shall be suspended for a period of one month. Added sentence: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 2 In the event of repetition of the unauthorised activity within five years following the date on which the administrative sanction decision concerning the administrative fine becomes final, the administrative fine shall be applied at the upper limit. Amended sentence: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 2 Where it is understood from the announcements and advertisements of those engaging in unauthorised activity, or from the nature of the business they conduct, that they opened or operate the workplace in question solely for the purpose of engaging in the fields of activity for which an activity permit or authorisation must be granted, all activities at that workplace shall be suspended permanently and the administrative fine shall be applied at the upper limit. Added sentence: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 2 In the application of the provisions of this paragraph, the provision of paragraph nine shall not be taken into account. The suspension measures shall be carried out by the governorships upon the request of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.

Where these misdemeanours are committed for the benefit of a legal person, an administrative fine of the same amount shall also be imposed on the legal person concerned.

Where the subject matter of the misdemeanour is foreign currency, the “foreign exchange selling rate” of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye for that currency as of the date on which the act was committed shall be taken as the basis in calculating the administrative fine.

Late payment interest, at the rate of the late payment surcharge determined under Law No. 6183, shall be applied to the administrative fine to be imposed for the periods between the date of the misdemeanour and the date of collection, to be collected together with the fine. Fractions of a month shall not be taken into account in calculating the late payment interest.

Amended paragraph nine: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 2 In the event of repetition of the misdemeanours set out in the preceding paragraphs within five years following the date on which the administrative sanction decision concerning the same misdemeanour becomes final, the penalties to be imposed shall be applied in double.

The public prosecutor is competent to decide on administrative fines under the provisions of this Article.

Repealed: 24/12/2008, Law No. 5827, Art. 2 Re-enacted: 18/7/2021, Law No. 7333, Art. 3 Amended: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 3

It is mandatory to obtain permission from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance in order to engage in the following activities:

a) Engaging in the purchase and sale of foreign currency for commercial purposes.

b) Operating as a member in the Precious Metals Market of Borsa İstanbul Anonim Şirketi.

c) Engaging in precious metal refining activities.

ç) Operating within the scope of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, participation in which was decided by Council of Ministers Decision No. 2005/8518 dated 21/2/2005.

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance is authorised to revoke the permits of joint-stock companies granted permission within the scope of this Law and the legislation issued on the basis of this Law where it is established that they are engaging in activities contrary to the economic purposes and fields of activity determined within the framework of Article 5, and, for joint-stock companies within the scope of subparagraph (a) of paragraph one, to determine activity regions by taking into account criteria such as the size, population and volume of trade and tourism of the provinces and districts in which the activity is carried out.

For activity permits within the scope of subparagraph (a) of paragraph one, the fees set out in the annexed Fee Schedule No. (1) shall be charged; for activity permits within the scope of subparagraph (b), the fees set out in the annexed Fee Schedule No. (2); and for activity permits within the scope of subparagraph (c), the fees set out in the annexed Fee Schedule No. (3).

For permits for joint-stock companies within the scope of subparagraph (a) of paragraph one to convert into joint-stock companies holding the authority to open branches, an additional fee shall be charged equal to the difference between the fees determined for the same activity region in sections 1 and 2 of the annexed Fee Schedule No. (1) as of the date of application.

For permits for the relocation of the head office or branch address of joint-stock companies within the scope of subparagraph (a) of paragraph one to a different activity region, where the fee determined in the annexed Fee Schedule No. (1) for the activity region to be relocated to is higher than the fee determined for the current activity region, an additional fee shall be charged equal to the difference between the fees in force on the date of application.

For activity permits to be granted within the scope of subparagraph (c) of paragraph one, a separate fee shall be charged for each production site and for each precious metal.

For permits for the transfer of shares of joint-stock companies referred to in subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph one, the fee specified in the relevant schedules shall be charged separately in proportion to the share ratio to be acquired. Where the joint-stock company applying for a share transfer permit holds more than one of the activity permits listed in this Article, the fee specified in the relevant schedule for each activity permit shall additionally be charged in proportion to the share ratio to be acquired. No fee shall be charged where the shares subject to transfer pass by way of inheritance, where the share transfer results from a court decision, or where the person acquiring the shares is the spouse, descendant, ascendant or sibling of the existing shareholder.

The fees to be collected under this Article shall be paid to the tax offices. The fee amounts shall be charged each year increased, with effect from the beginning of the calendar year, by the revaluation rate determined and announced for the preceding year in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Procedure Law No. 213 dated 4/1/1961.

In the collection of the fees set out in the fee schedules annexed to this Law within the scope of the provisions of this Article, the fee in force as of the date of the first application made to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance shall be taken into account.

The President of the Republic is authorised to increase the amounts in the fee schedules annexed to this Law up to twofold and to reduce them by up to half.

Repealed: 24/12/2008, Law No. 5827, Art. 2; Re-enacted: 16/5/2018, Law No. 7144, Art. 2

Joint-stock companies granted an activity permit and/or authorisation within the scope of this Law and the legislation issued on the basis of this Law shall be deemed joint-stock companies subject to a special law within the scope of Article 330 of the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 dated 13/1/2011. Accordingly, such joint-stock companies may be established and operate only within the scope of the economic purposes and fields of activity specified in this Law and in the decisions, regulations and communiqués issued on the basis of this Law.

Added: 15/2/1954, Law No. 6258

Tax Inspectors and Assistant Tax Inspectors, Treasury comptrollers and trainee Treasury comptrollers, and foreign exchange control authorities are empowered to carry out examinations and investigations concerning those who act contrary to the provisions of this Law and, where indications of an offence are found during the investigation, to perform acts in respect of the suspects and those found to be connected with the offence in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure on seizure and search.

Added: 15/2/1954, Law No. 6258; Amended: 8/3/1966, Law No. 753, Art. 1

Except for Article 31 of the Settlement Law, imports to be made by immigrants and refugees in return for the value of their movable and immovable property and the cash in their hands shall be subject to the provisions of this Law.

The manner of documenting assets held abroad, the kind and type of goods to be brought in, the time of application for importation, the period of validity of the permissions to be granted by the Ministry of Finance, and other related matters shall be determined by a separate Presidential Decision.

As long as this Law remains in force, the provision of Article 32 of the Settlement Law restricting and determining the kind and type of articles to be imported, and Article 33 thereof, shall not apply.

Added: 15/2/1954, Law No. 6258

The cases in which a reward shall be granted to those who report acts contrary to this Law and to those who render service in establishing the evidence of the offence, and the amount and ratio of the reward to be granted, shall be determined by Presidential Decision.

However, the amount of the reward to be granted may not exceed 45 % of the amount to be collected from the fines imposed under this Law.

Amended: 15/2/1989, Law No. 3521, Art. 2

The provisions of the Law No. 6183 on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables shall apply to the fines to be imposed on natural and legal persons under this Law and to the receivables required to be collected pursuant to the decisions taken under Article 1.

This is the provision of the additional article introduced by Law No. 3196, Art. 3, dated 7/5/1985; the article number has been assigned in sequence. Annulled by Constitutional Court decision of 17/6/2025, E. 2024/193, K. 2025/136

Added: 28/1/2021, Law No. 7263, Art. 9

Where, as of the date on which this Article enters into force, open export accounts which, within the scope of the general and regulatory acts put into force under this Law, were not reported by banks within the time limit to the relevant heads of tax office departments/directorates of finance or tax office directorates are reported within sixty days from the date on which this Article enters into force, no action shall be taken against the banks under Article 3 on account of these notifications. The provision of this paragraph shall also apply to violations reported after the expiry of the time limit but which, as of the date on which this Article enters into force, had not been notified to the public prosecutor's offices.

For transactions falling within the scope of paragraph one as of the date on which this Article enters into force which have been referred to the public prosecutor's offices but in respect of which no administrative fine has been decided, no administrative sanction decision shall be issued by the public prosecutor's offices; administrative fine decisions which have been issued but have not yet become final, or which have become final but have not yet been paid, shall cease to exist with all their consequences; amounts already paid shall not be refunded.

This Law shall remain in force for a period of three years from the date of its publication.

The Council of Ministers shall execute the provisions of this Law.

Provisional Articles That Could Not Be Incorporated into the Principal Law No. 1567 dated 20/2/1930:

1. Provisional article of Law No. 3196 dated 7/5/1985:

Provisional Article: Those who are under pre-trial detention or convicted for violating Law No. 1567 on the date on which this Law enters into force shall be released immediately.

Only the parts relating to fines of the conviction judgments rendered under Law No. 1567 and not yet executed shall be enforced. Custodial sentences and complementary and accessory penalties shall not be enforced. The periods previously spent in pre-trial detention for the same offence, and the periods actually served of a custodial sentence being executed, shall be deducted from the fine to be enforced, calculated according to the minimum amount specified for felonies in sub-item 1 of paragraph one of Article 4 of the Law No. 647 on the Execution of Penalties.

In actions brought for violating Law No. 1567 which have not yet been decided on the date on which this Law enters into force, if the accused pays to the competent authority, within a period of 10 days to be granted by the judge, the minimum amount of the heavy fine introduced by this Law together with the trial costs, the public prosecution shall be discontinued, but the provision on confiscation shall apply. If the money is not paid within the period granted, the public prosecution shall continue.

2. Provisional article of Law No. 3521 dated 15/2/1989:

Provisional Article: Where the foreign currency representing the value of goods exported for commercial purposes before the date of entry into force of this Law and not brought into the country within the time limit is brought into the country and sold to a bank within thirty days from the date of entry into force of this Law, it shall be purchased at the current buying rate.

With respect to the foreign currency of open commitment accounts not brought into the country and not sold to banks within the period granted, the exchange rate differences calculated between the rate on the date on which such foreign currency was required to be brought into the country pursuant to the decisions issued under Article 1 and the rate on the last day of the period granted shall be collected from the persons concerned under Law No. 6183.

The open commitment accounts relating to the foreign currency purchased and the exchange rate differences under the preceding paragraphs shall be closed.

3. Provisional articles of Law No. 4961 dated 30/7/2003:

Where five percent of the value required to be brought into the country, which forms the basis of fines imposed by court decisions that became final before the date of entry into force of this Law pursuant to subparagraph (b) of Article 3 of Law No. 1567 but which have not yet been collected, calculated over the buying rates of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye on the date of payment, is paid to the relevant tax office within ninety days from the date of publication of this Law, or where it is established that the fine partially collected before the date of entry into force of this Law under the provisions of the Law No. 6183 on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables corresponds to five percent of the amount of the value required to be brought into the country calculated over the buying rates of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye on the date of application, the final court decisions shall cease to exist with all their consequences. Amounts paid in excess shall not be refunded.

For those who bring into the country, at the current rate, the values they are obliged to bring within ninety days from the date on which this Law enters into force, the difference between the value calculated at the current rate and the export proceeds recorded in the books shall be monitored in a fund account on the liabilities side. Where this fund is added to capital, it shall not be subject to income tax or corporate tax.

Authorised institutions and precious metal intermediary institutions which, pursuant to the provisions of the legislation put into force under Law No. 1567 before the date of entry into force of this Law, did not fulfil within the time limit their obligations of mandatory transfer and sale of foreign exchange and foreign banknotes shall, if they pay to the relevant tax office, within one hundred and fifty days from the date of publication of this Law, the Turkish Lira equivalent, calculated over the buying rates of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye on the date of payment, of the amount corresponding to one percent of the value they were obliged to transfer, have the actions brought and administrative proceedings conducted in this respect cease to exist with all their consequences.

Where those against whom foreign exchange proceedings were initiated under the provisions of the Law No. 1567 on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency before the date of entry into force of this Law, but whose cases have not yet been referred to the judiciary, bring into the country the value they are obliged to bring within one hundred and fifty days from the date of publication of this Law, the administrative proceedings conducted in this respect shall cease to exist. The current exchange rate shall apply to values brought into the country within the framework of this provision.

Where they pay to the relevant tax office, within at most one hundred and eighty days from the date of publication of the Law, the Turkish Lira equivalent, calculated over the buying rates of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye on the date of payment, of the amount corresponding to four percent of the value subject to foreign exchange proceedings, the actions brought and administrative proceedings conducted in this respect shall cease to exist.

For financial institutions appearing as exporters which have paid the taxes assessed in their names, or tied them to a payment plan, by benefiting from the Tax Peace Law No. 4811 dated 25.2.2003, the rate of four percent in provisional Article 2 shall be applied as one percent.

(1) NUMBERED FEE SCHEDULE

Added: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 3

Fees to be charged to joint-stock companies subject to an activity permit under this Law for engaging in the purchase and sale of foreign currency for commercial purposes

Fee Amount

(1)

If holding the authority to open branches;

a)

Activity region No. 1

25.907.400 TL

b)

Activity region No. 2

21.589.500 TL

c)

Activity region No. 3

17.271.600 TL

ç)

Activity region No. 4

12.953.700 TL

(2)

If not holding the authority to open branches;

a)

Activity region No. 1

23.748.450 TL

b)

Activity region No. 2

19.430.550 TL

c)

Activity region No. 3

15.112.650 TL

ç)

Activity region No. 4

10.794.750 TL

(3)

For applications for permission to open a branch by those holding the authority to open branches;

a)

Activity region No. 1

14.393.000 TL

b)

Activity region No. 2

11.514.400 TL

c)

Activity region No. 3

8.635.800 TL

ç)

Activity region No. 4

5.757.200 TL

(2) NUMBERED FEE SCHEDULE

Added: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 3

Fee Amount

(1)

Fee to be charged for activity permits to be granted for operating in respect of precious metals as a member in the Precious Metals Market of Borsa İstanbul Anonim Şirketi

28.786.000 TL

(3) NUMBERED FEE SCHEDULE

Added: 20/7/2025, Law No. 7555, Art. 3

Fee Amount

(1)

Fee to be charged for activity permits to be granted for engaging in precious metal refining activities (separately for each production site and for each type of precious metal)

40.300.400 TL