Türkiye has given joint-stock and limited companies another year to raise their capital to the higher legal minimums, extending the deadline to Dec. 31, 2027, under a Trade Ministry communiqué published in the Official Gazette on Saturday.
The rules affect a large share of small and medium-sized businesses, including many firms set up by foreign investors, which were registered when the minimum capital requirements were far lower.
What the minimums are
Under a presidential decision that took effect at the start of 2024, the minimum capital for a joint-stock company (anonim şirket, A.Ş.) rose to 250,000 lira from 50,000 lira, and for a limited company (limited şirket, Ltd.) to 50,000 lira from 10,000 lira. For non-public joint-stock companies using the registered capital system, the minimum initial capital rose to 500,000 lira from 100,000 lira.
Existing companies were originally given until Dec. 31, 2026 to comply. A 2024 amendment to the Turkish Commercial Code allows the ministry to extend that period by one year at a time, up to two times, and Saturday’s communiqué uses that power for the first time.
Why it matters
The stakes are high. According to an analysis by KPMG’s Turkish tax practice, companies whose capital remains below the minimum when the deadline expires are deemed dissolved without any further procedure, while registered-capital companies that fall short are removed from that system. To make compliance easier, shareholder meetings deciding on such capital increases need no quorum and can pass resolutions by a simple majority of votes present.
The extension offers breathing room at a time when many firms face tight credit conditions and high financing costs. Small business owners and foreign entrepreneurs operating through local companies should still check their articles of association and plan any capital increase well before the new date.
The decision is the latest in a series of regulatory moves by the Trade Ministry, which this week also gained powers to set instalment limits on retail sales and reported fines of more than 249 million lira for misleading advertising. Foreigners planning to set up a business as part of a move can find practical first steps in our moving to Turkey checklist.
Sources
- Şirketlerin asgari sermaye uyum süresi uzatıldı (Deebi)
- Anonim ve limited şirketlerde asgari sermaye tutarına uyum süresi 31 Aralık 2026’da sona eriyor (KPMG Vergi)
Photo: Mimar77 / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
