2014 Legislation on Associations as to the Application of Permission, Following Procedures And...
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2014 2014 Legislation on Associations as to the Application of Permission, Following Procedures And Processes for Foreign CSOs www.dernekler.gov.tr Repulic of Turkey Ministry of Interior Department of Associations
2014 Legislation on Associations as to the Application of Permission, Following Procedures And Processes for Foreign CSOs Repulic
2014 Legislation on Associations as to the Application of
Permission, Following Procedures And Processes for Foreign CSOs
www.dernekler.gov.tr Repulic of Turkey Ministry of Interior
Department of Associations
Slide 2
SECTION I ( Application Process of foreign CSOs for the
Acquisition of Permission to pursue Activities in Turkey )
Definition of foreign CSO, Legal basis of foreign CSOs, Obligation
of Acquiring Permission for foreign CSOs, Conditions for the
Foundation of an Association by foreign natural persons, Types of
Permissions granted to foreign CSOs, Main differences between Types
of Permissions, Main differences between a Branch and
Representation www.dernekler.gov.tr CONTENT 2/40
Slide 3
How to make an application? Foreign CSOs pursuing activities
with the permission process still going on, Examination and
Evaluation of Applications, Foreign CSOs cooperating with Turkish
or foreign CSOs in Turkey in spite of their applications for
permission being declined or the non-existence of a permission to
pursue activities in Turkey. Administrative and Judicial Sanctions,
Conclusion of the Application for Permission Processes Accelerating
the Process of Permission Acquisition www.dernekler.gov.tr CONTENT
3/40
Slide 4
SECTION II (Activities and Legal Obligations of Foreign CSOs
after the Acquisition of Permission Period is concluded) Informing
the foreign CSO about the application result, Delegation of
Authority within Representations of a foreign CSO, Designation of a
new representative, Foreign CSOs region of activity with the
permission acquired Foreign CSOs Scope of Activity with the
permission acquired, The representation/branch is located in a
different province from the one specified previously as the region
of activity, What must be inferred from the statement: in Turkey
indicated in the Certificate of Permission given by the Ministry?
www.dernekler.gov.tr CONTENT 4/40
Slide 5
Opening an office apart from a representation/branch Obligatory
organs that authorized foreign CSOs must establish, Book-keeping
Annual Activity Reports of authorized CSOs (Annex-8),Annex-8
Working for Public Benefit Statute, Receiving Aids from Abroad and
providing funds to abroad in terms of authorized CSOs.
www.dernekler.gov.tr CONTENT 5/40
Slide 6
SECTION I Application Process of foreign CSOs aiming to pursue
Activities in Turkey www.dernekler.gov.tr 6/40
Slide 7
As per Article 4 of the Regulation of Associations, foreign
CSOs are identified as: Associations founded abroad and any other
non-profit organisation except from associations and foundations A
CSO is accepted as a foreign CSO as long as it is founded within
the borders of the Republic of Turkey. It is not adequate only to
look if its founder is a Turkish citizen or not to name it as a
foreign one. All associations founded in Turkey are accepted as
Turkish associations and likewise, all assocations founded abroad
are called foreign associations. www.dernekler.gov.tr WHAT IS A
FOREIGN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATION (CSO) 7/40
Slide 8
The procedures related to pursuing activities in Turkey for
foreign associations, foundations and non- profit organisations
with a headquarter located abroad (foreign CSOs) are regulated by;
Articles 92 and 117 of the Turkish Civil Code numbered 4721
Articles 5 and 36 of the Law of Associations numbered 5253
www.dernekler.gov.tr LEGAL BASIS 8/40
Slide 9
Provisions with regard to foreign CSOs are regulated by
Articles 21 and 30 enshrined in Part 5 under the headline
International activities of the Legislation on Associations. Within
the scope of this legislation, any activity by foreign CSOs are
subject to; The permission of the Ministry of Interior upon the
opinion of the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other related
ministries and public institutions. www.dernekler.gov.tr OBLIGATION
TO RECEIVE PERMISSION 9/40
Slide 10
As per Article 93 of the Turkish Civil Code numbered 4721; For
a foreign real person to be able to found an association in Turkey
or to become a member of an already founded one, the permission to
reside in Turkey (residence permit) should be received.
www.dernekler.gov.tr CONDITIONS FOR THE FOUNDATION OF AN
ASSOCIATION BY FOREIGN NATURAL PERSONS, 10/40
Slide 11
Types of Permissions granted to foreign CSOs, open a
representation or a branch, directly pursue activities, cooperate
with an institution or a CSO in Turkey, become the founder of an
association or a supreme institution. affiliate with an association
or a supreme institution. The cooperation of foreign CSOs with
public institutions in Turkey also depends on the permission
granted by the Ministry of Interior. www.dernekler.gov.tr TYPES OF
PERMISSIONS GRANTED TO FOREIGN CSOS 11/40
Slide 12
Opening a Representation Opening a Branch Pursuing Activities
Cooperation Affiliating with a Supreme Institution Establishing a
Supreme Institution Legal personality ---- (Only the supreme
institution founded or affiliated with may possess a legal
personality.) Establishment of organs -obligatory-- (Only the
supreme institution founded or affiliated with may have obligatory
organs.) Book Keeping expected -- (Only the supreme institution
founded or affiliated with should keep books.) Number of Founders
(min) 1311 11 Registration of Members -obligatory-- (Only the
supreme institution founded or affiliated with may register new
members.) www.dernekler.gov.tr MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TYPES
OF PERMISSIONS 12/40
Slide 13
Opening a Representation Opening a Branch Pursuing Activities
Cooperation Affiliating with a Supreme Institution Establishing a
Supreme Institution Duration of Permission permanent Maximum 5
years permanent Seperate Activity allowed Not allowed allowedNot
allowed Activity Report (Annex-8) (Annex-8) expected -- Declaration
(Annex-21) -expected-- (Only the supreme institution founded or
affiliated with should submit a declaration.) Statute
(Annex-9)(Annex-9) expected -- -- www.dernekler.gov.tr MAIN
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TYPES OF PERMISSIONS 13/40
Slide 14
Branch; is the subsidiary of an association which encompasses
other organs within it with no legal personality that is
established for the purpose of pursuing activities of the
association affiliated to. Representation; is the subsidiary of an
association which does not encompass other organs within it with
legal personality that is established for the purpose of pursuing
activities of the association affiliated to. Therefore, the main
difference between a branch and a representation is; that branches
have to establish their organs by registering members whereas
representations may carry out their activities with one single
person. www.dernekler.gov.tr MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A BRANCH AND
REPRESENTATION 14/40
Slide 15
Application Guide for Foreign CSOsApplication Guide for Foreign
CSOs on the official website of the Department on Associations
(http://www.dernekler.gov.tr/) may be visited in this
respect.http://www.dernekler.gov.tr/ www.dernekler.gov.tr HOW TO
MAKE AN APPICATION? 15/40
Slide 16
The permission will eventually be granted in case of a positive
evaluation result of the application. While the validity of the
permission granted for; Opening of Representations or branches,
Becoming a founder of Associations or supreme insitutions,
Affiliating with an association or a supreme institution is
permanent; The permission granted for; Pursuing activities,
Cooperating with an institution or a CSO is valid for max. 5 years.
www.dernekler.gov.tr EXAMINATION AND EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS
16/40
Slide 17
May a CSO carry out activities while the permission process is
still in progress after they submit the application for the
acquisition of permission? No, they may not. Because; As per
Paragraph 2 of Article 5 enshrined in the Law of Associations
numbered 5253; Foreign CSOs have to receive the permission from the
Ministry of Interior first to be able to pursue activities in
Turkey. www.dernekler.gov.tr FOREIGN CSOS PURSUING ACTIVITIES WITH
THE PERMISION PROCESS STILL GOING ON 17/40
Slide 18
May foreign CSOs with no permission available or which are not
allowed to carry out activities in Turkey cooperate with Turkish or
other foreign organisations pursuing activities in Turkey? No they
may not. Foreign CSOs are not allowed to carry out any kind of
activities in Turkey as long as they do not receive a permission
from the Ministry of Interior. www.dernekler.gov.tr COOPERATION
WITHOUT PERMISSION 18/40
Slide 19
As per Article 32 of the Law of Associations; Any branch or
representation affiliated to a foreign CSO, which is recognized to
be established without permission or any activities being carried
out by these organizations should be immediately liquidated by the
local authority. Additionally, anyone opening a branch or
representation, pursuing activities, cooperating or registering
members without permission will be subject to an administrative
sanction of 1.520 TL (by year 2014) www.dernekler.gov.tr
ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL SANCTIONS 19/40
Slide 20
If any unauthorised activities by CSOs are detected, these acts
will obviously have a negative effect on the application results
concerning the acquisition of permission process. Apart from that,
in case of the detection of any action admitted as an offense, a
criminal complaint must immediately be filed. www.dernekler.gov.tr
ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL SANCTIONS 20/40
Slide 21
How long does it take for an application of permission for
pursuing activities in Turkey made by foreign CSOs to the Ministry
of Interior to come to a conclusion? There exists no explanations
included in the legislation regulating the obligation of receiving
permission for foreign CSOs which aim to carry out acitivities in
Turkey. The period of time necessary to conclude an application of
a foreign CSO depends on its scope of activity, the regions of
Turkey where it aims to pursue activities, its original place of
foundation and international recognizability. www.dernekler.gov.tr
CONCLUSION OF THE APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION PROCESSES 21/40
Slide 22
What can a CSO itself can make to help shortening the period of
time needed to conclude the process? Generally, it is the gathering
of documents that takes most of the time during the process. The
best way to shorten this time period is to take a careful look
through the Application Guideline for foreign CSOs, to fill in the
application papers right and explicitly and to indicate all the
activities expected to be carried out completely (by avoiding
general expressions).Application Guideline for foreign CSOs
ACCELERATING THE PROCESS OF PERMISSION ACQUISITION
www.dernekler.gov.tr 22/40
Slide 23
SECTION Il Activities and Legal Obligations of Foreign CSOs
after the Acquisition of Permission Period is concluded
www.dernekler.gov.tr 23/40
Slide 24
The result is notified by governorates to the person authorised
to take written notices which was declared in Article 6 of the
Application Form- Annex 6 submitted by the foreign CSO as soon as
the application of permission comes to a conclusion.Annex 6 In case
of a positive result, the name and the type of permission granted
to the foreign CSO in question are added to the list available on
the official website of the Department of Associations
(http://www.dernekler.gov.tr/).http://www.dernekler.gov.tr/
www.dernekler.gov.tr INFORMING THE FOREIGN CSO ABOUT THE
APPLICATION RESULT 24/40
Slide 25
May a representative of a foreign CSO, which owns the
authorization to open representatios in Turkey delegate authority
to someone else for the management of the representation? No,
he/she may not. The only person in charge and authorised in this
regard is the one designated by the headquarter of the foreign CSO.
www.dernekler.gov.tr DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY WITHIN REPRESENTATIONS
OF A FOREIGN CSO 25/40
Slide 26
May a new representative be designated? How is it possible?
Yes, a new representative may be designated. To be able to make
such a change, the organ responsible at the headquarter of the
foreign CSO abroad should issue a decision as follows: The
person/people nominated herein is/are designated as the new
representative as a substitution/as another respresentative. This
decision together with the statute of representation Annex-9 should
be both signed by the new representative/s and submitted to the
provincial directorate of associations as an attachment of
petition.Annex-9 www.dernekler.gov.tr DESIGNATION OF A NEW
REPRESENTATIVE 26/40
Slide 27
The proceess of designating a new representative will come to
conclusion as soon as the provincial directorate of associations
submit the documents to the Ministry and a copy of Annex-9 is
notified to the representatives as checked and approved by the
Ministry.Annex-9 www.dernekler.gov.tr DESIGNATION OF A NEW
REPRESENTATIVE 27/40
Slide 28
What is the region of activity, is it possible to make a change
in this regard afterwards and what are the conditions? Region of
activity refers to the province/s or geographic areas nation-wide
indicated by foreign COSs in Article 8 of the Application Form
(Annex-6) for Pursuing Activities in Turkey.Annex-6 Applications of
foreign CSOs are examined pursuant to province/s or regions
nation-wide stated in this section and the permission given is
valid for only these regions. Any change in this section later on,
also requires the permission given by the Ministry.
www.dernekler.gov.tr FOREIGN CSOS REGION OF ACTIVITY WITH THE
PERMISSION ACQUIRED 28/40
Slide 29
What does this mean? Representations/Branches are registered
according to the addresses they are located. However,
representations/branches may carry out activities also in regions
out of the borders of the province it is physically located.
Province/s where representations/branches are allowed to pursue
activities are called the the region of acitivity.
www.dernekler.gov.tr THE REPRESENTATION/BRANCH IS LOCATED IN A
DIFFERENT PROVINCE FROM THE ONE SPECIFIED PREVIOUSLY AS THE REGION
OF ACTIVITY 29/40
Slide 30
Does the word Turkey in the sentence Permission to open
representations/branch in Turkey quoted from the Certificate of
Permission given by the Ministry to foreign CSOs refers to the
region of activity relevant? No. The statement is authorized to
open representation/branch in Turkey stated in the Certificate of
Permission which is granted to foreign CSOs so that they can pursue
activities in Turkey does not signify that the CSO mentioned may
carry out activities anywhere in Turkey. For regions foreign CSOs
may carry out activities, please go to Page 28.Page 28
www.dernekler.gov.tr WHAT MUST BE INFERRED FROM THE STATEMENT: IN
TURKEY INDICATED IN THE CERTIFICETE OF PERMISSION GIVEN BY THE
MINISTRY? 30/40
Slide 31
What is the scope of activity? Is any change possible
afterwards? The scope of activity refers to the sort of activities
supposed to be carried out by the foreign CSO in Turkey notified in
Article 6 (Annex-9) of the statute.Annex-9 Purposes and activities
indicated in this Article are also taken into account during the
evaluation of CSOs application. Any change in this section later on
requires the permission given by the Ministry. www.dernekler.gov.tr
FOREIGN CSOS SCOPE OF ACTIVITY WITH THE PERMISSION ACQUIRED
31/40
Slide 32
May another office apart from a representation/branch be
established? What are the requirements? Foreign CSOs may establish
a representation/branch anywhere considered necessary in Turkey
with the permission of the MoI. However, this representation/branch
may not have an office or a liaison bureau. Yet, it is not
prohibited for foreign CSOs to hire a place in a region out of the
province their repsresentation/branch is located, for the purpose
of carrying out activities for a long period of time. This is
possible only if the utilization of this place will be limited with
the time period of the activity and the Provincial Directorate of
Associations relevant is informed. www.dernekler.gov.tr OPENING AN
OFFICE APART FROM A REPRESENTATION/BRANCH 32/40
Slide 33
Only branches have the obligation ro register members and
establish their obligatory organs among all the foreign CSOs
authorized to pursue activities in Turkey. Foreign CSOs which have
received the permission to open branches must subsequently register
members and sit in a plenary session by forming their organs within
first 6 months. OrgansNumber of Members Executive Board 5
permanent, 5 associate members Auditing Board or Auditor Auditing
Board should consist of min 3 per. and 3 ass. Members, auditor may
work alone. www.dernekler.gov.tr ESTABLISHMENT OF ORGANS 33/40
Slide 34
Foreign CSOs authorized to open branches or representations
have to keep books indicated in Article 11 (Annex-9) of their
statutes.Annex-9 These are; -Minute Book -Record Book -Operating
Account Book www.dernekler.gov.tr BOOK KEEPING 34/40
Slide 35
May foreign CSOs keep books in accordance with the balance
sheet account if they wish? Yes. Foreign CSOs may also keep books
according to the balanace sheet account if wished.
www.dernekler.gov.tr BOOK KEEPING 35/40
Slide 36
May foreign CSOs get their books approved at governorates? Yes.
Foreign CSO also may get their books approved at the provincial
directorate of associations in governorates free of charge.
www.dernekler.gov.tr BOOK KEEPING 36/40
Slide 37
All foreign CSOs authorized to pursue activities in Turkey
needs to deliver up the activity report declared in Annex-8 of the
legislation within the first two months of the following year.
Annex-8 Only branches need to submit a declaration in addition to
the activity report of Annex-8.Annex-8 However, if the activities
of CSOs lasts for less than a year, the form mentioned is to be
submitted at the end of the activity. Furthermore, these CSOs are
to send two copies of each of the printed and visual publications
respecting their activities. www.dernekler.gov.tr ANNUAL ACTIVITY
REPORTS 37/40
Slide 38
Foreign CSOs authorized to carry out activities in Turkey are
not allowed to apply for a working for public benefit statute.
www.dernekler.gov.tr WORKING FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT STATUTE 38/40
Slide 39
Associations allowed to carry out activities in Turkey may;
Receive cash or in kind aids from individuals, organisations and
institutions abroad provided that they give notice to the local
authority in advance. Cash aids are supposed to be received through
banks. RECEIVING AIDS FROM ABROAD www.dernekler.gov.tr 39/40
Slide 40
On the other hand, money coming from the headquarters of
foreign associations in Turkey abroad is not subject to
notificiation provided that it will be used for the activities of
their own and received through banks. If money coming from
headquarters of foreign associations abroad are to be transfered to
third parties, it is subject to notification. Associations are
allowed to send cash or in-kind aids abroad in line with their
purposes and activities. RECEIVING AIDS FROM ABROAD
www.dernekler.gov.tr 40/40
