Transcript foreign CSOs

Repulic of Turkey
Ministry of Interior
Department of Associations
Legislation on Associations as to the
Application of Permission, Following
Procedures And Processes for
Foreign CSOs
www.dernekler.gov.tr
2014
CONTENT
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
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CONTENT
 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
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CONTENT
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 CSO’s region of activity with the permission acquired
 Foreign CSO’s 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?
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CONTENT
 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),
•
Working for Public Benefit’ Statute,
•
Receiving Aids from Abroad and providing funds to abroad in terms of
authorized CSOs.
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SECTION I
Application Process of foreign CSOs
aiming to pursue Activities in Turkey
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WHAT IS A FOREIGN CIVIL SOCIETY
ORGANISATION (CSO)
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.
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LEGAL BASIS
The procedures related to pursuing activities in
Turkey for foreign associations, foundations and nonprofit 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
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OBLIGATION TO RECEIVE PERMISSION
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.
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CONDITIONS FOR THE FOUNDATION OF AN
ASSOCIATION BY FOREIGN NATURAL
PERSONS,
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.
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TYPES OF PERMISSIONS GRANTED TO
FOREIGN CSO’S
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.
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MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TYPES
OF PERMISSIONS
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
expected
-
-
(Only the supreme institution founded
or affiliated with should keep books.)
Number of
Founders (min)
1
3
1
1
Registration of
Members
-
obligatory
-
-
1
1
(Only the supreme institution founded or
affiliated with may register new members.)
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MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TYPES
OF PERMISSIONS
Duration of
Permission
Seperate Activity
Activity Report
(Annex-8)
Declaration
(Annex-21)
Statute (Annex-9)
Opening a
Representation
Opening a
Branch
Pursuing
Activities
Cooperation
Affiliating with a
Supreme
Institution
Establishing a
Supreme
Institution
permanent
permanent
Maximum
5 years
Maximum
5 years
permanent
permanent
allowed
allowed
allowed
Not allowed
allowed
Not allowed
expected
expected
expected
expected
-
-
-
expected
-
-
expected
expected
-
-
(Only the supreme institution founded
or affiliated with should submit a
declaration.)
-
-
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MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A BRANCH
AND REPRESENTATION
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.
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HOW TO MAKE AN APPICATION?
Application Guide for Foreign CSOs on the
official website of the Department on Associations
(http://www.dernekler.gov.tr/) may be visited in this
respect.
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EXAMINATION AND EVALUATION OF
APPLICATIONS
•
•
•
•
•
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.
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FOREIGN CSO’S PURSUING ACTIVITIES
WITH THE PERMISION PROCESS STILL
GOING ON
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.
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COOPERATION WITHOUT PERMISSION
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.
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ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL SANCTIONS
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)
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ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL SANCTIONS
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.
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CONCLUSION OF THE APPLICATION FOR
PERMISSION PROCESSES
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.
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ACCELERATING THE PROCESS OF
PERMISSION ACQUISITION
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).
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SECTION Il
Activities and Legal Obligations of
Foreign CSOs after the Acquisition of
Permission Period is concluded
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INFORMING THE FOREIGN CSO ABOUT
THE APPLICATION RESULT
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.
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/).
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DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY WITHIN
REPRESENTATIONS OF A FOREIGN CSO
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.
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DESIGNATION OF A NEW REPRESENTATIVE
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.
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DESIGNATION OF A NEW REPRESENTATIVE
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.
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FOREIGN CSO’S REGION OF ACTIVITY
WITH THE PERMISSION ACQUIRED
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.
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.
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THE REPRESENTATION/BRANCH IS LOCATED IN A
DIFFERENT PROVINCE FROM THE ONE SPECIFIED
PREVIOUSLY AS THE REGION OF ACTIVITY
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.
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WHAT MUST BE INFERRED FROM THE STATEMENT:
‘‘… IN TURKEY’’ INDICATED IN THE CERTIFICETE OF
PERMISSION GIVEN BY THE MINISTRY?
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.
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FOREIGN CSO’S SCOPE OF ACTIVITY WITH
THE PERMISSION ACQUIRED
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.
Purposes and activities indicated in this Article are also
taken into account during the evaluation of CSO’s
application.
Any change in this section later
permission given by the Ministry.
on requires the
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OPENING AN OFFICE APART FROM A
REPRESENTATION/BRANCH
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.
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ESTABLISHMENT OF ORGANS
Only branches have the obligation ro register
members and establish their obligatory organs among all
the foreign CSOs authorized to pursue activities in Turkey.
Organs
Executive Board
Auditing Board or Auditor
Number of Members
5 permanent, 5 associate members
Auditing Board should consist of min 3 per.
and 3 ass. Members, auditor may work alone.
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.
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BOOK KEEPING
Foreign CSOs authorized to open branches or
representations have to keep books indicated in Article
11 (Annex-9) of their statutes.
These are;
- Minute Book
- Record Book
- Operating Account Book
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BOOK KEEPING
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.
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BOOK KEEPING
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 .
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ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORTS
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.
Only branches need to submit a declaration in addition
to the activity report of 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.
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‘WORKING FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT’ STATUTE
Foreign CSOs authorized to carry out activities in
Turkey are not allowed to apply for a ‘working for public
benefit’ statute.
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RECEIVING AIDS FROM ABROAD
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.
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RECEIVING AIDS FROM ABROAD
 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.
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Murat GİRGİN
Deputy Head of the
Department