Foreign-Company Branch Setup & Compliance

Scope

A Turkish branch of a foreign commercial enterprise is not a separate Turkish legal entity; it is registered as an extension of the head office, so branch liabilities and contractual exposure can reach the foreign company. A Türkiye-resident representative with full authority for all branch matters is appointed. The foreign company is a limited taxpayer: corporate income tax, VAT and provisional tax registrations are opened for the branch, while withholding registration depends on payments and employment.

• Branch, A.Ş./Ltd. and liaison-office matrix covering activity, legal personality, liability, funding, tax and exit
• Head-office resolution to open the branch, allocate capital and appoint a fully authorised Türkiye-resident representative
• Competent-authority letter, current registry records, constitutional documents and home-country registration materials
• Apostille or consular certification and notarised Turkish translation controls for foreign documents
• MERSİS/trade-registry file for name, address, NACE/business object, allocated capital and representation authority
• Ministry or competent-agency approval check for regulated activities
• Tax-office opening for corporate income tax, VAT, provisional tax and conditional withholding/payroll filings
• Bank KYC file covering beneficial ownership, head office, signatories, activity and source of funds
• e-Document and e-Ledger setup based on the applicable activity, turnover and regulatory thresholds
• Expense allocation, transfer pricing, customs and contract evidence for branch–head-office dealings
• Domestic rate, applicable treaty, residence and beneficial-owner test before remitting after-tax branch profit
• Recurring accounting, tax, payroll/social-security, FDI reporting and closure/liquidation calendar

Process

1. 01

   Structure and tax decision

   Test activity, contracts, head-office exposure, profit remittance and exit across a branch, company and liaison office.

2. 02

   Home-country document file

   Complete the corporate resolution, authority letter, registry documents, representation powers, certification and translations.

3. 03

   MERSİS and registry filing

   File the name, address, NACE, capital and representative data; manage registry queries and sector approvals separately.

4. 04

   Tax and operational compliance

   After registration, establish tax, banking, e-document/e-ledger, payroll, reporting and head-office transaction controls.

Frequently asked