Law No. 7183 Adoption Date: 11/7/2019
Purpose, Scope, and Definitions.
ARTICLE 1 – (1) The purpose of this Law is to establish the Türkiye Turizm Tanıtım ve Geliştirme Ajansı (Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency) and to regulate its establishment, management, supervision, revenues, and activities, in order to ensure that Turkey achieves its tourism goals; to promote tourism opportunities and potential worldwide, to evaluate the country's tourism potential in all its aspects and contribute it to the national economy, to carry out activities aimed at increasing tourism investments, the share of tourism in the national economy, and the quality of service in the tourism sector, and to provide support and resources for these activities.
(2) This Law covers the establishment, management, supervision, activities, and sources of revenue of the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency, including the procedures and principles related to these aspects.
ARTICLE 2 – (1) As used in this Law;
a) Agency: Türkiye Turizm Tanıtım ve Geliştirme Ajansını, (the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency).
b) Minister: The Minister of Culture and Tourism,
c) Ministry: The Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
expresses.
Establishment, Scope of Activities, and Revenues.
ARTICLE 3 – (1) In order to fulfill the duties and exercise the authorities stipulated in this Law, and related to the Ministry, a legal entity, subject to private law provisions except for the matters specified in this Law, has been established: the Türkiye Turizm Tanıtım ve Geliştirme Ajansı (Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency).
(2) The agency's bodies are: the Board of Directors, the Executive Board, and the Advisory Board.
(3) The decision-making body of the Agency is the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors consists of the Minister as chairperson, the Deputy Minister responsible for the Ministry's Directorate General of Promotion, the General Manager of the Directorate General of Promotion, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkish Airlines, and one person selected every three years from the two airport and terminal operators with the highest turnover, excluding those operated by the State Airports Authority. The Board also includes two members from the Marmara and Mediterranean regions, and one member from each of the Aegean, Black Sea, Central Anatolia, Eastern Anatolia, and Southeastern Anatolia regions, ensuring representation for all tourism-licensed facilities within their respective geographical regions. Each license represents one vote in the elections held among the members. The Board of Directors consists of nine people elected by the members for a term of three years. Additionally, there is one member selected by the owners of travel agency operating licenses through an election held in accordance with the relevant legislation. The total number of members is fifteen. The Agency carries out the procedures related to the elections of representatives for all tourism-licensed facilities.
(4) The executive body of the agency is the Executive Board. The Executive Board consists of five members: the Deputy Minister responsible for the Directorate General of Promotion, who serves as the chairperson, the Director General of Promotion, and three members selected by the Minister from among the members of the Board of Directors representing the Marmara, Mediterranean, and Aegean regions, and who hold tourism operation licenses from facilities within those regions.
A Consultative Board is established to provide advice and guidance to the Board of Directors and the Executive Board. The following are automatically members of the Agency's Consultative Board: the representative of the Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, the representative of the Turkish Travel Agencies Association, the representative of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation, the representative of the Turkish Hoteliers Association, one representative from the two hotel managers associations with the largest number of members, serving in rotation, the representative of the Turkish Tourism Investors Association, the representative of the Tourism Restaurant Investors and Gastronomy Businesses Association, and the representative of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey.
(6) The authority and duties of the Agency's Board of Directors, Executive Board, and Advisory Board, the appointment of the Agency's manager, and the procedures and principles related to the Agency's organizational structure and operations are determined by a regulation enacted by the Ministry.
(7) No fees or allowances are paid to members of the Board of Directors, the Executive Board, or the Advisory Board for their duties.
ARTICLE 4 – (1) The Agency, in accordance with the tourism strategies and policies determined by the Ministry;
a) Develops and implements strategies to help Türkiye achieve its tourism goals, and to promote and market tourism opportunities worldwide.
b) It identifies the needs and trends of the tourism sector and market, and provides recommendations to relevant parties.
c) Conducts studies aimed at maximizing the potential of tourism in all its aspects, contributing to the national economy, and increasing tourism investments and the share of tourism in the national economy.
c) It carries out all necessary activities to improve the quality and standards of service in the tourism sector.
d) In order to increase the share of tourism in the country's economy and to achieve the purposes specified in this Law, it can carry out all other activities, operations, and processes, and can provide support and resources.
(2) The agency can receive grants from both domestic and international sources related to its activities.
ARTICLE 5 – (1) The agency's revenues;
a) Amounts transferred from the general budget,
b) According to Article 6, tourism revenues will be collected from:
c) All kinds of donations and assistance,
c) From the revenues generated by the agency's activities,
d) From other income sources,
occurs.
(2) At least eighty-five percent of the agency's revenue is used to finance activities aimed at promoting tourism in the country, while the remaining portion is used to finance other activities.
(3) The Agency's budget is prepared annually by the Executive Board, taking into account the Agency's annual programs and activities. It is submitted to the Board of Directors by the end of August each year. After being reviewed by the Board of Directors, the Agency's budget, if approved, comes into effect with the approval of the Minister. The budget year is the calendar year, and no expenditures outside the budget are permitted. The Board of Directors is authorized to make multi-year expenditures. Amounts not spent within the current year in the Agency's budget are transferred to the budget of the following year.
(4) The procedures and principles regarding the preparation, implementation, expenditure, and accounting of the agency's budget are regulated by a regulation issued by the Ministry, taking into account the opinions of the relevant institutions.
ARTICLE 6 – (1) A tourism share is collected to be used for the realization of the agency's founding objectives and for the financing of its activities.
(2) Tourism share;
a) A rate of seven and a half per thousand applies to integrated facilities and accommodation establishments.
b) A rate of 0.0075 for restaurants, cafes, and entertainment facilities certified by the Ministry.
c) Seven and a half per thousand of marine tourism facilities and marine tourism vehicles certified by the Ministry.
c) From travel agencies (excluding individual airplane ticket sales), 0.075 percent.
d) Seven and a half in ten thousand from airline companies (from commercial passenger transportation activities).
e) Except for those operated by the State Airports Administration General Directorate, an amount of two thousandths (0.02%) will be collected from airport and terminal operators.
This tax is levied on the total net sales and rental income generated by individuals or legal entities who are investors or operators of these commercial enterprises. For facilities operating in tourism sectors that the Ministry deems appropriate to promote, such as winter, thermal, health, rural, and specialized sports tourism, these rates are applied with a fifty percent discount.
(3) According to the Value Added Tax Law dated 25/10/1984 and numbered 3065, the tourism tax must be declared to the tax office to which the taxpayer is subject, within the end of the month following the tax period. For those who are not subject to income or corporate tax, it must be declared to the tax office determined by the Presidency of the Revenue Administration. The payment must be made by the evening of the twenty-sixth day of the same month. The tax office is responsible for the declaration, assessment, collection, and refund of the tourism tax, and the provisions of the Law No. 213 dated 4/1/1961 on Tax Procedures and the Law No. 6183 dated 21/7/1953 on the Procedures for the Collection of Public Revenues apply. After five percent of the collected tourism tax is allocated as general budget revenue, the remaining amount is deposited into a deposit account and transferred to the Agency's bank account no later than the twentieth day of the following month.
(4) The tourism tax paid is considered an expense by corporate tax and income tax payers when determining the taxable income.
(5) In the resolution of any legal disputes that may arise during the implementation of this provision, tax courts have jurisdiction.
(6) To determine the deadlines for submitting declarations related to the tourism share, specifying the tourism types and tax or obligation types that fall under the scope, either separately or in combination, on a monthly or quarterly basis; to determine the form, content, and attachments of the declarations; to make it mandatory to submit them electronically; to allow submission through authorized individuals or legal entities; to authorize these entities to act as intermediaries or to make their use mandatory; and to establish the procedures and principles for their approval or signature by professional members within the scope of Law No. 3568 dated June 1, 1989, on Certified Public Accountants, Financial Consultants, and Certified Financial Auditors; and to re-determine the declaration and payment periods for the tourism share, within one month of the legal deadline, with the opinion of the Ministry, the authority rests with the officials of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
ARTICLE 7 – (1) The Agency's annual financial statements, prepared in accordance with the Turkish Financial Reporting Standards published by the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority, are subject to independent audit. The independent audit is carried out by the Board of Directors by obtaining offers from at least three independent audit firms authorized by the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority to audit organizations of public interest.
(2) The independent audit reports prepared as a result of the audits are sent to the Court of Accounts (Sayıştay). The Court of Accounts prepares a report based solely on the independent audit reports submitted to it and submits this report to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye.
Exemptions and exceptions
ARTICLE 8 – (1) The agency is exempt from all deposit requirements in lawsuits and enforcement proceedings.
(2) The Agency is exempt from stamp tax on documents related to activities within the scope of this Law.
(3) The agency is not subject to the Law No. 4734 on Public Procurement, dated 4/1/2002, and except for Article 7, paragraph 2, of that law, it is not subject to Law No. 6085 on the Court of Accounts, dated 3/12/2010.
(4) At the agency, personnel are employed under the provisions of Law No. 4857, dated May 22, 2003, which governs labor relations. The regulations regarding the recruitment of personnel to public institutions and organizations do not apply to the personnel to be employed by the agency.
ARTICLE 9 – (1) The procedures and principles related to the implementation of this Law shall be determined by a regulation enacted by the Ministry, with the opinion of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance being obtained regarding those related to the implementation of Article 6.
Election of members to the Board of Directors
TRANSITIONAL PROVISION 1 – (1) In order for agencies to appoint members to the Board of Directors; airport and terminal operators, excluding those operated by the State Airports Authority General Directorate, will appoint members, and members will be appointed by tourism facilities with tourism operation licenses from the Ministry, based on their geographical region. The selection process for these members will be carried out by the Agency within a maximum of six months from the date this Law comes into effect, according to the procedures and principles determined by a regulation enacted by the Ministry. Until these elections are held, the members of the Agency's Board of Directors will be appointed by the Minister from among representatives of airport and terminal operators and tourism facilities with tourism operation licenses.
(2) Until an election is held by the travel agency license holders to determine a member from among themselves, in accordance with the relevant legislation, the Minister will appoint a member from among the travel agency license holders to the Board of Directors. This appointment will be valid until the election is completed.
ARTICLE 10 – (1) This Law;
a) Article 6, section 1, was updated on October 1, 2019.
b) The other items will be published on the date of their release.
It will come into effect.
ARTICLE 11 – (1) The President shall implement the provisions of this Law.
14/7/2019
