Since the due dates for declaring corporate tax returns and payments extended until June 1, 2020 by the Treasury and Finance Ministry Revenue Administration, due to COVID-19 precautionary measures, the Public Procurement Authority (“PPA”) has stated that in case applicants cannot provide their certificates of competency, balance sheets, business turnover and other relevant documents issued for last year as required to apply for tenders by the applicable rules, applicants are allowed to file the said documents issued for two years ago.

There is no question that COVID-19 outbreak has hit the aviation industry the hardest amongst other industries due to strict measures enforced by public authorities such as travel restrictions, lockdowns and border controls. These measures obviously have dragged the industry into a tremendous freeze and a rapid downfall.

The Ministry of Interior (“Ministry”) has published a directive regarding the procedures and principles to be applied on all kinds of research and development service procurements that will be benefited by the relevant public institutions and organizations, universities, private sector and non-governmental organizations in accordance with the exemption provided by Article 3 (f) of the Law No. 4734 (“Directive”).

As per the amendment on the Communique on Registered Goods published in the Official Gazette No. 31115 dated May 2, 2020, export of ethyl alcohol, cologne, disinfectant and hydrogen peroxide are removed from the list of goods which are subject to the pre-authorization of Ministry of Commerce General Directorate of Export.

The Capital Markets Board of Turkey (“CMB”) published the Draft Communiqué on Committee of Debt Instrument Holders (“Draft Communiqué”) pursuant to the Article 31/A(1) of the Capital Markets Law  dated December 30, 2012 numbered 6362 (“Law No. 6362”) on its website on April 22, 2020.

Governments allocate large budgets to maintain and strengthen their security capabilities whilst defense manufacturers explore new markets continuously to expand their sales in this heavily regulated industry.

The 2nd revision of the Circular UOD-2020/2G (“the Circular”) regarding the transport of cargo in the passenger cabin of aircrafts is published on April 29, 2020, by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (“DGCA”) as part of the measures taken against COVID-19 in Turkey. The purpose of the Circular is to enable the transportation of the medical equipment internationally and to protect the market place of Turkey with regards to the cargo transportation.

As per the Presidential Decree No. 2480 published in the Official Gazette No. 31114 dated April 30, 2020, judiciary period suspension stipulated under provisional article 1 of the Law Amending Certain Acts No.7226 published in the Official Gazette No. 31080 dated March 26, 2020 is temporarily extended with the exception of the mandatory administrative application periods stipulated under Public Procurement Law No. 4734, due to the Covid-19.