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On April 17, 2020 a new provisional article was added to Turkish Commercial Code numbered 6102 (“TCC”) regarding the prohibition of dividend distribution for capital companies (excluding public legal entities and their affiliates) for the portion exceeding twenty-five percent of the net profit for the fiscal year 2019 until September 30, 2020.

As part of ongoing regulatory measures in fighting the ripple effects of COVID-19, Turkish government focuses on industry basis and adopt new measures.  Regulation on Amending the Package Tour Contracts Regulation” (“the Regulation”) dated May 15, 2020 is one of those for long waited travel agencies and tourism operators.

COVID-19 pandemic touched almost every area of socio-economic life, causing various activities to slow down or stop completely. In Turkey, various measures are already taken to protect public health and the economy while public services continue.

Turkish Personal Data Protection Board (“Board”), with its decision numbered 2020/213 and dated March 12, 2020 (“Decision No. 2020/213”), has fined an internet service provider data controller for failing to take necessary technical and administrative measures to ensure data security in compliance with the Article 12(1) of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 (“Law No. 6698”) upon the internet service provider’s notification of personal data breach to the Board.

Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (“TPTO”) on May 11, 2020, announced that a web service has initiated between TPTO and the European Patent Office regarding the fascicle and claim entry procedures of European patents.

Text and Data Mining (“TDM”) is the process of deriving information from a machine-read material, by copying large quantities to extract the data and recombine it to identify patterns. The importance of TDM activities lies within its potential for exponential scientific growth. It may accelerate the process of finding cures for autoimmune and genetic diseases or provide data for new solutions to current technical problems.

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 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.

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.

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.