Free Zones
In general, free zones are areas where legal and administrative regulations regarding commercial, financial, and economic fields are not fully applied or are partially applied, and where broader incentives are provided for industrial and commercial activities, physically separated from other parts of the country.
In Türkiye, Free Zones are part of the Turkish customs territory, where goods not in free circulation are not subject to any customs regime; they are considered outside the Turkish customs territory for customs duties, trade, and foreign exchange transactions; and goods in free circulation are subject to export regime provisions.
In Free Zones, wider exemptions and incentives are provided for industrial and commercial activities compared to those available in the country.
Objectives of Free Zones
In Türkiye, the implementation of Free Zones falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Trade and is carried out within the framework of Law No. 3218 on Free Zones. According to this law, the objectives of Free Zones in our country are defined as follows:
- To promote exports oriented investment and production,
- To accelerate foreign direct investments and technology transfer,
- To direct businesses towards exports,
- To develop international trade.
Functions of Free Zones
In the implementation in Türkiye, Free Zones serve the following functions:
- Creating a suitable environment for attracting foreign capital and technologies to the country,
- Facilitating the procurement of certain raw materials and intermediate goods needed by the industry in desired quantities and without delay,
- Low-cost production and export of goods with incentives and advantages,
- Sale of goods from outside Türkiye in transit to other countries
- Creating new employment opportunities,
- Facilitating and expediting the export of Turkish export products.