The current structure
The system is administered by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, with applications made through E-TUYS. Certificate applications under the new decree run to 31 December 2030. An implementing communiqué was published in June 2025.
Support is organised into three pillars.
1. Türkiye Yüzyılı Kalkınma Hamlesi — project-based, individually appraised
Three sub-programmes, each assessed on the merits of the specific project:
- Teknoloji Hamlesi (Technology Initiative) — high-technology manufacturing and items on the Priority Products List
- Yerel Kalkınma Hamlesi (Local Development Initiative) — province-specific priorities set together with regional development agencies
- Stratejik Hamle (Strategic Initiative) — strategic and critical-supply manufacturing and R&D-intensive investment
2. Sektörel Teşvik Sistemi — sectoral
Two tracks: Öncelikli Yatırımlar (Priority Investments), covering areas such as green and digital transformation, defence and renewables, and Hedef Yatırımlar (Target Investments).
3. Bölgesel Teşvik Sistemi — regional
Six regions, with Region 6 now built around earthquake-affected provinces rather than the south-eastern grouping used under the old system. Any province-to-region table published before mid-2025 should be treated as void.
Instruments available
- Customs duty exemption on imported machinery and equipment within the scope of the certificate
- VAT exemption on imported and domestically supplied machinery and equipment
- Corporate tax reduction, with investment contribution rates that vary by track — highest for the Technology and Local Development initiatives, lower for Strategic, Priority and Target investments
- Employer's social security premium support, for a period that increases in less developed regions
- Employee's social security premium support, available in Region 6
- Interest or profit-share support on investment loans
- Machinery support — a new cash grant, available for qualifying high-value equipment under the project-based programmes, capped at a ceiling that differs by track
- Investment land allocation
Minimum fixed investment thresholds are TRY 12 million in Regions 1–2 and TRY 6 million in Regions 3–6, with substantially higher thresholds for strategic-sector investments. These monetary thresholds are revalued annually.
The project-based ("super") incentive
Presidential Decree 2016/9495 on project-based state aid remains in force alongside the new system. The general minimum fixed investment is TRY 2 billion, reduced to TRY 100 million for Technology Initiative projects.
A further amendment published in August 2026 changed the procedure materially: feasibility studies must now be prepared by the Ministry or by development and investment banks rather than by independent consultants; a five-year post-completion annual activity reporting obligation was introduced; and the scope of private-law contracts was widened for mega investments above TRY 5 billion, extendable to the Turkish affiliates of foreign investors.
R&D and technology incentives
Support for R&D centres, design centres and technology development zone activity continues under its own legislation rather than the investment incentive decree. The main features are a deduction for R&D and design expenditure, income tax exemption on the wages of R&D, design and support personnel, partial employer social security premium support, and stamp duty and customs duty exemptions. Technology development zone advantages currently run to 31 December 2028.
Companies benefiting from these regimes also have a venture capital contribution obligation: a percentage of the exemption or deduction above a threshold must be invested in venture capital funds or entrepreneurs. This obligation did not exist under the older guides and is easy to miss until it is assessed.
See the investment zones guide for what technoparks, organised industrial zones and free zones offer.
Export support: the inward processing regime
Separate from the incentive decree, the inward processing regime supports exporters in two forms.
Conditional exemption system — suspends customs duties, VAT and commercial policy measures on non-freely-circulating raw materials, auxiliary materials, packaging and equipment used in production for export. A guarantee is required and released on export.
Reimbursement system — duties and taxes paid on freely-circulating inputs are reimbursed when the final product is exported.
Eligibility turns on the imported inputs being traceable into the exported product, on there being no adverse effect on domestic producers, and on the company being established in Turkish customs territory.