The first OIZ in Turkey was established back in 1962 in Bursa, one of the nation's most industrialised cities. As of today, there are a total of 276 OIZs in Turkey. The largest OIZ, located in the south-eastern industry and trade city of Gaziantep, is established on a land of 11 million m2.

The main advantages of OIZs

• The Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology (Ministry) supports the developments of the OIZs and provides loans to OIZ managements in order to acquire new land and implement infrastructure projects. Investors can therefore implement their facilities in suitable parcels with adequate infrastructure.
• There are certain incentives provided to OIZs, including tax credits for direct investments. OIZ managements can also obtain loans with advantageous terms that are provided to companies located within these zones.
• Companies are allowed to use water, electricity and fuel at discounted prices.
• Exporting companies are provided with tax returns.

Due to such incentives, since 1995, 86% of foreign investment in industrial sectors has been made in OIZs.

Specifications of OIZs

Land allocation procedure

Due to their nature, OIZs are subject to specific rules and regulations.

First and foremost, acquisition of land within the OIZs is subject to a specific procedure different than that of ordinary land.

According to the Law on Organised Industrial Zones (4562) (Law on OIZ) and published in the Official Gazette (24021) on April 15 2000, the allocation of OIZs will be governed by regulations issued by the Ministry. Accordingly, the Application Regulation on OIZ (27327) (OIZ Regulation), published in the Official Gazette on August 22 2009, sets out provisions governing the allocation of OIZ land.

As per Article 103 of the OIZ Regulation, real or legal persons applying for land allocation are required to apply to the relevant OIZ, of which its board will review the application. If the application is approved, the OIZ will issue a notice in writing to the applicant.

The approval notice is not sufficient for the land allocation and is merely a notification. Article 104 of the OIZ Regulation provides that the OIZ and the applicant company are required to sign a land allocation agreement as well as an investment undertaking prepared by the Ministry laying out the terms of land allocation and any legal penalties in order to guarantee the completion of the related investments. Generally, a land allocation agreement and an investment undertaking include penalties in relation to the completion of the investment and the payment of the instalments of the total price of the allocated land et seq. Other conditions as dictated by the OIZ Regulation would need to be assessed depending on the specifics of the land.

As opposed to with other ordinary land, the company does not obtain the title of the related property at the end of the OIZ application process. Following the execution of a land allocation agreement and an investment undertaking, the declaration and the annotation column on the title deeds of the relevant land registry for the related property will reflect that “the sale or assignment of the immovable is forbidden according to Article 18 of the Organised Industrial Zone Law”.

In this respect, the applicant company will not be entitled to sell the land until it fulfils all of its payment obligations in relation to the land allocation. It will therefore have ongoing payment obligations to the relevant OIZ as provided by Article 18 of the Law on OIZ.

After the fulfilment of all obligations in the land allocation agreement and investment undertaking, a deed will be issued in the name of the applicant company, which will then obtain the title to the related property. In this case, a second annotation will be included in the first declaration and annotation column on the title deeds of the relevant land registry by replacing the first and stating as follows: “It [i.e. the landlord] is obliged to obtain the positive decision of the organised industrial zone in case the immovable is transferred to third persons including the sale of the immovable through an execution procedure where the pre-emption right of the organised industrial zone is released and registered at the land registry on account of the participant. At this stage, all undertakings which were given by the old participant are deemed to be accepted by the new participant.” Accordingly, any transfer of the applicant company's property rights will be subject to the positive decision of the relevant OIZ.

Zoning plan requirements

In order to initiate the investment, a zoning plan should be prepared and approved by the OIZs. After the preparation of the zoning plan, a construction permit should be obtained from the relevant OIZ in order to begin construction. The OIZs are entitled to approve the zoning plans within the zones pursuant to Article 41 of the OIZ Regulation.

If the zoning plan is amended, the OIZ will approve and submit the relevant amendment to the Ministry. Upon Ministry approval, construction of the relevant facility can begin pursuant to Articles 74 and 75 of the OIZ Regulation.

The OIZ Regulation also sets out a list of the necessary documents needed in order to apply for a construction permit. Article 84 of the OIZ Regulation states that all permits and authorisations in relation to the usage, construction and projects of buildings, facilities and lands within an OIZ should be obtained from the zone.

Construction permit

A construction permit is also issued by the OIZ pursuant to Article 85 of the OIZ Regulation. The applicant company must submit a deed or land allocation agreement, environmental impact assessment decision, soil and geological investigation reports, an architectural project and electrical and mechanical projects for the facility. Following the issuance of the construction permit, the Project Company is required to apply for the building usage permit.

Building usage permit

Once the facilities of the applicant company are completed, the company needs to apply to the OIZ for a building usage permit so as to commence its activities within the facility. The OIZ will approve the completion of the construction in compliance with the projects which were submitted to the OIZ accordingly.

The applicant company is entitled to use the facility once the building usage permit has been issued.

Free land allocation

In order to promote foreign investment and increase the number of industrial facilities in Turkey, the Council of Ministers announced a new incentive package with its Decision on State Assistance in Incentives (2012/3305) (Decision), dated June 19 2012.

The Decision provides that the allocation of land to a third party for the construction of a facility within the OIZs can be made free of charge. For such allocation to be possible, the OIZ is required to be located in:

• cities within the scope of development priority regions;
• cities with US$1,500 or less of GDP per person determined by the State Institute for Statistics for 2001;
• cities outside of the scope of those mentioned above and cities with a negative index value of socio-economic development determined by the Secretariat of the State Planning Organisation for 2003; and
• cities and districts determined by a cabinet decision based on socio-economic factors.

If the applicant company applies for a free land allocation within an OIZ that fulfils these criteria and it is considered as a “big-scale investment”, “strategic investment” or “eligible for regional investment”, then empty parcels within the OIZ can be assigned to the company.

As of September 2013, 774 parcels were allocated free of charge to applicants. Among these parcels, 56 of the necessary investments have been completed and the operations have begun. In the case of 166 parcels, construction works are pending while the remaining 552 parcels have planning works still pending.

Free allocation incentives are only valid for a limited period and the necessary applications must be submitted by September 2015.

Recent developments

One of the key aspects of OIZs is that they were allowed to expropriate land owned by third parties. Therefore, OIZs have easily expanded their premises in order to accept new members and carry out new investments.

However, with its decision numbered 2013/125, the Constitutional Court (Court) has annulled Article 5 and Provisional Article 11 of the Law on OIZ, which were the legal bases of the expropriation activities of OIZs.

The Court has decided that only the government or state entities have the authority to restrict the right of ownership in accordance with Articles 6 and 46 of the Constitution. It concluded that as OIZs are private legal entities, restricting the right of ownership by executing expropriation is a violation of the Constitution.

This right of the OIZs has subsequently been revoked.

Placing bets on the future of OIZs

Turkey is a developing country with a strong historical background in many significant industrial sectors. In recent years, the number and variety of industrial establishments have increased significantly. The OIZs have considerably contributed to this increase by providing a sustainable and solid investment environment for both domestic and foreign investors. With the establishment of new OIZs and the expansion of existing ones, it is safe to say that OIZs will, for the foreseeable future, remain the optimal destination for foreign investors.

土耳其投资特区提供的机会

Yeşim Bezen, Zekican Samlı, Uğur Sebzeci, Can Özilhan 和 Onur Okşan
Bezen & Partners


土耳其在过去十年成为了外国投资者的一个聚焦点。尤其是2008年全球金融危机之后，土耳其更因为其战略性位置、稳定的经济和高速的增长率，迅速成为欧洲投资者的枢纽。

土耳其在为外国投资提供适宜的投资土壤的同时，还力求在兼顾到环境、城市化和交通等因素的前提下提高其工业容量。为此目的，土耳其在全国推行了“有组织工业区”（以下简称“OIZ”）。

土耳其的第一个OIZ是1962年在该国工业最发达城市之一的布尔萨成立的。如今，土耳其全国共有276个OIZ。最大的OIZ是在东南部工贸城市加济安泰普，面积达1,100万平方米。


OIZ有如下主要优势

• 科学、工业和技术部（下称“科工技部”）支持OIZ的开发，并向OIZ管理层提供贷款，以便其购置新土地和实施基础设施项目。因此投资者能够在具备足够基础设施的地块上建立自己的设施。
• OIZ享受若干鼓励政策，包括适用于直接投资的税务优惠。OIZ管理层还能够获得条件优惠的贷款提供给区内公司。
• 区内公司的用水、用电和燃料享受折扣价格。

• 出口型公司可获得退税。

由于上述优惠待遇，自1995年以来，工业领域的外国投资有86%是在OIZ里进行的。


OIZ的具体规定
a) 土地分配办法
OIZ因为其特殊性质而需遵守特定的规章制度。

首先，在OIZ内获取土地有别于一般的土地交易，适用特别的管理办法。

根据2000年4月15日在《官方公告》（24021）发布的《有组织工业区法》（4562）（下称“《OIZ法》”），OIZ的分配由科工技部发布的条例管理。据此，2009年8月22日在《官方公告》颁布的《OIZ实施条例》（27327）（下称“《OIZ条例》”）对OIZ土地的分配作出了规定。

根据《OIZ条例》第103条，自然人或法人申请土地分配，须向有关OIZ提出，由其管理局审批申请。如果申请获得批准，OIZ将书面通知申请人。

批准通知不足以办理土地分配，而只是通知而已。《OIZ条例》第104条规定，企业申请人须签署一份土地分配协议以及一份投资承诺书，该两份文件均由科工技部制定，其中列出了土地分配的条款以及任何法律罚则，以保证有关投资的完成。土地分配协议和投资承诺书一般都包括与完成投资和分期支付分配土地总价等有关的罚则。《OIZ条例》规定的其他条件则根据有关土地的具体情况而定。

与其他一般土地不同的是，在OIZ申请程序结束时，企业并不获得有关地产的权属。在签署土地分配协议和投资承诺书以后，有关地产在有关土地登记处的产权契据上的声明及附注栏将显示“根据《有组织工业区法》第18条，禁止出售或转让该不动产”。

在此方面，企业申请人在履行其对有关土地分配的全部付款义务之前，将无权出售该土地。因此，根据《OIZ法》第18条，它将对有关的OIZ负有持续的付款义务。

在完成了土地分配协议和投资承诺书中的全部义务后，企业申请人将获发一份在其名下的契据，从而才获得有关地产的权属。这时，有关土地登记处的产权契据上的声明和附注栏将作出以下记载以替代先前的声明和附注：“向第三方转让不动产，包括通过签署文件出售不动产，解除有组织工业区的优先权并在土地登记处登记在参与者名下的时候，[地主] 必须取得有组织工业区的同意。在此阶段，旧参与者给予的所有承诺视为被新参与者接受。”因此，企业申请人的任何业权转让将必须得到有关OIZ的同意。

b) 用途规划要求
开始投资前，应当制定用途规划由OIZ批准。制定用途规划后，需向有关OIZ取得建设许可证方可开始建设。OIZ有权根据《OIZ条例》第41条规定审批区内的用途规划。

如果用途规划需要修改，OIZ在审批有关修改后提交科工技部。经科工技部批准后，有关的设施可以根据《OIZ条例》第74条和第75条规定开始建设。

《OIZ条例》还列明了申请建设许可证所需文件。《OIZ条例》第84条规定，与OIZ区内建筑物、设施和土地的使用、建设和项目有关的所有许可和授权应当从该区取得。

c) 建设许可证
OIZ根据《OIZ条例》第85条发给建设许可证。企业申请人必须提交契据或土地分配协议、环境影响评估决定书、土壤和地质调查报告、设施的建筑项目书和电气机械项目书。在建设许可证发给后，项目公司须申请建筑用途许可证。

d) 建筑用途许可证
企业申请人完成设施建设以后，须向OIZ申请建筑用途许可证方可在设施内开展其活动。OIZ将根据申请人提交的项目书审批工程的完成。

建筑用途许可证颁发后，企业申请人便有权使用设施。

e) 免费的土地分配
为鼓励外国投资和增加土耳其的工业设施数量，部长会议在2012年6月19日通过《关于国家支持鼓励措施的决定》（2012/3305）（下称“《决定》”）宣布了一系列新的鼓励措施。

《决定》规定，向第三方分配土地在OIZ内建设设施可以免收费用。要进行这样的分配，该OIZ必须位于符合以下条件的地方：

• 优先发展地区内的城市；
• 根据2001年国家统计院的数据国民生产总值人均在1,500美元或以下的城市；
• 虽然不在上述区域，但根据2003年国家计划组织秘书处的数据其社会经济发展指数为负数的城市；
• 内阁根据社会经济因素确定的城市和地区。

如果企业申请人在符合上述条件的OIZ内申请免费土地分配，而且是被认定为“大规模投资”、“战略性投资”或“合格的地区性投资”，则OIZ可将区内空置地块分配给该公司。

截至2013年9月，已经有774个地块免费分配给申请人。这些地块中，有56个已完成必要的投资并开始营运，166个地块即将进行建设，其余的552个地块则有待规划。

免费分配的鼓励措施只是在有限的期间内生效，所须的申请必须在2015年9月前提交。


最新动向
OIZ一个关键特点是可以征收第三方拥有的土地。因此，各地OIZ已轻而易举地扩充了其领域以接纳新成员和进行新投资项目。

然而，宪法法院（下称“法院”）在其2013/125号裁决中废除了《OIZ法》第5条和第11临时条款，而此等条款是OIZ征地活动的法律依据。

法院裁定，根据宪法第6条和第46条，只有政府或国家实体有权力限制所有权。法院认定，OIZ是私人法律实体，以征收方式限制所有权是违反宪法的。

OIZ的该项权利随之被撤销。


押注于OIZ的未来
土耳其是一个在很多重大工业领域有着雄厚历史雄厚的发展中国家。近年来，工业建设的数量和种类有了大大增加。OIZ通过向国内外投资者提供可持续的和稳固的投资环境，对此作出了很大贡献。随着新OIZ的成立和现有OIZ的扩展，可以说OIZ在可预见的未来仍然是外国投资者的最佳投资目的地。