What is Türkiye's investment incentive certificate?

The investment incentive certificate is an official document issued by Türkiye's Ministry of Industry and Technology that allows an investment to benefit from defined support elements. It states the subject, location, amount, period and the machinery list within its scope.

In one sentence: anything not on the certificate draws no support.

What the certificate provides

It is not a single discount but a package:

Machinery support arrived with the current system and applies within the Türkiye Century Development Push programmes. An investment taking machinery support cannot also take interest or profit share support.

Note: The VAT refund and income tax withholding support that existed under the previous decree are not in the current one. A great deal of English language content online still lists them; it is working from the repealed 2012/3305 decree.

The system in force

Türkiye rebuilt the system on 30 May 2025. The instruments in force are Presidential Decree 9903 on State Aid in Investments and Implementing Communiqué 2025/1. The previous decree 2012/3305 and the Attraction Centres decree were repealed.

The current categories:

The old "general incentive scheme" category was removed, and what used to be called strategic investments is now the Strategic Push Programme.

Provinces remain grouped into six regions by socioeconomic development. The region mainly sets the duration of employer's share premium support, which runs longer in lower ranked regions.

The category determines the size of the support directly. In the corporate tax reduction, the contribution rate is highest under the Technology Push and Local Development Push programmes and lowest under Target Investments. The same investment placed in a different province, or inside an organized industrial zone, produces a different result, which is why more than one scenario is calculated before filing.

Applications under the decree are assessed up to 31 December 2030.

The application

1. Pre assessment. Establishing the scope from subject, amount and location.
2. System registration. The company is defined in the Ministry's electronic system, a user is authorised and their electronic signature registered.
3. Machinery list. Domestic and import lists are prepared, with correct customs tariff positions on the import list.
4. Documents. Trade registry record, signature circular, site document, capacity information and any required permits.
5. Filing. The file is uploaded.
6. Review. The Ministry examines it and issues information or deficiency requests where needed.
7. Issuance. The certificate is issued for an application found eligible.

With a complete file, issuance is measured in weeks. What extends it is usually missing documents, an incorrect machinery list or a problem with the site document.

After issuance

The certificate is not the end of the work. The obligations start there:

• Completing the investment within the stated period
• Making purchases in line with the list on the certificate
• Filing an extension request in time where the period will not suffice
• Filing a revision where the list or scope has to change
• Carrying out completion visa procedures once the investment is finished

Certificates where the completion visa is skipped carry cancellation risk, and cancellation can mean repaying the support already used.

The five most expensive mistakes

Invoicing before the certificate. There is no way back.

An incomplete machinery list. Equipment not on it draws nothing.

A wrong customs tariff position. The exemption is not applied at import.

Requesting an extension late. A request outside its deadline can be refused.

Forgetting the completion visa. A finished investment can still lose its certificate.

A distinction worth keeping clear

Confusing the incentive certificate with grant programmes is common. The difference is simple: the certificate lowers your cost, a grant repays part of your spending.

There is an important rule here. Decree 9903 generally bars an investment supported under it from also receiving support from other public institutions, with subsidised credit as an exception. Investments under the Technology Push Programme can additionally be supported directly by KOSGEB and TÜBİTAK. So before planning to combine a certificate with a grant, the rule has to be checked against your specific investment.

Sources and currency

This guide follows Presidential Decree 9903 on State Aid in Investments (Official Gazette, 30 May 2025) and Implementing Communiqué 2025/1. Last reviewed 23 September 2026. Amounts and rates change, so verify the figures in force before filing.

Next step

If you have an investment plan, the first task is establishing the category and comparing scenarios. With the subject, estimated amount, intended province and a draft machinery list we can produce that table. The first assessment is free.