Chamber Organization and Tasks

DESCRIPTION OF THE CHAMBERS:

(Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges Law No. 5174 Art. 4)

Rooms; In order to meet the common needs of its members, to facilitate their professional activities, to ensure the development of the profession in accordance with the general interests, to protect the professional discipline, morality and solidarity in order to ensure honesty and trust in the relations of its members with each other and with the public, and to fulfill the duties given to the chambers by the services and legislation written in this Law. They are professional organizations that are established as public institutions with legal personality.

DUTIES OF THE CHAMBERS:

(Article 12 of the Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges Law No. 5174)

1. To protect and develop professional ethics, discipline and solidarity, to work for the development of trade and industry in accordance with the public interest.
2. Compiling and conveying information and news related to trade and industry to the relevant persons, to provide information to be requested by official authorities within the framework of relevant laws, and in particular to provide all kinds of information that members may need in the practice of their profession, in case of their application, or to facilitate their obtaining, to take initiatives to guide its members on electronic commerce and internet networks and also establish and operate the necessary infrastructure in these matters.
3. To carry out all kinds of trade and industry investigations, to keep indices and statistics of economic, commercial and industrial activities in their regions, to follow and record the market prices of the main substances and to disseminate them by appropriate means.
4. To arrange and approve the documents in the 26th article.
5. To make proposals, wishes and applications to official authorities on matters related to professional activities; If all or some of its members have a professional interest, to file a lawsuit on behalf of these members or on their own behalf, with the decision of the council.
6. To identify the commercial and industrial customs and practices within the working areas, to submit them to the approval of the Ministry and to announce them.
7. To take compulsory professional decisions that must be followed by its members.
8. Participating in domestic and international fairs and exhibitions.
9. To determine and approve, when necessary, the maximum price tariffs for the goods and services listed in Article 125 of the Law No. 507 on Tradesmen and Small Craftsmen, in accordance with the regulation to be issued by the Ministry for its own members.
10. To work for the development of maritime trade in the public interest, in accordance with the national transport and maritime trade policy.
11. To conduct examinations on national and international maritime trade and to provide information on this subject, to collect information such as freight between Turkish ports and abroad, agency commissions and fees, and port costs, and to disseminate them as quickly as possible, to monitor the latest developments in world maritime trade, keeping statistics and announcing them to the relevant people.
12. To determine and announce the commercial customs, practices and practices of maritime trade, to prepare type forms for freight agreements, bills of lading and similar documents.
13. To inform foreign ship owners and owners and maritime establishments about the possibilities, working methods, tariffs and port costs of Turkish ports and to provide similar information from them.
14. To be a member and delegate to international organizations related to maritime trade.
15. To act as an arbitrator in disputes related to maritime trade at the request of the relevant parties.
16. Preparing maritime agency service fee schedules and submitting them to the Ministry for approval.
17. To carry out the duties assigned by the Union and the Ministry within the framework of the relevant laws, with the duties assigned by other legislation.
18. To keep the member records according to the standards determined by the Union, to keep the documents related to the membership fees and to notify them to the Union upon request.
19. To carry out these works in case the works given to the ministries or other public institutions and organizations by the legislation are delivered to the chambers within the framework of the establishment purposes and field of duty specified in this Law.
20. To provide the documents needed by its members and to provide the necessary services related to them.
21. Evaluating the applications for domestic fairs and making a proposal to the Union.
22. To examine the consumer complaints about its members and to carry out other activities in line with the purposes of its establishment.
23. To prepare capacity reports for industrialists by chambers of commerce and industry, and by chambers of industry in provinces where chambers are separate.

Chambers, within the framework of other legislative provisions;

1. To establish or participate in laboratories for the determination of the qualifications of trade goods, to establish or participate in international calibration, test and measurement laboratories, to provide certification services,
2. To open courses related to trade, maritime and industry under the permission and supervision of the Ministry of National Education, to help open courses, to train students and to have interns for the fields needed in the country and abroad; to develop and direct vocational and technical education and training, to issue documents regarding this practice in professions not included in the scope of the Vocational Education Law No. 3308, limited to the workplaces of its members,
3. To act as an arbitrator in commercial and industrial disputes, to establish arbitration boards upon the request of the relevant parties,
4. Participating in exhibitions, fairs, public stores, warehouses, museums and libraries that have been opened or will be opened,
5. To establish and manage industrial sites, industrial zones, organized industrial zones, technology development zones, technoparks, technology centers in areas deemed appropriate by the authorized ministry; to be a free zone founder or operator, to operate warehouses and to establish, operate or participate in fairgrounds, congress centers and trade centers within the framework of the Free Zones Law No. 3218.

ORGANS OF THE CHAMBER

1. Professional committees
2. Assembly
3. Board of Directors
4. Board of discipline

Professional committees

The chamber professional committees consist of five or seven people to be elected by the professional groups for four years, and five, seven, nine or eleven people in the chambers with more than ten thousand members. Associate members are elected as much as full members.

The committee elects a chairman and a vice-chairman from among its members for a four-year term.

Real persons and real person representatives of legal entities elected as members of the professional committee can only take office in one of the professional committees of chambers and commodity exchanges within the same activity boundaries and the chambers established in accordance with Law No. 507 dated 17.7.1964.

The principles to be followed in the grouping of professions, the determination of the number of members of the profession committees and other issues are regulated by a regulation to be prepared by the Union.

Duties of chamber professional committees

1. To make examinations about their professions, to propose the measures they deem useful and necessary to the board of directors to be discussed.
2. To decide on the participation of the chairman, vice-chairman or appropriate members to the assembly meeting without voting on the issues on the agenda of the assembly regarding the professional committee.
3. If information is requested by the assembly or the board of directors about their profession, to conduct research on this subject and to respond to the request.
4. Fulfilling other duties assigned by the relevant legislation.

Chamber of Assembly

The chamber council consists of members to be elected by professional groups for four years. Professional committees are elected two in groups of five, three in groups of seven, four in groups of nine, and five in groups of eleven. In addition, the same number of associate members are elected.

The Assembly elects a president and one or two vice-presidents for a period of four years from among its members.

Real persons elected to the assembly membership and real person representatives of legal entities can only take office in one of the chambers and commodity exchange assemblies in the same field of activity and the chambers established in accordance with the Law No. 507 dated 17.7.1964.

The chairman and vice-presidents of the assembly cannot be elected as chairman or member of the board of directors and disciplinary committee.

Those who have served as the chairman of the assembly for two consecutive terms cannot be re-elected to the same duty unless two election periods have passed.

Duties of chamber assembly

1. To elect the members of the chamber board of directors and disciplinary board.
2. To elect the delegates of the General Assembly of the Union from among its members.
3. Examining and deciding on the proposals to be made by the Board of Directors.
4. To take compulsory professional decisions.
5. To identify and announce the commercial and industrial customs, traditions and practices within the working areas.
6. Reviewing and approving the monthly balance sheet and transfer requests
7. Establishing arbitration institutions in order to resolve disputes arising between its members or in relation to these agreements if they are included in the agreements made by the members, and to approve the arbitrator and expert lists to be requested by the courts.
8. To decide on the penalties to be proposed by the disciplinary board about the members registered in the chamber.
9. Approving the annual budget and final accounts, acquitting the board of directors, initiating proceedings against those who are deemed responsible.
10. Deciding to buy, sell, build, allocate, consolidate and pledge immovable property, borrow money, expropriate, build schools and classrooms, establish companies and foundations or become partners in established companies within the framework of the provisions of this Law.
11. To accept the internal directive of the chamber and submit it to the Union’s approval.
12. To examine and finalize the objections made by the Board of Directors against the decisions to be made regarding the obligation to register to the chamber or the degrees of the members.
13. Establishing specialized commissions and advisory boards according to professions and problems.
14. Being a member of domestic and foreign industrial, commercial and economic organizations and sending delegates to their congresses.
15. Waiving the follow-up of the receivables that have become impossible to collect or amnesty and/or re-payment of the dues debts and delay hikes of the members who have died, left the trade and are in difficulty to pay their dues due to the chamber due to force majeure caused, such as fire, flood, earthquake and similar natural disasters. Examining and deciding on the proposals received from the board of directors regarding their restructuring and lawsuits to be filed on behalf of the chamber or members, and transferring this authority to the board of directors when deemed necessary.
16. To give honorary membership to those who have given important services to the chamber work or Turkish economic life, with the decision of two-thirds of the total number of members of the assembly.
17. Fulfilling other duties assigned by the relevant legislation.

Chamber board of directors

The board of directors of the chamber is five in the chambers with less than twenty council members, elected for four years; seven in those between twenty and twenty-nine; nine in those between thirty and thirty-nine; it consists of eleven people in those who are forty and more.

The Assembly elects the chairman, principal and associate members of the board of directors among its members in a single list. The board of directors elects one or two vice-presidents and a treasurer from among its members for a period of four years.

Those who have served as the chairman of the board of directors for two consecutive terms cannot be re-elected to the same position unless two election periods have passed.

The chairman and members of the board of directors of a chamber cannot also take part in the assembly of another chamber or commodity exchange.

The meeting agenda is determined by the chairman or the vice-chairman authorized in his absence. In addition, a new item is added to the agenda until the start of the meeting with the application of at least one third of the members of the board of directors.

Duties of the board of directors of the chamber

1. To carry out the works of the chamber within the framework of the legislation and the decisions of the assembly.
2. Submitting the budget, final account and transfer proposals and the related reports to the chamber assembly.
3. Submitting the monthly account report to the chamber assembly for review and approval.
4. Deciding on the recruitment, dismissal, promotion and transfer of the chamber staff.
5. Deciding on the disciplinary board to conduct an investigation, ensuring that the disciplinary and fines imposed in accordance with this Law are implemented.
6. To prepare the lists of arbitrators, experts and loss adjusters and submit them to the assembly for approval.
7. To certify the documents stipulated in this Law and the relevant legislation.
8. To prepare an annual report on the activity of the chamber within a year and the economic and industrial situation of the region and submit it to the assembly.
9. To present the prepared chamber interior directive to the assembly.
10. To carry out all kinds of examinations of trade and industry, to keep indices and statistics of commercial and industrial activities within the working area, to follow and record the market prices of the substances determined by the assembly and to announce them through appropriate means.
11. To decide on the disciplinary affairs of the chamber staff within the framework of the principles and procedures stipulated in this Law and the relevant legislation.
12. To reward its members who pay high taxes, export and develop technology.
13. To support and encourage social activities, to make donations and aids, to give scholarships, to build schools and classrooms with the approval of the assembly, provided that there is provision in the budget.
14. Choosing an arbitrator or an arbitration court.
15. Fulfilling other duties assigned to chambers by this Law and other legislation and not specifically left to another body.

Transfer of powers of the board of directors of the chamber

When necessary, the chamber board of directors may delegate some of its powers to the president, one or more of its members, or the secretary general.

Chamber disciplinary board

The chamber discipline committee consists of six full and six associate members elected for four years from among those registered to the chamber by the assembly.

The disciplinary board elects a chairman from among its members at its first meeting after the election. In the absence of the chairman, the oldest member chairs the board.

The conditions to be sought in the members of the disciplinary board are determined by a regulation to be issued by the Ministry, after receiving the assent of the Union.

Duties of the Chamber Disciplinary Board

1. To carry out the disciplinary investigations of the members registered in the Chamber in accordance with the procedures and principles stipulated in this law and the relevant legislation.
2. To propose to the Assembly that the members registered to the chamber be disciplined and fined.

CHAMBER REVENUES:

1. Registry Fee
2. Yearly Contribution
3. Suplemental Fee
4. Fees received for services rendered
5. Documentation fees
6. Publishing revenues
7. Donations
8. Penalties
9. Affiliates profit
10. Fees from vessels
11. retaliatory hikes
12. Securities and real estate capital gains, corporate profits and foreign currency income
13. Tariff certification fee
14. Other revenues

Registration fee and annual fee in chamber

Members are obliged to pay the registration fee and annual dues for each year during their registration to the chamber.

The registration fee and the annual fee cannot be less than ten percent or more than half of the gross amount of the monthly minimum wage applied for those over the age of sixteen.

No annual fee is charged for the year in which the registration fee is received. The registration fee and annual subscription fees are determined according to the degrees and tariffs to be determined according to the procedures to be determined by the regulation to be issued by the Union. The tariffs come into effect with the proposal of the chamber board of directors and the approval of the assembly. The registration fee and annual subscription fee to be collected from those who are obliged to register to more than one chamber are determined according to the procedures indicated in the regulation.

Those who do not find their degrees appropriate for their situation can appeal to the chamber assembly within ten days, according to the procedures to be shown in the regulation. Until the objections are decided by the assembly, the registration fee and the disputed part of the annual fee are not collected.

The annual fee is paid in two equal installments in June and October of each year. The registration fee of those registered during the year and the registration fees and annual subscriptions of those who need to be registered valid from the previous year are paid within one month from the date of notification of the situation.

Members registered to branches pay half of the registration fee and dues determined in this article.

 The share to be received from the additional dues and freight revenues

For every year by chambers; the total of the commercial income shown in the income tax returns of the natural person merchants and industrialists; On the other hand, an additional fee of five per thousand is collected over the commercial balance sheet profit shown in the corporate tax declarations of the legal entity merchants and industrialists.

Loss-making members do not pay additional dues for that year.

The additional dues of the members who have more than one branch in their field of activity are calculated over the income they obtain from all branches or the commercial income or the commercial balance profit that constitutes the basis for corporate tax.

The additional dues of the branches and factories of the institutions and establishments whose independent balance sheet is made are paid to the chamber of the place where the branch or factory is located.

In case the headquarters, branches and factories of a legal entity are located in different places, but the balance sheets are kept at the center, the additional dues are paid by the center to the local chamber. This chamber distributes the additional dues it collects equally among the other chambers within the first three months of the following calendar year.

In all these cases, the additional dues to be paid by an institution together with its branches and factories cannot exceed twenty times the annual fee ceiling determined for that year.

Additional dues are paid in two equal installments in June and October. The additional dues of those who must be registered as valid from the previous year are paid until the end of the year in which this situation is notified to them.

Members are obliged to submit the information and balance sheets of their commercial and industrial income to the chambers upon request. In addition, chambers may request information from tax offices within the framework of the provision of Article 5 of the Tax Procedure Law No. 213. In the event that the balance sheet is not submitted by the member and cannot be obtained from the tax office, the additional dues of the previous year shall be accrued temporarily, provided that it is not less than three times the annual fee ceiling.

Members registered to the branches pay half of the additional dues determined in this article.

Over all freight proceeds from loading and unloading at Turkish ports by foreign-flagged vessels that take or deliver cargo at Turkish ports and are not registered to any chamber in Türkiye, and Turkish-flagged vessels operated by a real or legal person merchant resident in a foreign country, cruise and passenger. The amount to be calculated by the board of directors of the chamber according to the proposal and the rate to be determined by the chamber assembly, taking into account the international practice on the gross tonnage of the vessels, provided that it does not exceed five per thousand and does not exceed the annual additional fee ceiling, within fifteen days from the date of departure of the ship from the port, they or their representatives paid to the chamber of maritime commerce in the relevant port area or to the chamber of commerce or commerce and industry where this chamber organization has not been established yet.

Document charges and fees in chambers

The rate and amount of the fees received in return for the services provided by the chambers and the documents approved and issued shall be determined by the tariffs to be put into effect upon the proposal of the board of directors of the chamber, provided that they do not exceed the annual fee ceiling in fixed wages, do not exceed this ceiling in proportional wages and not be more than five per thousand. In case the service provided by the chambers is purchased from outside, the cost of the purchased service is added to the price and collected from the person concerned, provided that it does not exceed twice this ceiling.

The services to be provided with the documents to be issued or approved by the chambers are as follows:

1. Confirmation of invoice copies
2. Confirmation of current prices
3. Approval of the qualifications of commercial and industrial goods samples
4. Capacity reports with expert and expert reports
5. Approval and annotations showing the registration status of the signatories written in the suretyship and undertakings in the chambers
6. Industrial and commercial documents
7. Commercial surety approvals
8. Allocation and consumption documents
9. Quality, qualification and sample documents
10. Domestic property documents
11. Confirmation of application signatures of registered members
12. Registration and registration copies and member IDs of the members of the chamber
13. Answers to written or oral questions about the non-confidential records of its members, not in the nature of a commercial reputation certificate
14. Construction machinery registration certificate issued in accordance with Article 22 of the Highway Traffic Law No. 2918
15. TIR Carnets, ATA, A.TR and EUR.1 movement documents, certificates of origin and EAN -UCC line code transactions, declarations, documents and similar documents in international trade of goods and services
16. Force Majeure Documents
17. Copies of the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette
18. General and international sectoral services to be provided to Turkish or foreign flagged vessels
19. Trade registry services
20. All kinds of commercial and industrial documents, information and services

The fees to be collected by the chamber of maritime commerce from Turkish and foreign flagged vessels for service or approval must be paid within fifteen days at the latest after the service or approval.