General information – types of securities, deadlines, other market specifics – Turkey

Types of securities eligible in Clearstream

The eligible securities issued in Turkey are as follows:

• Government bonds (including revenue-indexed bonds);
• Treasury bills;
• Public lease certificates (SUKUKs);
• Gold bonds;
• Gold indexed public lease certificates;
• Liquidity bills;
• Corporate bonds;
• Equities and equity products (including rights and warrants);
• ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), open-end investment funds, investment trusts (closed-end investment funds), hedge funds and money market funds eligible for secondary market settlement in Merkezi Kayıt Kuruluşu (MKK) or Takasbank only.

​​​Account structure

Except for bonds issued by the Turkish governmental authorities or institutions through the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, the nominee concept is not recognised in Turkey, therefore securities must be registered in the name of the final beneficial owner at the CSD with the link to a Tax ID/ National ID Number registered in the Turkish tax offices.

The following accounts will therefore be opened:

Segregated account at BO level

The Segregated accounts at BO level are required for the following types of securities:

• Corporate bonds (including Bonds and bills issued by banks & lease certificates issued by asset leasing companies where the fund users are banks)
• Equities and equity products (including rights, warrants and unit instruments)
• Mutual funds

Omnibus account

For the following Turkish bonds only issued by the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Treasury and Finance through the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), the securities may be held via omnibus account:

• Government bonds
• Treasury Bills
• Public lease certificates (SUKUKs)
• Gold bonds
• Gold indexed public lease certificates
• Liquidity bills

Trading prerequisite

Bonds issued by the Turkish governmental authorities or institutions through the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey

To settle transactions in the above Turkish securities in Clearstream, clients must first provide a One-Time Certificate confirming that the securities, held via the omnibus account are not held on behalf of beneficial owners that are:

• Turkish residents; or
• Individuals (resident and non-residents)

Other securities

In order to settle transactions in other Turkish securities in Clearstream, clients must include the relevant Tax ID or Turkish national ID number of the underlying beneficial owners, in all settlement instructions.

Beneficial owners must consequently request or register a Turkish Tax ID or a Turkish national ID number (Turkish resident individuals) as follows:

• Those who do not have a Turkish Tax ID must request one before executing any trades.
• Those who are Turkish resident individuals must register their existing Turkish national ID number.
• Those who have obtained a Turkish Tax ID from somewhere other than the Clearstream depository and/or who want to transfer it from one Clearstream account to another must register the existing Turkish Tax ID.

Please refer to the Trading prerequisite section for further information.

For detailed settlement instruction requirements, please consult the Market Link Guide - Turkey.

Applicable default withholding and capital gains tax rates

The default rates of withholding and capital gains tax applicable in Clearstream on income and capital gains derived from Turkish securities are as follows:

Debt Securities

Equities 

a. The default tax rate applied depends on the legal status of the beneficial owner at the time of the TIN request and the purchase date.

b. A reduced tax rate may be applied, if a certificate of tax residence is provided on an annual basis.

Holding restrictions

Please refer to the “Holding restriction” section of the Market Profile - Turkey page.

Capital Gains Tax

Please refer to the instrument specific section for details related to capital gains tax.

Stamp Duty

There is no stamp duty withheld through Clearstream on securities held in Clearstream. Stamp duty may however be payable on specific transactions. Clearstream does not provide assistance in this regard. Please consult your tax advisor for further information.

Deadlines for trading pre-requisite and relief at source 

The deadlines for the submission of the documentation for trading pre-requisite and relief at source are as follows:

Bonds issued by the Turkish governmental authorities or institutions through the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey

Other securities

Requesting a new Turkish Tax ID or Turkish national ID number:

Registering an existing Turkish Tax ID or Turkish national ID number:

Relief at source 

The deadlines for the submission of the documentation to obtain relief at source of withholding tax on income distributions on Turkish securities are as follows:

Bonds issued by the Turkish governmental authorities or institutions through the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey

Bonds issued by the Turkish governmental authorities or institutions through the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey are subject to 0% withholding and capital gains tax for all types of eligible beneficial owners and no tax certification is to be provided by the beneficial owners in order to obtain this rate other than the one-time certificate that is to be provided as a “trading-prerequisite”.

Other debt securities

No deadline applies. Automatic relief at source is granted, to eligible beneficial owners, based on the documents provided at the time of the TIN request.

Equities purchased prior January 2006:

Equities purchased on/after January 2006:

Standard refund

Standard refund is not available via Clearstream.