PETROLEUM REGULATIONS
PART
ONE
General
Provisions
Scope
Article
1- The principles relating to the maintenance,
correction, amendment, cancellation of the petroleum
register and records, and to the designation and
announcement of the petroleum districts and open areas; the
transactions relating to the method of application for
acquiring petroleum rights, the documents to be attached to
the petition containing the shapes thereof, the contiguity
of the petroleum areas, the marking of the boundary points,
the appeals from the actions taken with respect to permit,
exploration license, lease, certificate, transfer and
limitation, the awarding of leases through competitive
bidding, the obligations of the petroleum right holder,
taxation, imported economic assets, revenues and transfers
arising from the sale of petroleum, the transactions in
connection with imports and exports and other principles and
procedures relating to the application of the Petroleum Law
are set forth in these Regulations.
Definitions
Article
2- The terms used in these Regulations have the
following meanings:
-
Refinery means installations for the manufacture of
petroleum products from crude petroleum or the
installations used for processing the same, together
with their power plants, machine shops, storage
tanks and similar installations,
-
Pipeline means crude petroleum lines, product lines
or gas lines and the related installations,
exclusive of the gathering lines serving for
gathering of petroleum between producing wells, and
fuel lines serving for the distribution of the fuel
necessary for the petroleum field,
-
Taxation Period means a calendar year or a twelve
month particular period designated, upon request, by
the commencement or abandonment of operations, a
period of activity less than one year,
-
Depletion Allowance means the total of exploration
expenditures, intangible drilling expenses and the
cost of drilling non-economic wells which are
activated by the petroleum right holder by being
charged to the capital account,
-
Minister means the Minister of Energy and Natural
Resources,
-
Law
means the Petroleum Law No. 6326,
-
Deputy
Ministry means the Deputy Ministry of Treasury and
Foreign Trade,
-
General
Directorate means the General Directorate of
Petroleum Affairs,
-
General
Director means The General Director of Petroleum
Affairs.
Ownership
Article 3- The
portion of the oil produced from the license or lease area
remaining after the amount decided by the General
Directorate to be taken as Royalty in kind is considered the
property of the petroleum right holder.
General
Authorities
Article
4- The General Director, obtaining the approval of
Minister also, if necessary,
-
Determines the procedures and principles relating to
permits, exploration licenses, leases and
certificates,
-
Is
responsible for the actions relating to
notifications, announcements and registrations
required by the Law and the Regulations. Determines
which transactions, outside of those, which are
required by the Law and the Regulations to be
published in the Official Gazette, should means of
notification. Collaborating with the proper
authorities, helps in accelerating the transactions
which accelerating the transactions which are
assigned by the Law and the Regulations to other
authorities and administrations,
-
May
take initiatives, when requested by those concerned,
with the other departments for expediting and
finalizing the applications filed with the said
departments for purposes which are related to
petroleum rights or activities, but are beyond the
scope of the authority of the General Directorate,
-
Makes
arrangements to display in detail the form and the
contents of such documents as the applications,
reports, maps, samples, declarations, forms and
their enclosures submitted by the petroleum right
holders and applicants.
-
Serves
notices, in the cases when there is no clear
stipulation in the Law or in these Regulations, in
writing and in accordance with the Law on
Notifications, regarding the requests, warnings,
announcements and decisions which he wants to
transmit to the applicants or to the petroleum right
holders. My determine, in accordance with the nature
of the subject, the suitable amount of time and
require those concerned to observe it, in cases when
no particular time is specified in the Law or in the
Regulations for serving notices.
Authority for Inspection
Article
5- The General Director is authorized to,
personally or through technical, administrative or
Inspection Department personnel whom he shall designate,
inspect or have inspected all transactions of the petroleum
right holder relating to petroleum rights and activities,
audit or have audited the documents and records of incidents
involving petroleum activities, and or to take or have taken
copies of the records, accounts, reports, or other
documents, to request samples, to conduct examinations and
tests.
The inspection
of the operations, samples, documents, records, and reports
shall be carried out during working hours. The petroleum
right holder is obligated to cooperate in all respects with
the functionaries during inspection. In case of request by
those concerned, the inspection personnel shall show their
documents of authorization.
The above
authorities may be exercised by the Minister also, if
necessary.
Authority Relating to Protective Measures
Article
6- The General Director may demand from the
petroleum right holders;
To take more
extensive or new measures if he finds in sufficient the
measures relating to the preservation of the petroleum
resources, prevention of waste, operation of the petroleum
fields, with diligence, safety of the personnel at the site
or damage to the environment,
To take all
precautions to prevent flow of fluids from the well to the
surface or from the surface into the well and from one
formation into another during the drilling, completion,
production and development operations at the wells,
To take more
extensive or new measures if he finds insufficient the
measures for preventing over-production from the wells and
reducing it to an acceptable level.
These
authorities may be exercised by the Minister also, if
necessary.
Representing the Minister
Article
7- In the lawsuits initiated before the Council of
State against the decisions of the Minister the Legal
Advisor of the General Directorate shall represent the
Minister individually or together with those appointed by
the Minister.
PART
TWO
Petroleum Register and Petroleum Districts
SECTION
ONE
Petroleum Register and Registration
The
Petroleum Register
Article
8- The Petroleum Register shall consist of a Main
Register and the plans, projects, along with a book of
Applications and Transactions, which provide the support for
the records to be entered into the Register and a Book of
Permits.
In addition,
petroleum right holders register, register for limitations
imposed on the petroleum rights, a register for corrections
and a daily register shall be kept.
Main
Register
Article
9- The Main Register shall be kept on basis of
plans, projects and documents and shall consist of three
parts covering exploration licenses, leases and
certificates.
The following
shall be recorded in the Main Register:
-
Identity of the right holder,
-
Nature
of the right, manner of acquisition, commencement
date thereof.
-
Petroleum district, province, township within which
the land relating to the right is located, the
surface area and the boundaries thereof,
-
Term of
the right and extensions,
-
Date of
termination of the right and the causes of
termination such as expiry, relinquishment,
cancellation, legal lapsing,
-
Modifications of the right,
-
Other
rights and limitations, imposed on the right, the
types thereof and whose favor they are entered and
the dates,
-
The
transfer of the right, the transferee and the date
of transfer,
-
Installations of the lessee which are annotated in
the lease section and which fall within the scope of
the certificate, recorded in the certificate
section,
-
Special
conditions, if any, entered in the document granting
the right,
-
Surface
rights.
Book of
Applications and Transactions
Article
10- In the Book of Applications and Transactions
shall be recorded: the nature of application filed for the
acquisition of exploration license, lease, certificate and
the petroleum rights arising there from, the identity of the
applicant, the recordation date and the number of the
application in the book of incoming correspondence, actions
taken regarding applications, objections to these actions,
actions taken on the objections and the dates thereof, and
other data as deemed necessary by the General Director.
Book of
Permits
Article
11- In the book of permits the following shall be
recorded: The number given to the permit, the district,
commencement date and the duration, dates of extensions and
expirations, the identity of the legal person as the permit
tee, its had office, the name and address of its
representative, special terms and conditions, along with the
date and number of the application.
Book of
Registration of Petroleum Right Holders
Article
12- The identity of the petroleum right holder,
citizenship, address of the head office, the name and
domicile of its representative in Turkey, the date and the
number of its registration in Turkey shall be recorded in
this Book.
Daily
Book
Article
13- The Daily book consists of two sections : the
book for recording applications and the book of case
numbers.
In the section
of the book for recording applications, the title of the
applicant, the subject of the application, the date and the
number in the book of incoming correspondence, area
designations and the surface areas shall be recorded.
In the section
of the book for the case numbers, the page number of the
book of applications and transactions, the case number,
district and area designation, the subject of the
application, the date and the surface area shall be
recorded.
Register of Limitations
Article
14- In the register of limitations, the nature and
the owner of the petroleum right on which limitation is
imposed, the nature and the duration of the limitation, the
person in whose favor and by the order of which authority
the limitation is imposed shall be recorded.
Register for Corrections
Article
15- In the register of corrections, in which
register and item number under which the correction has been
made, the nature, the reason and the date of correction
shall be recorded.
Method
of Recording in the Petroleum Register and Corrections
Article
16- All entries in the petroleum register shall be
carefully printed in black China ink. Scrapings, erasures
and marginal notes are not allowed.
If the entry is
erroneously recorded in a section of the Petroleum Register
and the Registrar detects it at the moment of recording or
if the correction to be made does not effect the nature and
the value of the right, he shall make the corrections
himself.
In case the
terror is detected after interested parties or the third
persons have learned about it, the Registrar shall notify
the concerned parties and ask for their written consent for
correction. If all parties approve, he shall make the
correction. In the event that one of the parties does not
approve, he shall ask the General Director to establish a
commission and the action shall be taken in accordance with
the decision of the commission.
The corrections
shall be made by crossing out legibly with red ink and
re-writing in the same column of the page. Scrapings,
erasures, marginal notes, between-lines insertions or
footnotes are not allowed. If the correction is based on a
written document, this document shall be preserved in the
file related to the right.
Modification and Deletion of the Entries
Article
17- Modification and deletion of the entries in the
Register shall be made with the approval of the General
Director. Cancellation of the limitations imposed on the
petroleum rights for specific periods shall be made, upon
expiration of that period, by the registrar in charge of
keeping the petroleum register. The document that
constitutes the basis of such deletion and modification
shall be preserved in the file of the right.
Modification of
an entry in the register shall be made by crossing-out
legibly with red ink and writing the new status in the same
section of the page. The date of the modification and the
number of the supporting document shall also be recorded.
Deletion of an
entry shall be made by crossing-out legibly with red ink,
showing the date of deletion and the number of the
supporting document, noting the reason of deletion in the
same section of the page and having it signed by the
registrar in charge of keeping the petroleum register.
Validity of the Petroleum Register
Article
18- The entries into the petroleum register shall
be considered valid unless there is proof to the contrary.
Public
Access to the Petroleum Register
Article
19- The books of petroleum registry shall be open
to the scrutiny of the public within working hours.
Duties
of the Registrar
Article
20- The petroleum registrar shall perform the
following duties in accordance with the instructions he
receives from the General Director:
-
Maintains the petroleum register. Is responsible for
accuracy and completeness of the records,
-
Enters
into the Daily book the date and the number assigned
by the incoming correspondence section to the
applications relating to petroleum rights as well as
the filing number in the book,
-
Assigns
case numbers to the files relating to petroleum
rights and records these in proper places,
-
Keeps
the personal Registers in accordance with Article 39
of the Law,
-
Serves
notices, publishing same in the Official Gazette, if
necessary.
-
Is
responsible for the recording, registering and
notifying of concerned parties regarding other
matters as specified by the General Director,
-
Examines the conformity to the Regulations of the
applications and the enclosures thereto relating to
petroleum rights which are filed with the office in
charge of keeping the petroleum register,
-
Prepares the documents of the permits, exploration
licenses and leases, and certificates,
-
Ensures
the execution of the title-deed registration
formalities by the petroleum right holders as
stipulated in article 21 of the Regulations,
-
Informs
the Ministry of Industries and Commerce about the
petroleum right holders, which are expatriate
companies.
Registration in the Land Register as Relating to Refineries
and Pipe Lines
Article
21- According to the second sub-article of Article
37 of the Law, a notation shall be entered and registered in
the records, at the land registration office, of the land on
which the refinery and the pipelines have been erected, on
basis of the documents submitted by the right-holder, to the
effect that “such lands may not be subjected to any
disposition without the permission of the General
Directorate” and the document evidencing that such a
notation has been made shall be given by the petroleum right
holder to the General Directorate.
Surface
Right on Treasury-Owned Lands Belonging to Individuals
Article
22- In order to establish surface lease on the
land, which is owned by or is under the jurisdiction of the
Treasury, the petroleum right holder shall apply to the
General Directorate with the existing or newly made
cadastral map of the land subject to use. The General
Directorate, with the approval of Ministry of Finance and
customs, shall record the surface right in the exploration
license, lease or certificate.
To establish
surface right on land owned by individuals, the existing or
newly made cadastral map of the land to be leased, together
with a certified copy of agreement executed with the owner
of the land, shall be submitted to the General Directorate
and recorded in the petroleum register.
Items,
which are Mandatory to be recorded on the Licenses, Leases
and Certificates
Article
23- Extensions, additions to the areas and
transfers thereof, limitations, modifications of the rights
and other transactions shall be recorded on the permits,
exploration licenses, leases and the certificates.
Case Numbers
Article
24- A case number is assigned to the applications,
filed and recorded in the proper book of registration, for
permit, exploration license, lease and certificate and for
acquiring one or more petroleum rights arising there from.
The case number indicates the kind of the right, the owner
thereof and the sequence of the documents. The General
Directorate shall ensure the sequence numbers remain
unchanged and shall determine the manner of recording them.
Source
File
Article
25- If the applicant contemplates to refer, in
connection with another transaction later, to the
information in the file of its application, it must submit
an additional copy of the application documents, with the
exception of the maps of license areas. This copy, shall be
given together with the first application, is called the
source file. This file shall contain all the information
stipulated by Article 29 of the Regulations.
All information
in the source files and referred to in the subsequent
application shall be kept, at all times, current by
recording the changes made by the applicant. Applicant must
inform the General Directorate of the changes made by the
applicant. Applicant must inform the General Directorate of
the changes within 30 days following their occurrence. The
documents showing the changes shall be prepared in the same
manner as in their original form.
On applications
filed by making reference to the changes not reported by the
applicant within 30 days, action shall be taken in
accordance with Article 15 of the Law.
In connection
with the information in the source file to which reference
is made in the subsequent applications, the applicant shall
enter clarification by stating in the application: “We
declare that, on the day we submit this application, all
information which is stipulated by Article 29 of the
Regulations and to which we refer is current in our source
file
dated...............................................................”
SECTION
TWO
Petroleum Districts and Open Areas
Districts and Open Areas
Article
26- In designating the districts in accordance with
Article 45 of the Law, national security and, so far as
possible, geological structures and common geological
characteristics shall be taken into consideration. Other
than areas decided to be offered for competitive bidding in
accordance with article 64 of the Law or closed by the
decision of the Council of Ministers for reasons of national
security, all parts of turkey may be declared open areas. In
awarding offshore licenses or leases beyond the territorial
waters, the rules regarding the number of licenses, areas to
be covered, the durations and the obligations shall be
designated by the Council of Ministers. For the cases not
determined clearly by the Council of Ministers, the
provisions of the Law and the Regulations relating to the
territorial waters shall be applied. The licenses and leases
granted beyond the territorial waters shall be considered
being beyond of the existing petroleum districts.
The decisions
pertaining to the designation of a district, modification
thereof or re-arrangement of district separation, opening of
a district partially or totally or modification of the
boundaries of an open area, closing it partially or wholly
shall take effect on the date they are published in the
Official Gazette. These decisions do not alter the acquired
rights.
Announcement in the Official Gazette
Article
27- Apart from those stated in Article 38 of the
Law, the following also shall be published in the Official
Gazette.
-
The
subject, location an d the date of examination and
investigations which the Minister or the General
Director considers it necessary that they be
conducted openly,
-
The
nature and the dates of the applications relating to
the exploration licenses and the leases,
certificates, surface rights, expropriation of the
land, additions to the areas of exploration licenses
and leases and to the partial relinquishment of
those areas,
-
The
nature and the dates of applications relating to
requests for the relinquishment and for the
extension of exploration licenses, leases and
certificates,
-
The
matters relating to the Lease areas to be offered
for competitive bidding and to the appeals,
-
Other
matters which the Genera Director considers suitable
for publishing.
PART
TWO
Method
of Applying for Acquisition of Petroleum Right
SECTION
ONE
Applications and Attachments thereto
Documents
Article
28- The documents accompanying the applications
filed with the General Directorate shall conform to the
designated forms and shall be submitted in duplicates. If
there are documents among the filings, executed in foreign
languages, their notarized Turkish translations must also be
enclosed.
Initial
Application
Article
29- For the acquisition of a right envisioned under
the Law an application shall be filed with the General
Directorate. The nature of the application and the article,
sub-article and paragraph on which it is based shall be
specified in the application and the applications shall be
signed by the applicant.
Documents to be
attached to the application are cited below:
The date of
termination of the agreement and the completion of the
operation shall be reported to the General Directorate 15
days in advance.
The petroleum
right holder desiring a contractor of Turkish citizenship to
conduct one of the operations shall not be required to
furnish the documents in sub-article (D)
Reports
Article 63 –
petroleum right holders shall submit the following to the
General Directorate in duplicates:
-
Monthly
an annual reports relating to geological studies and
exploration conducted by the permit tee or the
license,
-
Monthly
and annual reports to be given by the licensee
following discovery, containing the information
covered by the monthly and annual reports to be
given by the lessee in accordance with sub-articles
(D) and (E) of the present Article.
-
Final
report to be given by the licensee at the surrender
or expiration of the term, covering surveys
conducted within the exploration license which has
expired because of, relinquishment or expiration of
its term rather than the granting of lease, or
investigations conducted beyond his area for the
purpose of contributing to this area, along with the
nature, locations, scope and the results of all
exploration activities conducted within the license
area,
-
Monthly
report containing the information on the crude
petroleum produced from the lease, stored on the
surface or underground on or in the vicinity of the
lease at the beginning and at the end of the monthly
period, used in operations in the lease area,
injected under or without pressure into the
reservoir for the purpose or quicker and more
efficient, hence more prolific, recovery, re-drawn
fro the reservoir, sold, documenting the sales price
per unit, lost, not entered into the accounting
books, as well as the amount of gas evaporated and
the analyses of the samples of all the crude
petroleum, gas and water produced,
-
Annual
report showing the shut-in wellhead pressure and the
bottom hole pressure of each producing well at the
beginning and at the end of the year, gas/oil and
oil/water ratios at the end of the year, the amount
of water showing in or produced with the gas from
each gas well at the end of the year and the effect
of this water on the performance of the well as at
year’s end, the results of flow, back pressure and
other tests made during the year and, the nature of
the permanent or temporary installations set up
during the year,
-
Partial
relinquishment report for the relinquished parts of
the exploration licenses and leases showing the
nature, scope and results of exploration and
development conducted in these areas prior to
relinquishment (if the license requests, under
Article 90 of the Petroleum Law, to add the
relinquished part to an adjacent exploration license
which it owns, it shall inform the General
Directorate regarding this request within 4 days
following the relinquishment and, if the request is
granted, it may not be required to submit the
partial relinquishment report. If the request is
rejected, it shall submit the partial relinquishment
report within 30 days from the day it has been
notified of such decision.
-
Well
completion report to be given in within 60 days
after the completion of the well, whether productive
or not, drilled for the purpose of petroleum
exploration, showing the final depth, records of
coring, casing, cementing, and similar drillers
records
-
Supplementary report to be given within 15 days
following the completion of the operations,
containing the operations logs which should have
been included in the well completion report but were
delayed due to studies and preparation, and
information covering plug-back and completion
operations which were not yet finalized at the time
of filing of the well completion report,
-
Report
to be given prior to start of construction and
containing the information, as stipulated in
sub-articles D,E,F and G of Article 30 of the
Regulations, which must be included with the
applications requesting the approval of a project of
a planned operation which is subject to certificate
or approval of the modifications thereof, the
project itself and the written description thereof,
as well as all the information which must be
submitted with the certificate application,
-
Report
to be given within 30 days following the completion
of the execution of a project covered by the
certificate, regarding the completion of the
construction,
-
Annual
report to be given within 30 days, covering the
maximum daily, and the total yearly amount of the
petroleum processed in installations subject to
certificate, details of the funds paid for petroleum
and received from the sale of products and average
prices,
-
Annual
report for each calendar year, covering the duration
of employment during the year of each of the
expatriate personnel employed in Turkey, their
duties, the date and the number of the work permits;
and as regarding the Turkish personnel who were sent
for education and training under Article 120 of the
Law, on what date each was sent to where, for what
length of period and the institution attended, the
operation studied, the nature of education or
training undertaken and the expenses incurred,
-
Report
which must be given prior to the modifications
envisaged to be made in the installations registered
in the petroleum register.
Monthly reports
shall be submitted within 15 days from the end of the month
which they cover.
The reports
cited above shall be signed by the person authorized to act
and sign on behalf of the legal person submitting the
report.
Samples
Article 64 –
All samples of petroleum, drill cuttings, cores and
vertically cut portions thereof, tapes of geophysics or
similar methods, and other data shall be kept in Turkey,
ready for inspection and examination. However, the General
Directorate may grant permission for sending them abroad
temporarily for the purpose of analysis and examination, on
condition that a copy of the analysis and examination, on
condition that a copy analysis and examination. However, the
General Directorate may grant permission for sending them
abroad temporarily for the purpose of analysis and
examination reports is submitted.
Stored and
preserved samples, cuttings, and cores shall be marked by
attaching labels on which the well numbers, depths and other
necessary data shall be written.
SECTION TWO
Employment of
Expatriate Personnel and Training of Turkish Citizens
Bringing
expatriate personnel
Article 65 – In
bringing to Turkey expatriate personnel whom the petroleum
right holder wishes to employ in petroleum operations, the
principles of the protocol agreement prepared together with
the agencies concerned shall be applied.
Obligation for
Educating and Training
Article 66 –
The holder of lease or certificate rights shall provide
education and training at its expense, Turkish citizens in
the ratio of 25 % of the number of expatriate personnel it
has employed, directly or through its contractor, during the
previous calendar year. The localities, within the country
or abroad, where the training and education shall be
conducted, duration thereof, and the selection of the
candidates shall be determined jointly by the petroleum
right holder and the General Directorate.
The
The number of
the expatriate personnel employed during a given year shall
be multiplied by the number of months they worked, and
divided by 12. The figure thus obtained signifies the number
of expatriates employed during that year. In this
calculation the personnel who worked less than two months
shall not taken into account.
By decreasing
the number of Turkish citizens to be sent abroad, in
proportion to the expatriate personnel who have worked
during a given year, the duration of training and education
that they will undergo may be extended in the same
proportion.
Recalling Of
Trainees and Students
Article 67 –
The students and trainees whose work abroad is not found
satisfactory by the General Directorate or the petroleum
right holder shall be recalled upon the proposal, with
justification thereof, of the petroleum right holder and the
approval of the General Directorate.
The procedures
and the principles regarding the fulfillments of the
remainder of petroleum right holder shall be further decided
between the General Directorate and the petroleum right
holder.
SECTION THREE
Guarantees
Guarantees and
Amounts
Article 68 –
Applicant is obliged to deposit a guarantee, determined by
the General Directorate, to meet the losses and damages
which may occur during the course of operations and the
payments it may have to make under the Law. The guarantee
shall be proportional to the right requested or with the
responsibility which may arise therefrom.
This guarantee
shall be in an amount not exceeding:
For permits,
four million Turkish Liras for or more permits, irrespective
of the number of licenses,
For leases,
eighty liras per hectare or 40 million liras for the lease
holder, irrespective of the number of leases,
So far as
certificates are concerned, based on the estimated cost of
installation cited in the proposal or request, or considered
suitable by the General Directorate:
-
For
crude oil or product pipelines and storage
installations, in the ratio of five per thousand
(0.5 %)
-
For the
gas lines and storage installations, in the ratio of
one percent (1%)
-
For the
process unit installations in the refineries, in the
ratio of one percent (1%)
-
For the
other installations covered by certificate, in the
ratio of five per thousand (0.5%)
shall be
collected.
A person
conducting various operations on basis of permit,
exploration license, lease and certificate may deposit a
single guarantee in the amount of 60 million liras to cover
all of these rights and to meet the requirements cited in
the sub-articles above. In such case, the petroleum right
holder shall not be required to deposit another guarantee
for the rights which it will be acquired subsequently.
From the
petroleum right holders which are public establishments, one
quarter (1/4) of the guarantees in the paragraph above shall
be collected.
If the damage
to arise from an operation or the financial obligations to
be fulfilled toward the State is found to be higher than
estimated, the right holder may be requested, with the
approval of the Minister, to increase the guarantee he has
previously given, provided that the increase is not
characterized as punitive and that it does not reach
excessive amounts.
Compensation of
Damage through Guarantee
Article 69 - In
case of damage to third parties or to the properties
thereof, a court ruling shall be required in order to meet
the damage through the guarantee placed at the disposal of
the General Directorate.
Form and Time
of Deposition of the Guarantee
Article 70 – A)
One of the following, as seen suitable by the General
Director, shall be accepted as guarantee:
-
Cash
-
Performance bonds to be given by the banks
acceptable to the Government,
-
Treasury bonds or other bills issued under the
guaranty of the Treasury,
-
Other
assets which may readily be converted into cash when
desired,
B) An
additional 90 days time shall be allowed to the petroleum
right holder who does not comply with the stipulations of
the notification, within a period of not less than 30 days,
specified by the Minister for the purpose of the
modification or augmentation of the guaranty at an
acceptable rate. Notification shall also be given that the
permit, exploration license, lease and certificate owned
shall be invalidated if the request is not complied with
during this additional time either.
C) In case of
invalidation, cancellation, relinquishment, total transfer
or expiration of the petroleum right, 10 % of the guarantee
shall be retained and the remainder shall be returned to the
right holder immediately following the announcement of such
cases in the Official Gazette. Depending on the character of
the operation, the proportion of the operation to be
retained may be increased or decreased by the General
Directorate with the approval of Minister.
The guarantee
retained shall be returned one year after the announcement
has been made.
Unless the
petroleum right holder submits sufficient information and
reports relating to the activities it has conducted, the
guarantee shall not be returned.
The sums
stipulated in the court rulings given prior to or within one
year following the announcement, on claims filed against the
petroleum right holder in connection with operations, as
well as the unpaid royalties and rentals, shall be deducted
from the guarantee to be returned.
SECTION FOUR
Period Covered
Article 71-
Rentals shall be assessed on the total of the exploration
license or lease areas in accordance with taxation periods.
Emergence and
Expiry of the Rentals
Article 72-
Rentals shall be paid from the date of acquisition of
exploration license or lease until the date of expiration or
the relinquishment thereof for whatever reason.
Limited Rental
Article 73- In
case any taxation period for a petroleum right holder does
not cover one full year, the rental to be collected on the
exploration license or lease area shall be calculated on
basis of the number of days covered.
Should the date
of granting of the license or lease not coincide with the
beginning of the holders taxation period, the rental payable
for the license or lease area for such period shall be
assessed in proportion to the ratio obtained by dividing the
number of days between the date of the granting of the
license or lease and the end of the taxation period by the
three hundred and sixty five.
Should the date
of expiration or relinquishment, for whatever reason, of the
license or lease not coincide with the end of the taxation
period, the rental payable for license or lease area for
such period shall be assessed in proportion to the ratio
obtained by dividing the number of days between the
beginning of the taxation period and date of expiration or
relinquishment of the license or lease by the three hundred
and sixty five.
Deductions from
the rentals
Article 74- The
expenditures undertaken by the licensee for geological
investigations within its area or outside thereof, for
determining petroleum prospects of its license area, shall
be deducted from the total of the rental payable fort he
period. The amount to be deducted may not exceed 50% of the
rental.
Rental
Declaration
Article 75- The
holder of petroleum right shall file with the General
Directorate, within two months following the taxation
period, the rental declaration showing the license or lease
areas on which it hold rights, the beginning and expiration
dates of the licensee or lease rights pertaining to these
areas, surface areas thereof, total of expenditures
undertaken during the period which are deducted under
Article 74 of the Regulations and other information relating
thereto. The form of this declaration shall be determined
jointly by the Ministry of Finance and Customs and the
General Directorate. Fort he deductions from the rental, a
certified list, which will be taken as the basis for audit,
showing the details of the exploration expenditures actually
made shall be attached to the rental declaration.
Supplementary
Rental Assessment
Article 76 –
Following the assessment of the rental on basis of
declaration, supplementary rental shall be assessed by the
General Directorate on the differences determined on basis
of material evidence or legal criteria. Upon being notified
of the assessment, those concerned may appeal to the
Minister, this appeal suspends the collection of the amount
subject to dispute.
Voucher for
Rental Assessment
Article 77 – A)
Upon filing of the rental declaration with the General
Directorate, a rental assessment voucher shall be prepared.
A copy of this voucher shall be given to the petroleum right
holder or to the person who submits the declaration to the
General Directorate on its behalf and the rental shall thus
be assessed and levied. The copy of the rental assessment
given to the petroleum right holder shall also serve as
receipt for the declaration.
B) The
following information shall be included in the rental
assessment.
1. Sequence
number of the voucher
2. Date thereof
3. Date of
rental declaration
4. Taxation
period to which the declaration relates
5. Declaration
Number
6. Name of the
petroleum right holder
7. Address of
the petroleum right holder
8. Rental
assessed
9. Total of
deductions
10. Rental
payable
11. Provisions
relating to the appeals
12. Other
information
C) Failure to
receive the rental assessment voucher shall not preclude the
assessment of the rental indicated in the declaration. In
case the rental declaration is sent by mail or the rental
assessment voucher is not collected by the right holder in
person, the copy of the voucher to be given to the petroleum
right holder shall be sent to the address given by the right
holder in the rental declaration. The date and the number
recorded in the postal registration book shall be recorded
on the copy of the voucher retained by the General
Directorate.
Manner and Time
of Payment of the Rental
Article 78 –
The rental shall be paid in one lump, within the two-month
period for filing the declaration, to the tax office
designated in the locality where the General Directorate is
situated or to the tax office, in the same locality to which
the right holder is attached.
Method of
Collecting Rentals
Article 79 – In
the collection of rentals the “Law on the Procedure for
Collection of Public Claims” shall be applied.
Appeals and
Suits
Article 80 –
For the disputes arising in connection with rentals, appeals
shall be made to the Minister. If the Minister finds the
appeal justified, he shall have the action corrected. Appeal
may be made to the Council of State against the decision of
the Minister.
SECTION FIVE
Royalty
Petroleum
Subject to Royalty Payment
Article 81 –
Royalty at the rate of one eight shall be collected on the
petroleum produced and stored by the petroleum right holder.
No royalty
shall be collected from the petroleum right holder on the
petroleum injected into the reservoir for the purpose of
improving recovery, and which is recovered but, of
necessity, released into the air through vaporization, or
flared during the exploration, development and production
operations in the license or lease area, or from the
petroleum having no sales potential in the economic sense.
Petroleum right
holder must take the precautions, current in the petroleum
industry, for diligent and most efficient exploitation of
the natural resources of the State. Royalty shall be
collected from the petroleum lost because of failure to take
these precautions.
Methods f
Measurement
Article 82 –
Measurement of petroleum subject to royalty shall be made in
accordance with established petroleum industry practices and
shall be expressed in petroleum units defined in Article 3
of the Law.
If the
petroleum subject to royalty has not been or cannot be
measured for reasons beyond the control of the right holder
as approved by the General Directorate, the quantity shall
be estimated on the basis of pressure decline, production
decline, or oil-gas-water equilibrium or one of the other
sound and acceptable methods or combination of such methods.
Collection Of
Royalty Ones Only
Article 83 –
Once the royalty is paid, no royalty shall be payable on the
petroleum which the holder of petroleum right has injected
into another reservoir in the exploration license or area
and re-produced there from.
Period of Royalty Assessment
Article 84 –
The assessment period for royalty is one month. Royalty
shall be assessed for each license or lease area separately.
The assessment period may be extended by the Ministry of
Finance and Customs and the General Directorate for a period
not exceeding three months, provided that it applies to all
licensees and lessees.
Calculation of
Royalty
Article 85 –
The amount of royalty to be assessed shall be calculated by
multiplying the total of the units of each type of petroleum
produced and stored during the assessment period from the
license or lease area by the well head prices at the time of
production, adding from the results for each type of
petroleum and taking one eighth of this total.
Royalty
Declaration
Article 86 –
Licenses and lessees must submit to the General Directorate,
within the first fifteen days of the month following the
assessment period, the royalty declaration containing the
amounts with respect to the type and category of petroleum
produced and stored during the period of assessment, the
well head price, the amount of royalty payable thereon and
other information. The form of the declaration shall be
determined jointly by the Ministry of Finance and Customs
and the General Directorate.
Royalty
Assessment Voucher
Article 87 –
Upon filing by the petroleum right holder, of the royalty
declaration to the General Directorate, a royalty assessment
voucher shall be prepared.
A copy of the
voucher shall be delivered to the petroleum right holder or
to the person filing the declaration with the General
Directorate on its behalf and the royalty shall be assessed
and levied.
The provisions
of the Regulations relating to the rental assessment voucher
and to the supplementary rental assessment shall also be
applied, with due consideration of the special futures of
the royalty, for the royalty assessment voucher and for the
supplementary royalty assessment.
Payment of
Royalty
Article 88 –
Royalty that the right holder is not notified to pay in kind
shall be paid in cash.
Method of
Collection of the Royalty
Article 89 – In
the collection of the royalty, the provisions of the “Law on
the Procedure of Collection of Public Claims” shall be
applied.
Appeals and
Suit
Article 90 –
The appeals relating to the disputes arising from royalties
shall be made to the Minister. If the Minister finds the
appeal justified, he shall have the action corrected.
Against the decision of the Minister appeal may be made to
the Council of State.
Collection of
Royalty in Kind
Article 91 –
The General Directorate may collect all or a portion of the
royalty in kind for one, several or all of the assessment
periods and may also collect it part in kind and part in
cash, on basis of the types and categories of petroleum
subject to royalty. However, the royalty, which the producer
of petroleum is, required to pay in kind on basis of type
and category of the petroleum produced from a license or
lease area during any one period shall not exceed one eighth
of that type and category.
Duration of
Free Storage
Article 92 –
Liquid petroleum to be delivered to the credit of the
Government in the producer’s tankage shall be stored in
these tanks free of charge for a period of 30 days. For
petroleum stored longer than this period, the producer may
demand a charge or requests removal or use it or its own
purposes by paying the wellhead price. The 30-day period for
free storage shall commence from the date of receipt by the
General Directorate of the notice from the Petroleum right
holder that the petroleum is available for the delivery.
Time of Payment
of Royalty in Kind
Article 93 –
The royalty to be paid in kind shall be paid following the
completion of the assessment longer than one month has been
approved, the General Directorate may, on his own or by
agreement with the producer, also request the delivery to be
made during the assessment period and credited to the
royalty which will be assessed for that period.
Form and Time
of Payment of Royalty in Cash
Article 94 –
The royalty shall be paid, within the period of two months
(*) allowed for filing declaration, in one lump to the tax
office designated at the locality where the General
Directorate is situated or to the tax office, in the same
locality, to which the petroleum right holder is attached. A
copy of the receipt evidencing the payment shall be given to
the General Directorate.
(*) Deleted as;
reportedly, erroneous. The General Directorate has initiated
procedure for formal correction.
PART FIVE
Taxation
SECTION ONE
General
Principles
Applicable
Provisions
Article 95 –
Provided that the provisions of the Law relating to taxation
are reserved, the provisions of the Income Tax and
Corporation Tax Laws and other Laws relating to taxes,
duties and fees, the Tax Procedure Law and the Law on the
Procedure for Collecting Public Claims, attachments and
modifications thereof shall also be applied to the petroleum
right holders.
Differentiation
of Operations
Article 96 –
Provisions of Regulations relating to taxation shall be
applied only to the transactions of the petroleum right
holder relating to the operations and consequences thereof.
General provisions shall be applied to activities of the
petroleum right holder, which remain outside of its
operations.
If the
petroleum right holder is conducting the operations together
with the activities, which are outside thereof, the holder
must allocate separate capital for the operations, must
maintain separate records of accounting thereof and file
separate tax returns.
Unification of
Operations
Article 97 – In
case of two or more producers combining, with the approval
of the General Directorate, their operations, they shall be
separately subject to taxation as if they are conducting
operations independently and in their own name and behalf.
Accounting
Liberty
Article 98- The
provisions of the Law and of the Regulations relating to
taxation, together with tax laws and the “Tax Procedure
Law”, shall be applied in only the determination of the
financial income of the petroleum right holder and the
calculation of the taxes payable on such income. They shall
not constitute the basis for entries to be made into the
legal accounting books. Provided that the records and the
accounts are not in contrast with the provisions of the “Tax
Procedure Law” and comply with sub-article two of Article 96
of the Regulations, they may be freely arranged in the
preferred manner and method in accordance with the character
of business. However, if there is a difference between the
income recorded in the legal books and the financial income
taken as base for calculation of the tax, the difference
shall be reported to the tax office by means of a list
attached to the tax return.
SECTION TWO
Taxes to be
Levied on Incomes
Taxation of the
Incomes Arising from Operations
Article 99 –
Incomes realized from the operations are subject to
Corporation Tax. The petroleum right holder shall, further,
be obliged to withhold and declare the taxes stipulated by
the Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law.
In determining
the Corporation Tax to be paid and the income and
Corporation Taxes to be withheld, the principles in Articles
100 to 103 of these Regulations shall be observed.
Calculation of
Net Income
Article 100 –
Net income subject to taxation shall be calculated in
accordance with the “Corporation Tax Law”, taking also
account the deductions under Article 97 of the Law and the
principles set forth in these Regulations.
Rate of Tax
Article 101 –
The Corporation Tax shall be calculated by applying the tax
rate stipulated in the Corporation Tax Law to the net income
established in accordance with Article 100.
In the
withholding of the tax stipulated in the Income Tax Law
number 193 and the Corporation Tax Law Number 5422, the
relevant provisions of these Laws shall be applied.
Limitation of
Liability
Article 102 –
The sum, which the petroleum right holder is obliged to pay,
of the corporation tax and the tax to be withheld under the
Income and Corporation Tax Laws shall not exceed 55 % of the
net income established in accordance with Article 100 of the
Regulations.
Deductions from
the Amount of Tax
Article 103 –
Should the total of the taxes calculated in accordance with
Article 101 of the Regulations exceed the limit of
liability, deductions equal to the excess amount shall be
made in the following sequence:
A) The amount
of tax in excess of the limit shall first be deducted from
the tax to be withheld under the Income and Corporation Tax
Laws.
B) In case the
income and corporation taxes to be withheld do not offset
the deduction to be made, the remaining amount shall be
deducted from the corporation tax established on basis of
the net income under Article 100 or these Regulations.
In case a
deduction is made, a table showing the manner of calculation
of the amount of tax to be paid under the Petroleum Law
shall further be attached to the relevant tax return to be
filed by the petroleum right holder.
SECTION THREE
Deductions and
Valuation
General
Principles Regarding Deductions
Article 104 –
Petroleum right holder may deduct from its gross income the
expenses allowed under the Petroleum Law and the Income and
Corporation Tax Laws, provided that such expenses are
related to the taxation period and have been incurred.
The amounts to
be set aside from the expenses charged to the capital
account at the rate jointly determined by the Ministry of
Finance and Customs and the General Directorate under the
Tax Procedure Law, the Petroleum Law and the Regulations, as
well as, those optional expenditures which the petroleum
right holder elected to deduct as expense, on basis of its
optional right under the Law, shall be accepted as
deductions accrued during the period of taxation.
Rental to be
Entered as Expense
Article 105 –
Rental to be entered as expense during a taxation period
under Article 77 of the Regulations after having made the
deductions described in Article 74 of the Regulations for
such period.
Residual Values
to be Entered as Expense in Case of Transfer or Abandonment
Article 106 –
Deduction, as expense, of the unrecovered remainder of the
economic asset abandoned because of the expiration of the
exploration license and other petroleum rights held by the
petroleum rights held by the petroleum right holder is
conditional to the abandonment being final.
In case of
transfer of the economic asset to others, the petroleum
right holder may enter as expense the unrecovered residual
value on condition that the total value of the transfer is
entered as income.
Depletion
Allowance
Article 107 –
Depletion allowance consists of the sum of the exploration
expenses, intangible drilling costs and the cost of drilling
wells which are not commercial producers, activated by the
petroleum right holder by charging to the capital account.
Depletion
allowance, for each license area and individual lease area,
shall be written off separately at rates to be specified by
the Ministry of Finance and Customs and the General
Directorate. From the amount thus established, shall be
deducted the cost and the value of the portion of the area
assigned for a purpose other than petroleum production, as
well as, the residual value to the petroleum right holder,
of the area on the date of termination of the operation.
Expenditures
the Capitalization of which is Optional
Article 108 –
Under the Law, expenditures which the petroleum right holder
is free to enter as expense or to capitalize consisting of
exploration expenses, intangible drilling expenses and the
cost of drilling uneconomical wells constitute the expenses
the capitalization of which is optional.
Whether these
expenses are made directly by the petroleum right holder or,
by others on its behalf as per an agreement shall not affect
the use of the optional right.
Exercising of
the Option
Article 109 –
The petroleum right holder shall exercise the option,
granted under the Law, as to whether the exploration costs,
intangible drilling costs and the costs of non-economical
wells, shall be capitalized or shown as expense, for the
whole of the expense groups defined in the Law and the
Regulations and described above, and separately for each
license area, at the time of filing the tax return relating
to the first taxation period during which those expenses
incurred.
If these
expenses are not entered as expenses in the taxation period
during which they are incurred, they shall be considered as
having been capitalized.
Exploration
Expenses
Article 110 –
Excepting the expenditures for the materials and
installations with a useful life of more than one year and
for general administrative expenses, all expenses which are
incurred in the search of petroleum-bearing tracts and
defining the extension thereof are exploration expenses.
Other expenditures incurred in connection with studies and
surveys of preliminary nature and with the geological and
geophysical operations shall be deemed as exploration
expenses.
Intangible
Drilling Costs
Article 111 -
The costs incurred for all labor, fuel, repairs,
maintenance, transportation, materials and supplies for
drilling, cleaning, deepening, and completion of the wells
or in preparation for operations or in connection therewith
other than the cost of the materials and installations with
a useful life of more one year but which are not installed
or used, or are still useful one year after installation or
the beginning of use, or having a scrap value, are
intangible drilling costs.
All costs of
labor, fuel, repairs, transportation and supplies and the
like which are incurred in the preparation stage preceding
the drilling of wells, in clearing and leveling the land,
providing water, building roads, survey of the land,
geological measurements, and in erection of drilling rigs
necessary for drilling or preparing the wells to produce
petroleum or gas, or in the construction of tankage, shall
be considered intangible drilling costs.
Costs of
Drilling Non-economical Wells
Article 112 –
Drilling costs of the non-economical wells consist of
intangible drilling costs, other than drilling tools and
similar equipment, and the expenditures for any tangible or
economic value used in or required for the drilling of
non-economical wells.
Expenditures
not Electively Chargeable to Capital Account
Article 113 –
Although incurred in the form of exploration or intangible
drilling costs the expenditures, which shall not be accepted
as expense selective for capitalization, are shown below:
A) The cost of materials and installations which have a
useful life of more than one year and general administrative
expenses,
B) The cost
materials and installations which have a useful life of
longer than one year but which have not been installed or
used or which are still useful one year after installation
or after the beginning of use or, having a scrap value.
The materials
used in petroleum wells or in the construction work done in
the petroleum field, and the drilling equipment, the
gathering and production piping and casing, tanks, motors,
boilers, machinery and the like shall not be considered as
expenses electively chargeable to capital amount.
The cost of
labor, fuel, repairs, maintenance, transportation, supplies
and materials relating to the equipment, utilities,
construction and installations used for treating the
petroleum and the gas but not used in or required for
drilling of wells shall not be accepted as expenses
electively chargeable to capital account.
Values Subject
to Depreciation
Article 114 –
Outside of the exploration expenses, intangible-drilling
costs and the expenses incurred in drilling non-economical
wells, which have been capitalized by the petroleum right
holder, the cost of the economic values and the expenses
relating to the acquisition of those values and the erection
of installations thereon shall be written off through
depreciation.
In the
allocation of depreciation for these expenses, the rates in
the depreciation tables prepared and announced by the
Ministry of Finance and Customs in accordance with the
provisions of the Tax Procedure Law, No.213, shall be
applied.
Economic values
to be written of through depreciation are indicated below:
A) Buildings,
equipment, machinery and other physical assets with useful
economic lives exceeding one year,
B) Intangible
rights and assets such as patents, trade marks, rights
arising from agreements, capitalized expenses incurred for
initial establishment and organizations, service fees,
C) Costs of
surface leases exceeding one year (the land is not subject
to depreciation).
Valuation of
Economic Assets
Article 115 –
Economic assets of the petroleum right holder companies
shall be evaluated in accordance with the provisions of the
Tax Procedure Law relating to valuation. Capitalized
exploration expenses, intangible drilling costs and the cost
of drilling uneconomic wells shall be evaluated on basis of
the values as recorded.
Such values may not exceed the actual expenses made for
these purposes.
PART SIX
Imported
Economic Assets, Proceeds from the Sale of Petroleum and
Transfers
SECTION ONE
Imported
Economic Assets
Imported
Capital and the Determination of the Values Imported
Economic Assets
Article 116 –
In order to provide for the determination of the kinds and
the rates of exchange of the kinds and the rates of exchange
of foreign currency for the assets to be transferred abroad
under sub-articles two and three of Article1116 of the Law
and Article 124 of the Regulations, the values of all cash
funds and rights arising there from and of materials and
other assets forming part of capital assets base, imported
into Turkey by the petroleum right holder for use in the
operations, shall be designated jointly by the Deputy
Ministry and General Directorate on the basis of the kind,
amount and rate of exchange, Turkish Lira counter values,
and the dates of importation, in accordance with the
following principles :
A)
Determination of the kind of foreign currency,
1. The kind of
foreign currency for the imported cash funds and rights
thereto and
other assets shall be registered in the foreign currency in
which they are imported.
2. The kind of
foreign currency for the imports to be made with foreign
exchange
allocated from Turkey against the imported cash funds and
the rights thereto shall be determined according to the kind
of foreign currency of the cash funds and the rights
thereto, set forth as coverage. The cash funds and rights
thereto imported by the petroleum right holder shall, with
the advance approval of the Deputy Ministry, be deposited
into the foreign currency account opened with a competent
bank. Foreign currency deposited to this account shall not
be considered as having been imported into Turkey. In case
permission is granted for importation by purchasing another
kind of foreign currency against the cash funds and the
rights thereto deposited to this account, the required
amount of foreign currency shall be converted into Turkish
Liras and the foreign currency required shall be bought with
these Turkish Liras. The date of importation of such assets
imported in this manner shall be deemed as the date of
converting into Turkish currency the cash funds and the
rights thereto deposited to the foreign currency account.
3. In the
determination of the kind of foreign currency for imports
other than the
cash funds and the rights thereto, the kind of foreign
currency for imports other than the cash funds and the
rights thereto, the kind of currency actually paid in cash
or on account to that country by the petroleum right holder
or on its behalf for obtaining the currency of the country
from which the importation is made shall be taken as basis.
The kind of
foreign currency for imports other than the imported cash
funds and the rights thereto, made against the foreign
currency transferred from Turkey in accordance with Article
125 of the Regulations, shall be determined in accordance
with the kind of the foreign currency transferred.
4. The kind of
foreign currency for imports other than the cash funds are
rights thereto envisaged in sub articles (2) and (3) above,
shall be determined according to the currency of the country
from which importation is made. A portion not exceeding 20%
of the imported assets under paragraphs (2) and (3) and the
present paragraph may be determined in the currency of the
country to which the petroleum right holder belongs, as
designated under Article 121 of the Regulations, provided
that permission is obtained from the Deputy Ministry in
advance, and the kind of foreign currency thus determined
may not be altered afterwards. In the application of this
paragraph, both the total value of imports and the 20% rate
shall be-calculated cumulatively from the date the petroleum
right holder has stated the operation.
B) The rate of
exchange for the imported cash funds and rights thereto and
other assets shall be determined on basis of the official
rate of exchange of the Turkish currency against the foreign
currency of importation prevailing at the time of
importation. The rate of exchange thus determined shall be
taken as basis for the transfers the petroleum right holder
will affect abroad, on basis of Article 124 of the
Regulations, against its imported capital.
C) The value in
foreign currency of the imports other than cash funds and
the rights thereto shall be determined jointly by the Deputy
Ministry and the General Directorate according to acceptable
vendor invoices, price lists, catalogues and any or several
of other documents and by expert advice, if required. The
fee for expertise shall be met by the petroleum right holder
companies effecting the importation.
D) Within 90
days of the preparation and presentation of the import
declaration under Article 117 of the Regulations, the
statement of the petroleum right older regarding the kind
and rate of the foreign exchange and the question of whether
it should be added to the imported capital under provisions
cited below shall be examined and decided jointly by the
Deputy Ministry and the General Directorate. In case other
documents, in addition to those submitted together with the
import declaration, are required by the Deputy Ministry and
the General Directorate, from the petroleum right holder,
the interval between the date of requisition and the date of
submission of such documents shall be added to the 90-day
period.
a. The amount
obtained as a results of deducting the transfers made abroad
against the imported assets under Article 124 of the
Regulations and the sales income retained abroad under
sub-article (B) of Article 119 of the regulations from the
sum of all cash funds and rights pertaining thereto and the
materials and other assets forming a part of the capital
assets base imported into Turkey and of which the kind of
foreign currency, the amount of foreign currency and the
rate of exchange and the Turkish Lira counter value will be
recorded by the Deputy Ministry in the sequence they are
imported in accordance with sub-article one of Article 116
of the Law and the sub-article (B) above, shall constitute
the imported capital.
b. In case the
total of the assets transferable abroad under Article 123 of
the Regulations exceeds the total of the imported capital
defined in paragraph (a) above, the cash funds, rights
pertaining thereto and other values which constitute the
coverage for the difference and which are not transferred
but are retained in Turkey by the petroleum right holder
although transferable under paragraph 1 of sub-article (B)
of Article 124 of the Regulations, shall, upon application
by the petroleum right holder, be added to the imported
capital as of the date of application and on basis of the
kind of currency of the country to which the holder belongs.
c. The portion
in excess of the imported capital of the income which are
arise from the sales abroad of petroleum and is brought to
Turkey by the petroleum right holder, shall be added to the
imported capital as of the date of importation and on basis
of the kind of currency imported.
In case the
total of the assets transferable abroad under Article 123 of
the Regulations does not exceed the total of the imported
capital as a result of importing the said sales income into
Turkey, the excess amount shall be added to the imported
capital as of the date of importation and on basis of the
kind of currency imported.
d. The imports
executed under sub-article two of Article 115 of the Law or
with foreign exchange obtained in Turkey shall not be added
to the imported capital.
e. Upon request
of the petroleum right holder, the deputy Ministry may
ensure that cash funds and the rights pertaining thereto
have been imported in accordance with this article under the
assumption that the foreign currency owed by Turkey to any
person, acceptable to the Deputy Ministry, who has
connection with the petroleum right holder directly o
through capital sufficient for transfer, has been
transferred abroad and the same foreign currency has been
reimported to Turkey by the petroleum right holder.
Declaration
Required for the Imported Assets
Article 117 -
For the purpose of determining the imported capital in
accordance with Article 116 of the Regulations, the
petroleum right holder shall file with the General
Directorate, within 30 days the date of importation, an
import declaration with a copy thereof, describing the
nature and value of all cash funds and rights thereto and
the materials and a other assets forming a part of the
capital asset base imported into Turkey for use in
operations. The copy of this declaration shall be sent to
the Deputy Ministry. This period may be extended by the
General Directorate for not longer than 6 months in case
there are such acceptable reasons as the unsuitability of
the accounting system and purchasing procedures for the
filing of the import declarations within one month, or
squeezing large scale investments into a short period or
inability to procure in time the documents relating to the
assets imported.
The following
information relating to cash funds and the rights pertaining
thereto and other assets shall be given in the import
declaration:
1. Date of
importation (a copy of the bank’s foreign currency purchase
voucher shall be attached to the declaration),
2. Nature and
kind,
3. Kind of the
foreign currency,
4. Method of
determining the kind of the foreign currency (The paragraph
of the sub-article (A) of Article 116 of the Regulations on
which it is based on shall be indicated in the declaration.
If Paragraph 4 of the sub-article (A) of the Article 116 of
the Regulations is invoked, the originals or the copies of
the certificate of origin or a corresponding document or the
certificate of permission obtained from the Deputy Ministry
there under; if the permission is granted under paragraph 2
of the sub-article (A) of the same Article, the original or
the copy of the bank’s voucher for foreign currency purchase
and sale thereof shall be attached to the declaration),
5. Value in
foreign currency,
6. Rate of
exchange,
7. Value in
Turkish Liras,
8. Date and
number of the application filed with the General Directorate
under Article 127 of the Regulations, for assets other than
the cash funds and the rights pertaining thereto. (One copy
of each invoice certified by the General Directorate
according to Article 127, shall be attached to the
declaration. A notation shall be made on these invoices by
the customs administrations, indicating that their contents
have been imported into Turkey and showing the date and the
number of the customs entry declaration and it shall be
dated and signed by the authorized official after setting
thereunto the seal of the customs administration.),
9. Information
required for establishing the identicalness, in case of
transfer in the future of the asses other than the cash
funds and the rights pertaining thereto, in accordance with
Article 129 of the Regulations (the copy of the invoice,
attached to the import declaration in the form stipulated
above, may be deemed sufficient for this purpose),
10. On basis of
which paragraph of Article 116 of the Regulations the cash
funds, the rights pertaining thereto and other assets have
been imported,
The petroleum
right holder shall attach the import declaration and a copy
thereof to any applications it files in accordance with
paragraphs (b) and (e) of the sub-article (D) of the Article
116 of the Regulations.
SECTION TWO
Income from the
Sales of Petroleum
Provisions to
be Applied to the Income from the Exported Petroleum
Article 118 –
With regards to the income arising from the sales of
petroleum exported by the petroleum right holder, the Law
and other laws, regulations and decrees as may be applicable
pursuant therefor shall be applied.
Retention
Abroad or Importation into Turkey of the Income from the
Exported Petroleum
Article 119 –
A) The petroleum right holder may retain abroad the foreign
currency earned from the crude petroleum or products thereof
or from t natural gas allowed for exportation under Article
13 of the Law. The petroleum right holder must enter into
its legal books the foreign currency obtained from the
petroleum or natural gas allowed for exportation, by
converting it into Turkish Liras on basis of exchange rate
prevailing at the time of exportation.
B) The foreign
currency acquired by the petroleum right holder from the
exported petroleum or natural gas and retained abroad:
1. May be set
of, by applying the principles relating to the exchange
rates stipulated in sub-article three of Article 16 f the
Law, in the transfer of the registered capital imported into
Turkey or in the transfer of the net transferable assets, if
any, which exceed the said capital.
2. May be utilized under the Law in payments in foreign
exchange required for the operations of the petroleum right
holder in Turkey; however, such payments shall not be
registered.
In case of
foreign companies exporting from their shares of petroleum
and natural gas produced from the fields discovered during
exploration conducted jointly with petroleum right holding
Turkish joint stock companies, the foreign currency
retainable abroad may also e set-off, under the above
provisions, against the transfers of the foreign partner or
is used for its payments in foreign currency.
C) The
petroleum right holder must bring into Turkey, as of the end
of the June each year, the amounts remaining, after the set
off and utilization transactions stipulated in sub-article
(B), from the foreign currency retained abroad, must
establish its conformity by submitting documents relating to
the transfer and must deposit the balance to the special
foreign currency to be opened at the Central Bank of the
Republic of Turkey.
Petroleum right
holder may request to utilize the funds accumulated in the
special account for the cases cited in sub-article (B).
Declaration
Regarding Income from Petroleum Retained Abroad
Article 120 -
In accordance with the currency exchange regulations, the
petroleum right holder shall file a declaration with the
Deputy Ministry and the General Directorate within the first
month of the following year, stating the estimated amount of
foreign exchange which it will need in aid following year
for its operations and obligations under the Law in Turkey,
from the income sale of petroleum exported during the
(previous) year and which were retained abroad. The
petroleum right holder is obliged to report, on a quarterly
basis, to the Deputy Ministry and to the General Directorate
the quantities of the petroleum, natural gas and petroleum
products exported the amounts, in Turkish liras and foreign
currency, of the proceeds realized there from.
SECTION THREE
Transfers
The Country to
which Petroleum Holder Belongs
Article 121 –
For determination, in the application of the Law and the
Regulations, of the kind of foreign currency for the assets
to be transferred by the petroleum right holder, the country
to which the petroleum right holder belongs, may be accepted
under one of the following criteria:
A) The place
where the petroleum right holder is registered,
B) The place or
places where, a legal person or legal persons directly or
indirectly who own more than 25 % of the main portion of its
profits, or who have authority to make decisions in its
administration, to exercise control or to appoint its
directors, are registered or the nationality of the majority
of such persons.
In order to use one of the above criteria, chosen by the
petroleum right holder, as the basis for determining the
country to which it belongs, at least 80% of the total of
the cash and the rights pertaining thereto, determined in
accordance with paragraph 1 of sub-article (A) of Article
116 of the Regulations, must be in the currency of the
country to which the transfer is being requested.
In the case of
petroleum right holder belonging to more than one country,
the proportion in which the petroleum right holder belongs
to each country shall be taken as basis for the
determination, on basis of the country to which the holder
belongs, of the transfers under Article 124 of the
Regulations and of the kind of foreign currency of the
imported assets in accordance with paragraph 4 of
sub-article (A) of Article 116 of the Regulations.
Transfer
Declaration
Article 122 –
The petroleum right holder shall file with the Deputy
Ministry and the General Directorate a transfer declaration,
the form of which is prepared jointly by the Deputy Ministry
and the General Directorate, within the period specified for
filing of the corporation tax return, following the filing
of the same or on the date of filing its application for the
transfer abroad.
Information to
be included in the transfer declaration:
A) The
statement of accounts of the petroleum right holder as of
the end of the taxation period or the date of application (a
copy of the balance sheet or the trial balance on which this
information is based shall be attached to the declaration),
B) Depletion
allowances set aside per years,
C) Itemized
list, accrual dates and amounts of all kinds of taxes,
duties, fees, rentals and royalties which are owned to the
State but which have not yet been paid,
D) Itemized
list and the determined values of the capital assets
allocated by the petroleum right holder for the operations,
E) Itemized
list of the cash funds and the rights pertaining thereto and
other assets required in Turkey by the petroleum right
holder from sources other than petroleum operations but used
therein with the permission of the Deputy Ministry and the
dates and numbers of the authorization of the Deputy
Ministry for the allocation of the same to petroleum
operations,
F) Itemized
list of the total imported capital showing kind of foreign
currency, amount of foreign currency, rate of exchange and
the Turkish lira equivalents, as totals and in the order of
importation, (The income from sales retained abroad by the
petroleum right holder, which must be shown along with the
country to which exportation was made),
G) Regarding
the transfers abroad requested by the petroleum right
holder,
1. Itemized
list, of the cash funds and other rights pertaining thereto,
showing the kind of foreign currency, rate of exchange
applied and the amounts in Turkish Liras and foreign
currency,
2. Nature, kind
and amounts of other assets, the date of the import
declaration if they are among the assets imported
previously, the values in Turkish Liras to be determined in
accordance with Article 98 of the Law, rate of exchange
applied, values in foreign currency and the customs house
from which exportation shall be made (the assets which
preserve their original identity shall be shown separately
as a single item),
H) Whether or
not the cash funds, the rights pertaining thereto and other
assets will be transferred by the petroleum right holder
against the imported capital.
Determination
of the Amount of Transferable Assets
Article 123 –
the assets, which the petroleum right holder may transfer
abroad, shall consist of the sum of the amounts calculated
under sub-article (A) and sub-article (B) below. However,
the amount to be transferred in cash may not exceed the
portion calculated under sub-article (A).
A) The
following item shall be deducted, in the order given and
under the principles stipulated below, from the sum which is
on hand at the date of application, of the total of the cash
funds and the rights pertaining thereto allocated by the
petroleum right holder to the petroleum operations or
acquired from petroleum operations in Turkey and the cash
funds and the rights pertaining thereto which, although
acquired from the sources other than the petroleum
operations, are allowed by the Deputy Ministry to be used
for petroleum operations in Turkey:
1. The portion
required to pay the unpaid taxes, dues, royalties and
rentals (In case this portion is grater than the total of
the cash funds and the rights pertaining thereto, the
difference shall be deducted from the capital assets base in
accordance with paragraph 1 of sub-article (B). In this
case, no cash transfer may be made.),
2. The portion
in excess of the amount remaining from the cash funds and
the rights thereto acquired from sources other than
petroleum operations after the deductions from the capital
assets base in accordance with paragraph 2 of sub-article
(B). (If there is no excess, it will suffice to deduct cash
funds and the rights pertaining thereto acquired from
sources other than petroleum operations from the capital
assets base. In case the excess portion is greater than also
the amount which remains after deducting the items specified
in paragraphs 1 and 2 from the total of the cash funds and
the rights pertaining thereto, no transfer may be made),
B) The
following shall be deducted, in the order given, from the
total value of the capital assets allocated to or acquired
from the petroleum operations in Turkey by the petroleum
right holder and the value of the portion of the capital
assets on hand at the date of application, which, although
acquired from sources other than petroleum operations, are
allowed by the Deputy Ministry to be used in petroleum
operations, calculated according to Article 98 of the Law:
1. The portion
of the amount required for the payment of all kinds of
taxes, duties, fees, rentals and royalties payable to the
State but still unpaid, which is not covered by the existing
cash funds and the rights pertaining thereto as set forth in
paragraph 1 of sub-article (A) (In case this amount exceeds
the capital assets base, no transfer may be made),
2. The portion
of the values as determined in accordance with Article 98 of
the Laws as of the date of allocation to petroleum
operations, of the capital assets which, although acquired
in Turkey from sources other than petroleum operations (In
case this amount exceeds the capital assets base, the
difference shall be deducted, in accordance with paragraph 3
of sub-article (A), from the sum of the cash funds and the
rights pertaining thereto. In such case, the transferable
amount shall be confined to the amount determined in
accordance with sub-article (A). On the other hand, no
transfer may be made if the total of this amount and the
amount under paragraph 1 above exceed the capital asset
base),
3. The total,
as of the date of allocation to petroleum operations of the
cash funds and the rights pertaining thereto acquired from
sources other than petroleum operations in Turkey but
allowed by the Deputy Ministry to be used for petroleum
operations. (If this amount exceeds the amount which remains
after making the deductions specified in paragraph 2 above,
from the capital assets base, the difference shall be
deducted, in accordance with paragraph 2 of sub-article (A),
from the total of the cash funds and the rights pertaining
thereto. In such a case, the transferable amount shall
confine to the amount determined in accordance with
sub-article (A). On the other hand, no transfer may be made
if the sum of this amount and the amounts in paragraphhs1
and 2 above exceeds the capital assets base. In case the
said total does not exceed the capital assets base, the
difference may be transferred as-is).
Determination
of the Kind and Rate of the Foreign Currency to be
Transferred
Article 124 –
The kind and the rate of exchange of the foreign currency,
which may be transferred abroad by the petroleum right
holder under Article 124 of the Regulations, shall be
determined in accordance with the following principles:
A) 1. For the
imported assets preserving their identity, the kind and the
rate of exchange determined at the time of importation in
accordance with Article 116 of the Regulations shall be
taken as basis. These assets shall be transferred
disregarding the order of importation, on basis of the kind
and the rate of exchange determined at the time of
importation, by being deducted from the imported capital.
2. Imported
cash funds not yet used shall be transferred, disregarding
the order of importation, by being deducted from the
imported capital.
B) Unless there
is proof to the contrary, the kind and the rate of exchange
of the foreign currency to be used as basis for the transfer
of the cash funds and the rights pertaining thereto not
covered by the sub-article (A) of this Article and other
assets not preserving their identities shall be determined
as follows:
a. In case the
total assets which may be transferred under Article 123 of
the Regulations exceeds the total of the capital defined in
paragraph (a) of sub-article (D) of Article 116, the portion
corresponding to the currency of the country to which the
petroleum right holder, belongs and the current rate of
exchange; and, also the cash funds and the rights pertaining
thereto and any part of other assets may, provided that the
stipulation of the sub-article (A) of the present Article is
reserved, be transferred against the imported capital on
basis of the kind of currency and the rate of exchange to be
determined in accordance with the sub-article (C) of this
Article.
b. If the
amount of increase in the imported capital in spite of the
fact that the total of the assets transferable under Article
13 of the Regulations does not exceed the total of the
imported capital, as defined in paragraph (a) of sub-article
(D) of Article 116, the part equal to this difference in the
increase may be transferred, as prescribed in paragraph 1 of
the present sub-article, on basis of the kind of currency of
the country to which the petroleum right holder belongs and
at the current rate of exchange.
C) Transfers
other than under paragraphs 1 and 2 of sub-article (B) of
the present article, shall only be made against the
provision of sub-article (A) is reserved and that there is
no proof to the contrary, and on the basis of the order of
importation, determining the kind and the rate of exchange
of the foreign currency, in accordance with paragraph (a) of
sub-article (D) of Article 116 of the Regulations.
Review of
Applications for Transfer, Granting of Transfer Permit, and
Allocation of Foreign Currency
Article 125 –
Transfer requests, of which the details described in the
transfer declaration of the petroleum right holder shall be
reviewed jointly by the Deputy Ministry and The General
Directorate on basis of the principles stipulated in
Articles 121, 123 and 124 of the Regulations. Following the
review, transfer permit shall be granted and the required
foreign currency shall be allocated by the Deputy Ministry
for the cash funds and the rights pertaining thereto, which
are found suitable for transfer.
Declaration to
be attached to the applications for importation, which will
be made with the foreign currency to be allocated by the
Deputy Ministry
Article 126 –
The applications which the petroleum right holder shall file
under sub-article 2 of Article 115 of the Law for the
transfer abroad of the economic assets, cash funds and the
rights pertaining thereto acquired in Turkey from sources
other than petroleum operations, shall contain the
following:
a. Reasons on
which the request for transfer is based,
b. Nature,
quantity, value of the economic assets to be imported and
the operations in which they shall be used,
c. Approximate
dates of importation of the cash, services, materials and
other economic assets to be imported.
The petroleum
right holder shall indicate the place of allocation of the
economic assets imported on basis of sub-article 2 Article
115of the Law in the declarations to be prepared on
quarterly basis, the first one covering the period between
the beginning of January and the end of March, and filed
with the Deputy Ministry within one month following the end
of the quarterly period it covers.
PART SEVEN
Imports,
Transfers, Exports
SECTION ONE
Importation
Importation,
Exemption from Import Taxes and Duties
Article 127 –
for the importation of materials to be used in petroleum
operations, the petroleum right holder shall file an
application with the General Directorate. The original and
four copies thereof, along with translation in five copies,
of the invoices of the materials, which it wants to import,
shall be attached to the application. Upon review of the
application, the General Directorate shall notify the
petroleum right holder that materials to be imported qualify
for exemption from customs duties and other taxes and dues.
In case the
petroleum operations are conducted through a contractor and
the importation is to be made by the contractor, the right
holder shall submit to the General Directorate a certified
copy of the agreement it signed with the contractor along
with a warranty to the effect that the petroleum right
holder assumes the responsibility which may arise from the
non-compliance of the contractor with the provisions of the
Law and Regulations.
Upon review of
the above documents, the General Directorate shall notify
the petroleum right holder that exemption from the customs
duties and other taxes and dues for the materials to be
imported by the contractor shall be granted. Following the
notification, the contractor shall apply to the General
Directorate for materials he will import duty-free. The
application filed shall contain a certification by the
petroleum right holder stating that the materials subject to
importation are necessary for the petroleum operations. The
contractor shall send to the General Directorate the copy of
the invoice relating to the materials, which he imported in
his known name and behalf within 30 days following the date
of importation.
The General
Directorate, if convinced that the materials shown in the
invoices relating to the importations by the petroleum right
holder, are necessary for petroleum operations, shall enter
a notation on the back of the invoices stating that it is
necessary that the importation be made free of customs
duties and other import taxes and dues under Article 112 of
the Law. It shall forward three copies of the Turkish
translation of the invoices, attached to a covering letter,
to the customs house. The materials shown in these invoices
shall be imported under exemption without need to obtain
permission from any authority.
Where
conviction is reached the materials shown in the invoices
submitted in accordance with the above sub-article are
necessary for petroleum operations but their importation
free of customs duties is not possible, the General
Directorate shall enter a statement that effect on the back
of the invoices and send three copies of Turkish
translations, attached to a covering letter, to the customs
house. The materials covered by these invoices shall be
imported by paying customs duties and other import taxes and
dues.
The petroleum
right holder may import, free of customs duty and on basis
of market price, the crude oil which is required for its own
operations and which cannot be procured from domestic
sources. To realize such importation, a letter of
notification shall be submitted to the General Directorate
in five copies. This notification shall contain the name of
the importer, the customs house of importation, the kind and
the quantity of the petroleum, tariff number and other
information as may be deemed necessary by the Deputy
Ministry and the General Directorate. The General
Directorate shall enter notation on three copies of the
letter of notification on three copies of the letter of
notification hat duty-free importation into the country is
necessary and, after signing and sealing the same, forward
them to the customs house concerned. The importation shall
be executed without need for any other permission.
SECTION TWO
Transfer and
Exportation of Imported Materials
Transfer
Article 128 –
A) By informing the general Directorate, materials imported
under exemption may be transferred to another petroleum
right holder entitled to exemption, to its representative or
contractor, free o f customs duties, taxes and dues.
Applications for transfer shall be filed with the General
Directorate, showing the name and the address of the
transferor and the transferee. The General Directorate shall
inform the Deputy Ministry, indicating the customs house
concerned, that the transferee is a petroleum right holder,
his representative or contractor entitled to exemption.
Under these conditions, the exemption for the materials
transferred shall continue.
B) If the
transfer of the materials imported duty-free to a person not
entitled to exemption or to the use thereof to a person not
entitled to exemption or to the use thereof in activity not
considered petroleum operation is requested by the petroleum
right holder, the General Directorate, with the consent of
the Deputy Ministry, shall approve this transfer or use
under the provisions of Article 112 of the Law and shall
advise the customs authorities with a letter. Petroleum
right holders may transfer, free of customs taxes and
duties, all kinds of materials, machinery and equipment
which have reached the end of their economic lives because
of having been used for ten years or longer, first to public
institutions. Materials of this category as not wanted by
public or private institutions shall be transferred as scrap
to the Directorate General of MKEK (Machinery and Chemistry
Industries Corporation)
Petroleum products derived from petroleum which is imported
duty-free may be transferred, in accordance with the
procedure designated by the Deputy Ministry and under the
conditions stipulated in Article 112 of the Law, to persons
not entitled to exemption or may be used by the petroleum
operation.
C) In case of transfer or sale of the imported materials
other than the transfer of petroleum products, to another
petroleum right holder or to another person, the profit
realized by the petroleum right holder from this transfer or
sale shall be considered as having been obtained in Turkey
from sources other than petroleum operations
D) In the case
of transfer of material, imported by foreign petroleum right
holders
under Article 116 of the Regulations and included in the
capital assets for which value assessment decision has been
issued, the value of the transferred material subjected to
value assessment decision shall be deducted from the
imported capital assets of the transferor company.
Exportation of
the Materials Imported Duty-Free
Article 129 –
Materials imported duty-free by the petroleum right holder
may be exported free of all export taxes and duties upon
conveyance by the General Directorate of the relevant
transfer declaration and the detailed list attached thereto,
to the concerned customs office.
To be able to
export the materials imported by the contractor of the
petroleum right holder, in his name and to his account the
contractor shall apply to the General Directorate with a
list, giving also the date and the number of the import
declaration relating to these materials. Upon approval of
this list by the General Directorate and its forwarding to
the customs house concerned, the said materials shall be
exported.
In the case of
exportation of a material imported by the foreign petroleum
right holders under Article 116 of the Regulations and
included in the capital assets for which value assessment
decision has been issued, the value of the exported material
subjected to value assessment decision shall be deducted
from the imported assets.
Value
Assessment Decisions
Article 130 –
The principles of the value assessment decisions pertaining
to the capital imported and subjected to value assessment
decisions and to the materials transferred or exported shall
be designated jointly by the General Directorate and the
Deputy Ministry.
PART EIGHT
Final
Provisions
Rescinded
Regulations, Reserved Rights, Execution and Effective Date
Rescinded
Provisions
Article 131 –
The Petroleum Registrations put into effect by the Decree
Number 4/5633 dated 28/071955 of the Council of Ministers
and the addenda and amendments thereof have been rescinded.
Provisional
Article 1 – The applications filed and the rights acquired
by the petroleum right holders prior to the effective date
of these Regulations are reserved.
Effective Data
Article 132 –
The provisions of these Regulations, prepared in accordance
with Article 14 of the Petroleum Law. No. 6326 dated 7 March
1954 and reviewed by the Council of State, shall go into
effect on the date of publication in the Official Gazette.
Execution
Article 133 –
The provisions of these Regulations shall be executed by the
Council of Ministers.