TÜRKIYE Law and Practice Contributed by: Serkan Gül, Nazım Kurt and Türkay Avanaş, Hergüner Bilgen Üçer Attorney Partnership
Another bankruptcy protection mechanism that used to be available but is no longer permitted was the deferral of bankruptcy, which was imposed by a court upon the application of the debtor. The shift to a com - position regime from a deferral of bankruptcy regime is a positive development in that it promotes agree - ment between debtors and creditors rather than a court imposing a solution in its own judgment. 3.10 Taxes on Loans Under Turkish law, there is no “recording tax” to be paid by lenders or borrowers on the utilisation of mort - gage loans or real estate-related mezzanine loans. However, the mortgage fees mentioned in 3.4 Taxes or Fees Relating to the Granting and Enforcement of Security must be paid in order to register the mort - gage with the land registry. In addition, other taxes such as the Resource Utili - sation Support Fund, Banking and Insurance Trans - action Tax (BITT), stamp tax and/or VAT are typically imposed on the utilisation of loans. That said, there are numerous provisions in the legislation exempting specific types of loans from the imposition of certain taxes. For example, documents issued for the exten - sion of loans by banks, foreign credit agencies and international institutions are exempt from stamp tax. Further, following a recent change in the legislation, mortgage loans extended for the purchase of the first residential unit by a consumer are exempted from BITT. Therefore, it is important to assess each trans - action from the perspective of tax liabilities. Zoning plans must comply with the applicable legisla - tion and, more specifically, with planning principles, urbanisation principles and public interest, such as regional requirements and transportation opportuni - ties. This implies legislative control over zoning plans. Moreover, smaller-scale zoning plans must comply with larger-scale zoning plans (hierarchy of zoning plans). Ministries enact larger-scale zoning plans (spatial strategic plans, environmental plans) whereas local municipalities enact smaller-scale zoning plans 4. Planning and Zoning 4.1 Planning and Zoning Framework
(implementation zoning plans). This structure reflects the central administration’s control over local authori - ties. Zoning plans regulate the permitted use and develop - ment of individual parcels of real estate. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanism and Climate Change, which is also responsible for zoning plans in environmentally protected areas, prepares environmental zoning plans at a scale of 1/100,000. The general land-use func - tions of regions (business, residential, etc) are regu - lated under environmental zoning plans. Municipalities prepare zoning plans at scales of 1/5,000 and 1/1,000 and set detailed zoning condi - tions including function restrictions (residential, indus - trial, etc), setback distances, construction coefficients and maximum heights. There are also restrictions con - nected to the special status of relevant land (forest, cultural heritage, natural heritage, etc). The Housing Development Administration also exer - cises planning authority in certain government-sub - sidised housing development zones that are placed under its jurisdiction. Finally, the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage also exercises approval authority in tourism and cul - tural heritage zones. 4.2 Development Process, Challenges and Enforcement The procedure for obtaining entitlements to develop a new project or undertake a major refurbishment is as follows: • an initial application is made to the municipality to obtain a zoning status certificate; • official designs (projects) are prepared by archi - tects and engineers according to the conditions set out in the zoning status certificate; • these official designs (projects) are submitted to the municipality along with other documents required for a construction permit application; and • the municipality reviews and approves the official designs (projects) and issues the construction permit.
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