The payments for the trade transactions carried out with foreign countries in free trade zones can be made in Turkish lira.

The decree of the Council of Ministers, which stipulates the use of Turkish lira as medium of exchange for trade transactions in free trade zones became effective upon being published in the Official Gazette.

The decree allows payments to be born for the transactions in free trade zones with other countries to be made in Turkish lira.

The fees and tariffs ensued from rent, license, permit, documents and services and activities provided by operators will be denominated and paid in lira.

The process to denominate tariffs in Turkish lira will be complete within three months.

Free zones (FZ) are special sites considered to be outside the customs area, although they are within the political borders of the country.

There are no restrictions on foreign firms operating in any of Turkey's 20 free zones. The zones are open to a wide range of activities, including manufacturing, storage, packaging, trading, banking and insurance.

Foreign products enter and leave the free zones without payment of customs or duties if products are exported to third country markets. Income generated in the zones is exempt from corporate and individual income taxation and from the value-added tax, but firms are required to make social security contributions for their employees.