Organized industrial zone incentives in Türkiye, a practical guide

An organized industrial zone is a planned area with shared infrastructure for industrial investment. Whether an investment sits inside or outside one shows up in three separate places: the premium support on the incentive certificate, a set of tax and fee exemptions, and infrastructure cost.

This guide takes each in turn and corrects the claims that circulate most.

1. What it changes on the incentive certificate

Under Decree 9903, an investment holding an incentive certificate and carried out in an organized industrial zone or an industry zone draws employer's share social security premium support on the terms and duration applying one region below its own. Investing in the districts the decree lists moves it two regions. For investments in the sixth region, two years are added to the applicable duration.

Moving a region lengthens the support period. The gap between regions is most visible in employment heavy investments.

An important correction. Under the previous system, the zone based shift also covered the corporate tax reduction. In the decree now in force it is defined for employer's share premium support only. The contribution rate in the tax reduction follows the programme the investment falls under; there is no separate uplift from being in a zone.

2. Tax and fee exemptions

The common error on property tax is the claim of "five years from the budget year following completion." That was the pre 2017 regime. An amendment converted the temporary exemption into a permanent one, yet the five year figure still appears on a large number of sites.

There is a second distinction. Exemptions granted to the zone's own legal entity for its own transactions are not the same as exemptions available to participant companies. The general exemption the law gives the zone entity does not automatically extend to the firms inside it.

3. Infrastructure and operating cost

Roads, electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater infrastructure come ready. The treatment plant is shared, and where the zone operates its own, municipalities charge no wastewater fee. Zoning and permit processes run through the zone administration.

Do not expect a fixed statutory discount on energy. The law provides that arrangements on participants' energy costs are made separately, without interfering with prices formed in the market. Practice varies between zones, so in a site selection decision this has to be confirmed with the zone administration itself.

Land allocation and the 2024 change

Paid allocation follows the procedure of the relevant zone administration. Applications cover the investment subject, planned employment, production capacity and energy requirement.

Free allocation changed materially in 2024. Zone administrations lost the power to grant free land on their own initiative. It now runs through a ministry list of eligible districts under a separate regulation.

The minimum employment condition is graded by parcel size: the larger the parcel, the higher the committed headcount. The investment has to fall within manufacturing.

If your plan assumes free allocation, check first whether your district is on the list and what employment commitment corresponds to the parcel you need.

When a location outside a zone makes more sense

A zone is not the right answer for every investment:

• Proximity to a raw material source is essential, such as mining, agricultural produce or a water source
• The zone's sector plan does not cover your activity
• The parcel size you need is unavailable
• Proximity to a port or border crossing is decisive
• Expansion is likely and allocation of an adjacent parcel is uncertain

Conversely, where infrastructure cost is high, energy consumption heavy and the process produces wastewater, the zone difference usually decides it.

The call comes from putting the incentive difference and the operating cost difference in the same table. Over ten years, the gap in land cost can be smaller than the gap in infrastructure and treatment cost.

Specialised zones and industry zones

A specialised organized industrial zone is reserved for one sector. Having the same sector's suppliers together helps logistics and servicing, and some carry sector specific shared facilities.

An industry zone is a different legal status, but for the purposes of the region shift on premium support it is treated the same way as an organized industrial zone.

Sources and currency

This guide follows Law 4562 on Organized Industrial Zones, Property Tax Law 1319, Municipal Revenues Law 2464, Fees Law 492, Stamp Duty Law 488 and Presidential Decree 9903 on State Aid in Investments. The free allocation rules follow the 2024 regulation. Last reviewed 23 September 2026.

Next step

Before settling a location, let us put the two scenarios side by side, inside a zone and outside it. Total investment cost, support received and ten years of operating cost difference appear in one table. The first assessment is free.