A retroactive provision was added to the 15-article bill submitted to the Parliament by the AKP to accelerate renewable energy investments, for banks and officials who carry out the process of closing investment funds. The proposal also included the erasure of old universal health insurance debts, the extension of employment incentives and new rules regarding law enforcement recruitment.
'IF THE INVESTOR MAKES A LOSS, WHO WILL ASK FOR HIS MONEY?'
According to Article 13 of the proposal, banks that transfer the assets of the funds decided to be closed, persons appointed by the banks and other persons involved in the process will not bear legal, administrative and financial liability for the decisions they make and the transactions they carry out. Criminal acts will be excluded from the scope. The provision will be retroactive to before October 22, when the law on the closure of funds was adopted, and until September 17, 2026, when the Capital Markets Board took a decision on the funds. For example, if the assets held by a fund are incorrectly valued and the investor suffers damage as a result, the proposal does not explain who the investor can claim damages from, unless the transaction constitutes a crime. The regulation does not limit the exemption to transactions carried out with due care. There is no separate rule on how to handle cases filed for past transactions.
'BOTAŞ'S TAX DEBT WILL BE COUNTED AS ITS RECEIVABLES FROM THE TREASURY'
BOTAŞ receives support from the Treasury because it does not pass on a portion of the cost of natural gas to the consumer. The proposal allows the tax, fund and share debts that the company must pay to the collection offices affiliated with the Ministry of Commerce to be deducted from this receivable from the Treasury. Thus, while BOTAŞ's debt will decrease, the amount the Treasury will pay to the company will also decrease by the same amount. This transaction, which will be carried out every month, will not be recorded in the income and expense accounts of the central budget. For this reason, it will not be possible to track how much tax debt has been paid in return for natural gas support from the budget accounts. If it is determined that an excessive amount has been deducted from BOTAŞ's debt in the subsequent examination, the company will pay the difference without interest.
'SOLAR AND WIND POWER PLANTS WILL PAY IN ADVANCE FOR GROWTH'
Companies that want to increase the production power of existing solar and wind power plants will pay Turkish Electricity Transmission Inc. (TEİAŞ) for each megawatt they want to add. TEİAŞ will determine the price. The amount can go up to half of the investment cost per megawatt determined by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) for that type of energy. Companies will pay the full price in one lump sum before production permits are updated. Electricity producers will also not be able to benefit from corporate tax cuts starting from 2027 earnings. Since the regulation covers all electricity producers, solar and wind power plants will also lose their right to discount.
'750 KILOWAT LIMIT FOR SMALL ELECTRIC FACILITIES'
Facilities that produce electricity without a license will only be able to switch to licensed production with an installed capacity of at least 750 kilowatts when their 10-year period expires. These facilities will also pay for the license. The cost may go up to 30 percent of the investment cost determined per megawatt. In addition, if the hourly electricity price in the market exceeds the support price applied to the facility, the difference will be transferred to the renewable energy support system. The areas allocated for new renewable energy investments and the right to connect to the grid will be determined by a competition. How the competition will be held will be written in the specifications prepared for each tender. The proposal also allows ship-shaped floating natural gas facilities to operate in other regions with EMRA permission.
'HALF OF THE RANKINGS IN FOUR BRANCHES WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE INTERVIEW'
In Gendarmerie and Coast Guard recruitment, half of the overall ranking will be made up of application scores. The weight of the physical qualification exam and the interview will be 25 percent each. In the medical, dentistry, deck and machinery branches, half of the ranking will be determined by physical qualification and the other half by interview score. Candidates will be eliminated if they score below 60 in any of the two exams. There is no clear provision in the article regarding the recording of interviews and the ability of candidates to learn the reason for their scores. The proposal also writes the entry requirements for police vocational schools into law. High school graduation, minimum score in the university exam and health conditions will be required. Those who are members of a political party or its subsidiary at the time of application will not be able to become candidates.
'OLD GSS DEBTS WILL BE ERATED, THERE WILL BE NO REFUND TO THOSE WHO PAID'
Unpaid premium debts of those who are obliged to pay the General Health Insurance (GSS) premium themselves, before January 1, 2017, will be deleted, together with the delay penalties and increases. There will be no refund for those who paid the premium for the same period. The amount they pay will not be deducted from their other debts. If the service fee reported by public university hospitals that have agreed with SSI on a fixed amount for 2026 is below the contract amount, the difference will not be deducted from the 2027 receivables. The difference will be covered by the budget of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
'APPRENTICESHIP AND EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT WILL BE EXTENDED'
The upper limit of the authority given to the President to extend the state contribution to apprentice and intern wages will be increased from 10 academic years to 15 educational years. Support can be extended for one academic year at a time. The proposal does not impose a new occupational safety or inspection requirement for businesses to continue receiving this support. Premium support given to employers who hire women, young people and unemployed people with professional qualification certificates will continue until the end of 2028. The President can extend this period until the end of 2029.
