Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank stated that they made important updates on the definition of SME and said, "Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to benefit more from both KOSGEB supports and different interest supports of our banks." used the phrase.
Minister Varank made evaluations in the program he attended on TV NET regarding the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Regulation published in the Official Gazette yesterday.
Reminding that there are different supports given by the state to SMEs, Varank underlined that small, micro and medium-sized enterprises can benefit from different supports of the state, especially KOSGEB.
Noting that businesses have a request from them, Varank used the following statements:
“Our businesses wanted more companies to benefit from SME supports by updating the definition of SME. We also took this into account and made important updates on the definition of SME in the Official Gazette. In order to be an SME, if you have a turnover of 250 million TL or less, not 500 million TL or less, you are in the SME class. Small-scale enterprises were accepted up to a turnover of 125 million liras, this was increased to 250 million liras. In micro scales, we have moved this limit a little higher. Thus, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises will be able to benefit more from both KOSGEB supports and different interest rates of our banks. Many more companies will be able to apply for these supports.”
Varank said that the weight of SMEs in the Turkish economy is very high and this change is demanded by the sector.
Pointing out that the efforts to increase the support for SMEs will make a significant contribution to the enterprises in the future, Varank said:
“Our Honorable President declared in his speech. We will continue to provide different supports in the coming period. Investment appetite is currently high. Wherever we go in Turkey, the first demand of our businesses is 'Mr. Minister, we will invest, we need land. Our organized industrial zone (OSB) is full, we need to expand it.' they were saying. We encounter these demands a lot. If we really want to build a Turkey that develops with production and value-added production in the coming period, our formula is clear, we say this in every speech we make. Investment, production, employment, export. We will continue to support this formula. We will build Turkey, which produces with Turkish industry and our production ecosystem, and the 'Turkish Century' together.”
NEW SME DEFINITION REGULATION
With the New SME Definition Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 25.05.2023, the problems encountered in the implementation of the current regulation are resolved, reorganized in a way that does not allow for different understandings by the stakeholders, minimizing the issues that cannot be measured and controlled, and ensuring unity in practice, in the definition and classification of SMEs. It was ensured that the financial limits were re-determined in accordance with today's economic conditions.
In this context,
- The annual net sales revenue or financial balance sheet limit, which is one of the necessary criteria for being a SME, was increased from 250 million TL to 500 million TL.
This limit is;
From 5 million TL to 10 million TL in Micro-Scale Enterprises,
From 50 million TL to 100 million TL in Small Scale Enterprises,
It was increased from 250 million TL to 500 million TL in Medium Sized Enterprises.
-In the calculation of the number of employees in an enterprise, an arrangement was made to take into account only those employed with a service contract.
-The validity date of the SME declaration has been clarified and standardized. It was determined as the end of March for income taxpayers and the end of April for corporate taxpayers.
- A regulation was made to take into account only the capital ratio in the determination of the business type.
-The regulation and its annexes have been simplified.
The SME classification created by the new regulation is as follows:
| SME | NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES | FINANCIAL CRITERIA |
|---|---|---|
| MICRO BUSINESS: | less than 10 employees | 10 million TL |
| SMALL BUSINESS: | less than 50 employees | 100 million TL |
| MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESS: | less than 250 employees | 500 million TL |