The Definition Of Medium-Sized Enterprises Has Changed

With the amendment published in the Official Gazette dated 7 August 2025 and numbered 32979, the definition of medium-sized enterprises has changed in the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Regulation (“Regulation“).

1. Amendment

With the amendment, the upper limit of the financial balance sheet/annual net sales revenue, which is one of the criteria for having the status of a medium-sized enterprise, has been increased from five hundred million TRY to 1 billion TRY. Therefore, businesses with less than two hundred and fifty employees per year and whose annual net sales revenue or financial balance sheet does not exceed one billion Turkish Liras will continue to maintain the status of medium-sized enterprises.

Small-sized enterprises and micro-enterprises were not included in the scope of the amendments, and the old criteria for these enterprises were preserved.

2. Advantages of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Many supports and facilities are provided for the development and support of small and medium-sized enterprises, which form the backbone of the Turkish economy. You can find the important ones of these supports below.

• Supports Provided within the Scope of R&D Studies

Within the scope of the Law No. 5746 on Supporting Research, Development and Design Activities, in the technology center enterprises determined in the R&D and design discount granted to the enterprises, the design expenditures made within the scope of the projects developed in the R&D enterprises and meeting the determined criteria can be made the subject of deduction from business income.

In this context, advantages are provided in terms of additional tax advantages granted to businesses and premiums to be paid to the Social Security Institution.

Moreover, the relevant ministries and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye have obligations to encourage, support and coordinate the R&D activities of small and medium-sized enterprises.

• Supports Provided within the Scope of Financing

Appropriate loans are provided by state banks, especially Halk Bank, to support small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, the Turkish Export-Import  Bank, the Credit Guarantee Fund and the SME Private Equity Investment Trust provide support to small and medium-sized enterprises for their cash and capital needs.

In addition, credit institutions are encouraged to provide loans to small and medium-sized enterprises by providing exemptions for institutions that provide loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.

• Discounted Corporate Tax Applications Provided in Mergers of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

In mergers where both parties are small and medium-sized enterprises, discounted corporate tax can be benefited from provided that the following conditions are met.

1. As a result of the merger, the legal or business centers of the merged enterprise and the dissolved enterprise are located in Turkey,
2. The balance sheet values of the dissolved enterprise on the date of transfer are taken over by the merged entity as a whole and transferred to its balance sheet,
3. The merging enterprises are among the institutions that have an industrial registration certificate as of the date of transfer and are actually engaged in production activities.

In addition to the above-mentioned advantages, there are many supports and incentives provided for small and medium-sized enterprises specifically for their fields of activity, and many government institutions have programs for the support and development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

3. Summary

With the amendment, the definition of medium-sized company has been expanded, thus enabling many more companies to enter the definition of medium-sized enterprises, and it is aimed to provide the above-mentioned and many other advantages provided to small and medium-sized enterprises.