In cases where the tax convention does not explicitly regulate Turkey`s right to tax income from independent professional services referred to in Article 5 or Article 14, Turkey`s right to tax shall be determined as the country of origin, in accordance with the general conditions laid down in Article 5 of the Treaty in conjunction with Article 7. In some tax treaties, in addition to the permanent establishment/fixed base criteria, the criteria of the duration of presence (length of stay) of the non-resident enterprise in Turkey are taken into account. In other words, if the non-resident service provider does not have a permanent establishment/base in Turkey, but the services require the service provider to be present in Turkey for a certain period of time, the duration of the service provider`s presence in Turkey may play a decisive role in determining Turkish tax legislation. Accordingly, it should be taken into consideration whether or not the services provided by non-resident companies in Turkey last 6 months or 183 days or more than 183 days during an uninterrupted period of 12 months / calendar year / one fiscal year. Turkey clarified the rules on the taxation of income from independent professional services (and similar activities) carried out in Turkey by residents in countries that have concluded double taxation treaties with Turkey. The number of days spent by employees of a company in Turkey will now be the only basis for calculating the duration of the company`s stay. Foreign residents must also apply for a certificate of residence from the competent authorities of their country of origin. On the other hand, Turkey will exercise its right to tax the income attributed to those MOUs for non-resident service providers who, through their existing Turkish SPs, provide services of an independent professional type, regardless of the duration of the non-resident`s presence in Turkey. Based on the current view of the TRA, the duration of the presence (length of stay) of the non-resident service provider in Turkey was determined on a cumulative basis, adding up the number of days spent by each/employee in Turkey. For example, when a non-resident service provider provides its services in Turkey through its 10 employees, present in Turkey for a period of 20 days, the presence of the non-resident service provider in Turkey was counted as 200 days, i.e.

. . .