This is a very brief look on the general legal procedure of
collecting receivables in Turkey.
We sometimes see foreign companies seeking legal help
for their receivables unpaid by the companies that are resident in Turkey under
Turkish law.
In order to have their receivables paid, the companies
may follow various legal procedures which may be listed very briefly as follows:
1. The Company may look for a cautionary
attachment from the court including a statement that cautionary attachment/liens
can be placed on the immovables, receivables and immovables of the debtor
company. Upon the reception of this court award/order, the Company may apply to
the execution office for its enforcement.
This is a way that can be used in
urgent cases when the debtor company is expected to transfer their assets to
third parties to leave them out of reach of potential claimants.
This procedure may be used mostly
when the receivable is bound to solid documents such as invoices and/or
contracts where the receivable is obvious.
The court binds the enforcement of
such award to the payment of 10 or 15% of the disputed amount as a deposit to
the court safe as a guarantee. The percentage may change in different cases and
different courts and is solely within the discretion of the judge. This guarantee is for the protection of the
debtor company in case otherwise is proved upon a detailed judgment in court.
2. Another way to collect receivables
would be directly filing an execution request for the disputed amount through execution
office without prior court award (for cautionary attachment). In this case, usual
procedure of execution will be in effect where the execution office shall serve
a notification to the debtor company (a payment order) ordering the amount to
be paid to the execution office file within a certain period time given. If an
objection is raised, the procedure stops and the claiming company is entitled
to file a lawsuit for the collection of the disputed amount. The nature of the
lawsuit depends on the nature of the objection raised (The objection may be raised
against the signature or to the amount). Please also note that the execution procedure
may vary in different payment orders as in bills of exchanges like cheques. In
checks or bonds the procedure would not stop despite an objection is raised. As
this is closely related to the law techniques and covers too much detail, it
would be boring and unnecessary to speak about on here.
3. The third way to have the amount paid
would be filing a lawsuit directly at the court requesting the payment of the
disputed amount. This lawsuit is carried out by the parties within general
legal provisions where all the evidences are examined in detail
during judgment.
Please note that this is only a brief general
information on the collection of the receivables in Turkey and each case should
be interpreted within its own dynamics.
Please do not hesitate to comment here whether this explanation was helpful to you or not.
