Setting up a Turkey ecommerce company is a sequencing exercise. The legal entity, tax and bank file, sales channel, website disclosures and ETBIS position have to line up before the first order. A marketplace account does not create the same compliance route as an own-store launch, which is where many otherwise solid plans go wrong.
This checklist is for foreign founders planning to sell online in Türkiye. It separates the corporate-registration work from the ecommerce controls that follow it. It is not legal or tax advice; product, consumer, tax and payment rules depend on the operating model.
What should a foreign founder decide before forming a Turkey ecommerce company?
Start with the sales model: your own Turkish website, a domestic marketplace, an overseas marketplace, or a mix. That decision affects ETBIS registration, the website information pack, payment onboarding and the records your team will need to keep.
Also decide who will be the shareholder, manager and authorised signatory; whether documents issued abroad need apostille or consular legalisation; the intended registered address; and the product category. Regulated goods can add separate approvals. Do this before drafting the articles of association, not after the shop is live.
Which company form is usually considered for an online store?
A limited company is often the first structure considered for a founder-operated store. A joint-stock company can make more sense where the ownership, governance or funding plan already calls for it. The right answer comes from the ownership and investment plan, not from a marketplace’s onboarding screen.
The Ministry of Trade notice effective from 1 January 2024 states minimum capital of TRY 50,000 for a limited company and TRY 250,000 for a joint-stock company. The same official formation guide says that the pre-registration 25% paid-in-capital rule does not apply to limited companies, while it describes that rule for subscribed joint-stock capital. These are statutory starting points, not a complete launch budget. Banking, address, accounting, payment and product costs remain separate decisions.
What is the MERSIS and Trade Registry sequence?
MERSIS is the electronic system used for trade-registry processes. A workable file starts with the memorandum and articles submitted online, then moves through the relevant Trade Registry Directorate with the supporting documents ready.
For foreign natural-person shareholders, Invest in Türkiye lists translated and notarised passport copies and, where applicable, residence-permit and tax-identity documentation. It also explains that documents issued outside Türkiye generally need notarisation and apostille or Turkish-consulate ratification, followed by official translation and Turkish notarisation. The same guide says non-Turkish shareholders and board members need potential tax identity numbers for the company-in-formation bank account process.
- Confirm the ownership and signature authority.
- Prepare the articles, address evidence and foreign-document formalities.
- Open the MERSIS filing and complete the Trade Registry application.
- Complete the tax-office and bank follow-up after registration.
- Only then configure the payment, invoicing and ecommerce stack around the registered business.
When is ETBIS registration required?
ETBIS is a Ministry of Trade information and notification system. It sits after, rather than replaces, the company-registration work. The Ministry says electronic commerce service providers and intermediary service providers within scope register through e-Devlet before starting the activity.
For a merchant, the registration inputs include the MERSIS number, tax identification number, and the domain and mobile-app information used for the ecommerce or intermediary activity. The Ministry’s FAQ draws an important line: a seller using a domestic ecommerce marketplace does not have an ETBIS registration and notification obligation merely because it sells through that domestic marketplace. A Türkiye-resident seller that does not conduct domestic ecommerce but contracts or takes orders through an overseas intermediary platform is listed among the cases requiring registration. An own-store plan should therefore be checked separately from a domestic-marketplace-only plan.
What website information must be ready before an own-store launch?
Your website needs an operational disclosure review before it receives traffic. The Ministry’s FAQ says the homepage contact area for a merchant should show a serviceable KEP address, email address and telephone number, as well as the trade name, MERSIS number and headquarters address.
The same FAQ requires an “işlem rehberi” area to explain steps for forming the contract, storing and accessing the electronic contract, correcting input errors, personal-data privacy rules and any alternative dispute-resolution mechanism. This is not a cosmetic footer task. It should be tested during checkout and matched to the company data used in the payment and invoice flows.
How should VAT be handled in the launch plan?
VAT should be mapped before catalogue publication, not repaired once orders have started. The company’s VAT position, invoice configuration, product treatment, domestic or cross-border delivery pattern, returns and marketplace settlement flow need one coherent review with the accountant.
Do not use a generic internet “Turkey VAT rate” as a launch decision. Rates, exemptions, invoicing obligations and tax treatment depend on the supply and the facts. Keep the tax workstream separate from ETBIS: ETBIS registration is an ecommerce-information obligation; it does not determine the VAT result. Build a product and channel matrix, then obtain written advice for the actual sales flow.
Does a marketplace remove all compliance work?
No. A domestic marketplace-only seller has the narrower ETBIS treatment described above, but it still needs a compliant commercial and tax setup. Marketplace pages also require prescribed seller information. The Ministry says a merchant selling through an intermediary service provider should make available its trade name, business or registered brand name, serviceable KEP address, MERSIS number, and information that its centre address and verified phone are held by the intermediary.
Marketplace terms, payment reserves, returns, product safety and customer-message controls are separate from ETBIS. Treat each platform as a channel with its own contract and evidence pack.
Turkey ecommerce company setup checklist
- Choose the own-store, domestic-marketplace, overseas-marketplace or hybrid model.
- Confirm the entity, shareholder, manager, address and signature plan.
- Prepare foreign-source documents for the required formalities and translation.
- File through MERSIS and complete Trade Registry registration.
- Complete potential-tax-number, bank and tax-office follow-up where applicable.
- Map VAT, invoicing, fulfilment, returns and payment settlement before selling.
- Determine the ETBIS position before activity starts.
- Publish the required contact and transaction-guide information on an own store.
- Review marketplace seller disclosures and keep platform records.
Frequently asked questions
Do all marketplace sellers need ETBIS registration?
No. The Ministry FAQ says sellers using domestic intermediary ecommerce platforms do not have the ETBIS registration and notification obligation on that basis. The facts change for own-store activity and for the listed overseas-platform case.
Can a foreign shareholder form a Turkish ecommerce company?
Foreign shareholders can be part of the formation process, but their document, tax-identity and formalisation steps must be planned early. The official formation guide lists the foreign-shareholder document route.
Is ETBIS the same as a company registration?
No. MERSIS and the Trade Registry deal with the company file. ETBIS is an ecommerce registration and notification system for covered activity.
Can a domestic marketplace replace tax and invoice planning?
No. Platform onboarding does not decide the company’s tax, invoice, product or return controls.
Corpenza can coordinate the formation sequence, document readiness and operational handover for a Turkish ecommerce structure. Talk to our company formation team before you commit to a sales channel or launch date.
Sources: Invest in Türkiye, Establishing a Business; Ministry of Trade, ETBIS; Ministry of Trade, Ecommerce FAQ; Ministry of Trade, minimum-capital notice.
