Regulation on the Audit of Cooperatives and Their Umbrella Organizations Regarding the Increase in Sales Revenue.

Dear Members,

As referenced in the correspondence received from the General Directorate of Craftsmen, Artisans and Cooperatives of our Ministry: As you are aware, Article 69, titled "External Audit," of the Cooperatives Law No. 1163, as amended by Law No. 7339, stipulates in its first paragraph that "Cooperatives and their superior organizations determined by the Ministry of Commerce, taking into account criteria such as field of activity, number of members, and turnover, are subject to external audit..." Furthermore, the "Regulation on the Audit of Cooperatives and Superior Organizations," prepared to establish the criteria for auditors conducting both internal and external audits, the standards for the reports they will submit, and the implementation principles regarding audits, was published in the Official Gazette No. 31737 dated 1/2/2022. Subsequently, amendments were made in the Official Gazette No. 32620 dated 2/8/2024 to address the needs identified based on practical experience.

In this context, the provision under subparagraph (c) of the first paragraph of Article 15, titled "Cooperatives Subject to External Audit and Consequences of Not Conducting External Audit," which states "Cooperatives with net sales revenue of 30 million Turkish liras or more, regardless of their field of activity," has been revised to read "Cooperatives with net sales revenue of 30 million Turkish liras or more, unless a higher amount is determined by the Ministry, regardless of their field of activity." This amendment allows the Ministry to update the net sales revenue criterion for being subject to external audit. Given the current economic indicators and requests from relevant Ministries and cooperatives, it has become necessary to update this amount. Accordingly, with the approval of the Ministry, it has been decided to change "30 million Turkish liras" to "100 million Turkish liras," with the determined amount to be applied as of 31/12/2025, and for cooperatives and superior organizations using a special accounting period, the first date following the end of the accounting period after 31/12/2025.