SERVICE OF NOTIFICATIONS BY ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS IN TÜRKİYE THROUGH UETS, KEP AND EYP

The Notification Law numbered 7201 (in Turkish “Tebligat Kanunu”, hereinafter referred to as the “Law”) was modified in March 2018 with Law numbered 7101 on the amendment of the Bankruptcy Law and Other Laws. Based on this change of legislation, a new Regulation on Electronic Notification (in Turkish, “Elektronik Tebligat Yönetmeliği” the “Regulation”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 6 December 2018 and numbered 30617. This Regulation entered into force on 1 January 2019.  Prior to the Regulation was in force, legal electronic notifications/notices were delivered either by post i.e. hand delivery or through the Registered Mail System, known as “KEP” in accordance with the provisions of the Law.

As of 1 January 2019, in order to be duly served electronically, legal notifications/notices issued by the public institutions (courts, bailiff courts, notary public, etc.) are required to be sent through the National Electronic Notification System also known as “UETS” (in Turkish, “Ulusal Elektronik Tebligat Sistemi”) which is established, managed and secured by the Turkish National Postal Services Provider (PTT A.Ş.).

1. National Electronic Notification System or “UETS”
   In this respect, Article 7/a of the Law provides that all private legal entities such as joint stock companies, limited liability companies are required to obtain a UETS account suitable for receiving the aforesaid legal notifications/notices electronically.
   Furthermore, all legal notifications made via UETS system will be deemed duly received by the recipient at the end of the fifth (5^th) day after the notification reaches the recipient’s electronic notification address, regardless of whether it has been read by the recipient. In recent years, in some of Supreme Court of Appeals’ judgments (there are also some other judgments applying the five – day period), the Court of Appeal  concluded that such notifications and notices shall be accepted as to have been read before  the end of  5^th day, if the subject notification/ notice has been seen by the recipient before (the date on which the recipient saw the document can also be tracked on the system). Therefore, unless a Unified Decision of Supreme Courts is issued (in Turkish “İçtihadı Birleştirme Kararı”), UETS notifications/ notices are considered read at the end of 5^th day without taking into account whether the recipient really saw it or not within this five-day period. Despite this regulation, there is not yet any robust implementation of sanction such as imposing administrative penalties for non-compliance of having an active UETS account and hence, in practice, the concerned entities or individuals avoid activating it and continue with the old system of physical service of receiving legal notifications/ notices.
2. Registered electronic mail or “KEP”
   Besides the UETS, kindly note that official correspondence and e-mails may still be sent through KEP which will be considered valid. As per Article 12 of KEP Regulation (in Turkish, “Kayıtlı Elektronik Posta Sistemine İlişkin Usul ve Esaslar Hakkında Yönetmelik”), all mail notifications sent via KEP are considered legally read by its recipient 24 hours after it is delivered. In this respect, the legal entities must obtain a KEP account in line with the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code and Regulation Governing Official Correspondence (in Turkish, “Resmi Yazışmalarda Uygulanacak Usul ve Esaslar Yönetmeliği”).
   Last but not least, an important distinction between UETS and KEP systems is that with UETS only official legal notifications/ notices having specific legal consequences that may be sent through judicial, administrative and fiscal authorities provided under the Law are considered valid, whereas official correspondences and e-mails between private persons and entities may be sent and delivered through KEP.
3. e-Correspondence Project or “EYP”
   The Regulation on The Procedures and Principles to be Applied in Official Correspondence (in Turkish “Resmî Yazışmalarda Uygulanacak Usul Ve Esaslar Hakkinda Yönetmelik”) published in the Official Gazette dated 2 February 2015 and numbered 29255 and was subsequently superseded by the Regulation on Official Correspondences with the Turkish Presidency Decision numbered 2646 published on 9 June 2020 provides that e-Correspondence Project (“EYP”) shall be carried out under the coordination of Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey (“Digital Transformation Office”). EYP aims to ensure that official correspondence between public institutions and organizations is carried out securely in electronic environment. Although EYP has been designed to enable correspondence between the public and private sector and between the public and citizens, it is envisaged to be used in official correspondences between public institutions and organizations. Kindly note that according to the Digital Transformation Office, EYP is not yet a widely used electronic system by private entities/individuals, since it imposes no obligations and there are no sanctions for not using EYP.

Our Law Firm remains at your disposal for any further clarifications you may need.

Copyright © 2023 Cailliau&Colakel Attorney Partnership, All rights reserved.