Free Zones are defined as fenced-in areas in which special regulatory treatment exists for the operating users in order to promote exports of goods and services. Free Zones offer more convenient and flexible business climate in order to increase trade volume and export for some industrial and commercial activities as compared to the other parts of the country. Basic objectives of the Foundation and Operation of Free Zones are promoting export oriented investment and production, accelerating foreign direct investment and technology access, directing enterprises towards export, developing international trade. Below is the list of free zones

Free economic zone

Many countries have, or have had at some time, designated areas where companies are taxed very lightly or not at all to encourage development or for some other reason...

 of Turkey.

Free zones in Turkey

Name	Province	Foundation date
Mersin Free Zone	Mersin Mersin -Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...	1987
Antalya Free Zone	Antalya Antalya Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...	1987
Ege Free Zone	İzmir Izmir Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...	1990
İstanbul Atatürk Airport Free Zone	İstanbul Istanbul Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...	1990
Trabzon Free Zone	Trabzon Trabzon Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...	1992
İstanbul Leather Industry Free Zone	İstanbul	1995
East Anatolia Free Zone	Erzurum Erzurum Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...	1995
Mardin Free Zone	Mardin Mardin Mardin is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for its Arabic-like architecture, and for its strategic location on a rocky mountain overlooking the plains of northern Syria.-History:...	1995
İstanbul Stock Exchange Free Zone (İMKB)	İstanbul	1997
İzmir Menemen Leather Free Zone	İzmir (Menemen Menemen Menemen is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey as well as the district's central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River... )	1998
Rize Free Zone	Rize Rize Rize is the capital of Rize Province, in northeast Turkey, on the Black Sea coast.-Etymology:The name comes from Greek or Ριζαίον , meaning "mountain slopes". In modern times, its name in Greek was usually Ριζούντα . Its Latin forms are Rhizus and Rhizaeum...	1998
Samsun Free Zone	Samsun Samsun Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...	1998
İstanbul Tracia Free Zone	İstanbul	1998
Kayseri Free Zone	Kayseri Kayseri Kayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and...	1998
Adana Yumurtalık Free Zone	Adana Adana Province Adana Province is a province of Turkey located in south-central Anatolia. With a population of 2,085,225, it is the fifth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78% of the residents of the province...  (Yumurtalık Yumurtalik Yumurtalık is a small city and a district in Adana Province of Turkey. It is a Mediterranean port at a distance of about from Adana center. Yumurtalık's population does not exceed 5,000 in winter, but in summer, it rises to 30 to 40,000 people since many inhabitants of Adana have holiday homes here... )	1998
European Free Zone	Tekirdağ Tekirdag Province The Tekirdağ Province is in Trakya , the northwestern part of Turkey. The capital city is Tekirdağ. It is famous for its meatball called "Tekirdağ köfte" and the Turkish alcoholic drink called Tekirdağ rakısı.-Districts:...  (Çorlu Çorlu Çorlu is a northwestern Turkish city in inland Eastern Thrace that falls under the administration of the Province of Tekirdağ. It is a rapidly developing industrial center built on flatland located off the E80 highway between Istanbul and Turkey's border with Greece and Bulgaria. As of the 2000... )	1999
Gaziantep Free Zone	Gaziantep Gaziantep Gaziantep , Ottoman Turkish: Ayintab) previously and still informally called Antep; ʻayn tāb is a city in southeast Turkey and amongst the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. The city is located 185 kilometres northeast of Adana and 127 kilometres by road north of Aleppo, Syria...	1999
Bursa Free Zone	Bursa	2001
Kocaeli Free Zone	Kocaeli Kocaeli Province Kocaeli Province is a province of Turkey. Its capital is İzmit, which is sometimes referred to as Kocaeli itself. The largest town in the province is now Gebze. The traffic code is 41. The province is located at the easternmost end of the Marmara Sea, especially on the Gulf of İzmit. Because of...	2001
Denizli Free Zone	Denizli Denizli Denizli is a growing industrial city in the Southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about a hundred meters. Denizli is located in southwestern Turkey, in the country's Aegean Region.The city...	2002
Tubitak Free Zone	Kocaeli (Gebze Gebze Gebze is an industrial city in Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Situated 30 miles east of Istanbul on the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara, it is the largest district of Kocaeli; Gebze has experienced rapid growth in recent years- from 159,116 in 1990, to 282,444 in 2009. Gebze accounts for 15% of... )	2002

The European Free Trade Zone (EFZ) (www.asb.com.tr), İstanbul-Leather and Industrial Free Zone (www.desbas.com.tr) and Ege Free Zone (www.esbas.com.tr) are among the largest Free Zones in Turkey. Free Zones offer ready offices, warehouses, open stock areas, production facilities for rent or sale and lands with ready infrastructure. All kinds of infrastructure services (electricity, water, gas, waste water, purification, communication) are provided in these technocities. In addition to these facilitations, Free Zone such as European Free Zone (EFZ) also offers construction – undertaking services, catering, IT Services, Maintenance Services, Insurance, Loading/Unloading, Warehousing, Consulting Services, 24 hour Private Security and Conference Halls.

Incentives and advantages of Free Zones

• Companies are %100 exempt from Corporate Tax (%20) and Income Tax (%15-%35).
• Free Zones are considered to be outside of the customs border, no Customs Duty, Value Added Tax (VAT) or KKDF (%3 over the credit payments) is applied on the goods that enter the zone.
• Companies that sell at least %85 of their products abroad are %100 exempt from the income tax payable over salaries of employees.
• Due to the Custom Union Agreement between Turkey & EU, Turkish origin goods are in free circulation in EU Market (No Tax between TR & EU)
• Companies can freely transfer their profits and earninings to Turkey or any other country.
• As Free Zones are outside of the customs border, companies can purchase good from Turkey for export prices. (No VAT)
• Infrastructure services are provided exempt from VAT (Electricity, water, Gas, telecommunication)
• Companies are free to bring second hand (used) machinery to the Free Zones and there is no age limitations for the importation of second hand (used) machinery.
• As the transactions within performed with convertible foreign currencies, domestic inflation rate will not influence purchasing and selling activities, inventory control and accounting procedures in general.
• The faulty goods can easily be returned to their origin by just issuing an invoice.
• Companies can keep their stock duty free for an unlimited period of time.