What Is R&D Centre (Ar-Ge Merkezi)?
An Ar-Ge Merkezi (R&D centre) is a status certified by Türkiye's Ministry of Industry and Technology under Law No. 5746, granting tax and social security reliefs for research and development carried out on the company's own premises.
Unlike a technopark, an R&D centre sits on the company's own site. The status is obtained by applying to the Ministry of Industry and Technology and receiving a certificate; there is no requirement to relocate into a designated zone, which makes it the usual route for manufacturers with established plants.
Applicants must maintain a physically separate R&D unit, a defined organisational structure, and at least the minimum number of full-time R&D personnel set by the Ministry. That minimum headcount and the other qualifying criteria are updated periodically by legislation.
The main consequences of the status are the R&D deduction on qualifying expenditure, an income tax withholding incentive for R&D staff, employer's share social security premium support, and a stamp duty exemption on certain transactions.
The status is subject to ongoing supervision. During the Ministry's monitoring and evaluation cycles a company must be able to show that the activities genuinely qualify as R&D and that personnel and expenditure have been reported correctly, so project documentation and cost segregation are part of holding the status, not an afterthought.