What Is Technology Development Zone (Technopark / Teknokent)?
A Technology Development Zone (teknopark) is a designated site under Türkiye's Law No. 4691, usually attached to a university, where companies carrying out R&D and software activities benefit from dedicated tax incentives.
Technology Development Zones are established under Law No. 4691 to strengthen cooperation between universities, research institutions and industry, commercialise technological knowledge and support technology-intensive production. In everyday use they are called teknopark or teknokent, and they are the closest Turkish equivalent to a university science park with a statutory tax regime attached.
A company does not simply rent space in a zone. It applies with a specific R&D or software project, which the zone's managing company reviews and must approve before the company may operate there. The incentives attach to approved projects carried out inside the zone, not to the company as a whole.
The headline consequences of the status are a corporate tax exemption on qualifying income earned in the zone, an income tax withholding incentive for project personnel, and a stamp duty exemption on certain transactions. The scope, rates and duration of these reliefs are revised periodically by legislation.
Because of that, zone status is not a benefit that runs on autopilot once granted. Companies must separate project costs, track work performed inside versus outside the zone, and document personnel time. Where that discipline is missing, exempt amounts are frequently challenged during a tax inspection.