Notable Changes in  Regulations – 2024

On 12.03.2024, the Law No. 7499 Amending the Code of Criminal Procedure and Certain Laws (Law) was published, which introduced significant amendments to the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 (KVKK). With these amendments, important regulations regarding the processing of special personal data and the transfer of processed personal data abroad came into force and the scope of the misdemeanors regulated in the KVKK was expanded. With these amendments:

• The distinction between data on health and sexual life under special personal data and other special personal data was removed and the legal grounds permitting the processing of special personal data were expanded.

• The way was paved for the transfer of personal data abroad in accordance with the international standards to be set out by the Board, and the process of transferring data abroad was also facilitated with new mechanisms and permissions.

The Guide on Transfer of Personal Data Abroad (Guide) was published by the Personal Data Protection Authority (Authority). The Guide describes the processes regarding the transfer of personal data abroad by detailing the application principles and procedures to be followed in connection with the comprehensive changes made in Article 9 of the KVKK titled “Transfer of Personal Data Abroad.”
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SEDDK has introduced regulations regarding the cancellation of traffic policies in the event of sale of an insured vehicle and also the policies that can be used as reference through the Circular on Amendments to the Circular No. 2019/9 regarding the Implementation of Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance (2024/30) (“Circular”). With the amendments, the period of the policies that can be taken as a reference in the preparation/renewal of the traffic insurance policies was reduced from 30 days to 14 days. In addition, with the new amendments, validity of traffic policies will end with the transfer of the ownership of a vehicle and not pass over from the previous owner to the new owner of the vehicle. This means that the new owner is obliged to get a traffic policy at the time of sale, and if the sale does not take place for any reason, the policy is cancelled from the beginning upon the buyer’s request and full refund is made without any deduction.

Through the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Measurement and Assessment of Capital Adequacy of Insurance, Reinsurance and Pension Companies published in the Official Gazette dated 31.12.2024 (Regulation), changes were made to the coefficients regarding the calculation of capital adequacy (regarding receivables from public institutions and the Turkish Savings Deposit Insurance Fund companies) and the reporting periods regarding the measures were shortened. In addition, it is necessary to calculate capital adequacy every quarter and comply with the ratio in each calculation period, and the administrative measures included in the regulation will be applied to all results in March, June, September and December. Previously, calculations were made in December and measures were implemented based on the ratio determined in December. However, it has been changed to March, June, September and December.
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The “Regulation Amending the Regulation Amending the Financial Reporting for Insurance, Reinsurance and Pension Companies,” “Communiqué on Amendments to the Communiqué on the Presentation of Financial Statements of Insurance, Reinsurance and Pension Companies,” and “Communiqué on Amendments to the Communiqué on the Insurance Uniform Chart of Accounts and Prospectus” were published in the Official Gazette dated 27.12.2024 and numbered 32765. It is understood that the fundamental change introduced within the scope of the relevant legislation is the change of the effective date determined for the financial reporting standard from 1/1/2025 to 1/1/2026.