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Under the provisions of Turkish public procurement legislation, contracting authorities have the discretionary authority regarding the participation of foreign bidders in tenders where the estimated cost remains below the threshold value. However, for tenders with an estimated cost equal to or exceeding the threshold values, it is mandatory that the tenders be conducted open to foreign bidders.
Threshold values are regulated under Article 8 of Public Procurement Law No. 4734. These threshold values and monetary limits are updated annually by the Public Procurement Authority based on the Wholesale Price Index of the previous year and are published in the Official Gazette by February 1st each year, taking effect on the same date.
According to the 2025 Public Procurement Monitoring Report published by the Public Procurement Authority, a total of 150,811 tenders (excluding direct procurements) were conducted in 2025, and the total monetary volume of contracts signed as a result of these tenders reached 2.925 trillion Turkish Lira (approx. USD 76 billion / EUR 70.5 billion).
In accordance with the legislation, all 8,283 tenders with estimated costs above the threshold value were conducted open to the participation of foreign bidders. Additionally, 7,165 tenders below the threshold value were made open to foreign participation by contracting authorities. In total, 15,448 tenders in Türkiye were conducted open to the participation of foreign bidders, with the total value of these tenders reaching 1.96 trillion Turkish Lira (approx. USD 50.9 billion / EUR 47.2 billion).
Another important aspect is the application of price advantages in favor of domestic bidders. Contracting authorities may stipulate in the administrative specifications that a price advantage of up to 15% will be provided in favor of domestic bidders. In such cases, the most economically advantageous tender is determined by applying the specified price advantage.
The price advantage to be applied in favor of domestic bidders is calculated by applying the price advantage rate specified in the tender documents to the prices offered by foreign bidders and adding the resulting amount to their offered prices. Joint ventures that include foreign real and/or legal persons among their partners cannot benefit from this price advantage.
In goods supply tenders, a price advantage of up to 15% may be provided in favor of domestic bidders offering domestic goods, exclusively in tenders open to domestic bidders. Furthermore, in goods supply tenders—regardless of the estimated cost—provisions may be made allowing all bidders to participate, and a price advantage of up to 15% may be provided in favor of bidders offering domestic goods.