According to Article 106 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004 (the “Law”), the sale of the debtor’s seized goods shall be made by the enforcement office through auction upon the request of the debtor or the creditor. Provided that the creditor or the debtor requests the sale within 1 year from the seizure, the enforcement office ensures that the creditor collects its receivables by compulsory sale within 2 months in terms of movable goods and within 3 months in terms of immovable properties.
According to Article 111/a added to the Law on 24 November 2021, the debtor has now been authorized to sell the seized goods. The Regulation on the Sale Authorization Granted to the Debtor Pursuant to the Execution and Bankruptcy Law dated May 28, 2022, and numbered 31849 (“Regulation”) has been issued regarding the content and implementation of the article in question.
Before the Regulation, the sale of the seized goods was being realized on the condition that the sale price is over 50% of the estimated value. With these new regulations, it is aimed that the debtors pay their debts more easily and sell their goods at a price closer to the market value; thus, both the debtors and the buyers shall be satisfied with the sale of the seized goods. Another purpose of the regulation is to save time and costs during the sale of seized goods.
According to the Law and the Regulation, the debtor may apply to the enforcement office within 7 days following the notification of the appraisal of the seized good and request authorization for the voluntary sale of the same. The price for a voluntary sale is clearly defined in Article 111/a-2 of the Law:
“In a voluntary sale, the sale price shall not be less than the amount corresponding to ninety percent of the estimated value of the good and the sum of the receivables that are secured by that good and that have priority over the receivables of the person requesting the sale, whichever is higher, and in addition to this amount, the sum of the execution expenses incurred for this seized good until this stage.“
15 days shall be given to the debtor with the authorization document issued for the voluntary sale. The buyer pays the agreed price within the 15 days period to the bank account of the enforcement office provided that it is not less than the minimum voluntary sale price determined. Thereupon, if the bailiff confirms that the conditions for voluntary sale are met, the bailiff immediately forwards the execution file to the court to approve the sale and to decide to complete the handover and delivery of the good. The court, within 10 days at the latest, renders the final decision on the acceptance or rejection of the request as a result of its examination of the file.
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