Newsletter-21

92 NEWSLETTER 2016 shall not apply to the companies that are liquidated in ac- cordance with the TCC. Article 44 of the EBL regulates the requirement of a merchant who ceases commercial activities to notify the trade registry within 15 days, and to make a declaration of property indicating all of the assets and li- abilities, as well as the names and addresses of the creditors; whereas, Article 337/a sets forth the criminal consequences of the failure thereof. In our opinion, this amendment is appropriate, and eliminates the incompatibility between the ceasing of commercial activities and liq- uidation procedures of capital companies 9 . According to the preamble of the article, in practice, such a declaration of property is requested only from real person merchants who cease commercial activities, but not from capital companies and other legal entity merchants. As per the relevant provisions of the TCC, liquidators are already required to prepare an inventory regarding the company assets, together with a balance sheet, and to submit such for the approval of the general assembly, and a call is required to be made to the creditors. In such a case, making a declaration of property in accordance with the EBL means making the same transaction twice. Moreover, since the ceasing of commercial activities by capital companies occurs with the deletion of the trade name from the trade registry, and such company does not legally exist after the completion of the liquidation process in accord- ance with the TCC, it is impossible for it to make a declaration of property setting forth its assets and liabilities after such stage 10 . Provisions regarding Cheques The most significant amendment made to the Law on Cheques under Law No. 6728 is the criminal liability introduced again for the drawers of dishonored cheques. As well, regulations are made with respect to the components of cheques, and third parties are allowed to 9 See previous Newsletter article for a detailed review of the TCC and EBL provi- sions regarding the ceasing of commercial activities and liquidation of legal enti- ties: Ceasing Commercial Activities versus Liquidation of Legal Entities http:// www.erdem-erdem.com/en/articles/ceasing-commercial-activities-versus-liqui- dation-of-legal-entities/ (access date: 18.08.2016). 10 Preamble of Article 69 Law No. 6728.