Istanbul Chamber of Commerce
The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC), similar to other chambers, is a non-governmental institution that works closely with public and private sectors to advance Turkey’s commercial interests. It was established in 1882 by governmental decree and its current members exceed 420 thousand.
The ICOC’s operational framework and mission comes from the Turkish Commercial Code and Trade Registry Regulation. In addition to the ICOC’s programming to develop Turkey’s economic interests, the ICOC facilitates the registration process for all Istanbul-based companies. Graph has over 1.2 million companies that are registered in the ICOC database.
What’s included in the ICOC data?
The ICOC includes company details, shareholding and management information. The ICOC is tasked with maintaining accurate and updated records on all Istanbul registered companies.
Below is a condensed list of the most important keywords used in the ICOC database and their translations into English
|
Durum |
Status |
|
Sicil No |
Registration Number |
|
Oda Sicil No |
Chamber Registration Number |
|
Mersis No |
Mersis Number |
|
Firma Ünvanı |
Company Name |
|
İş Adresi |
Business Address |
|
Yönetim Kurulu Üyesi |
Member of the Board of Directors |
|
Yönetim Kurulu |
Board of Directors |
|
Yetkililer |
Officials |
|
Müdür |
Director |
|
Ortaklar |
Partner |
|
Sermaye |
Capital (also used for shareholding) |
The ICOC provides three unique company identification numbers — an unusually high number for this kind of database. This is in part due to Turkey’s historically decentralized commercial registration process. They are:
- Sicil Numarasi (Sicil No) – a number given to the company by the trade registry in the provenance where the company is registered. Updates to the commercial code seek to centralize the registration process through the merkezi sicil kayıt sistemi (Central Registry Number System), known as MERSIS.
- Merkezi Sicil Kayıt Sistemi (Central Registry Number System), known as MERSIS – The Turkish Commercial Code that came into effect in 2006 initiated the use of MERSIS, which is an electronic, centralized commercial registration system. The aim is for every Turkish company to eventually have a unique MERSIS number, however because the transition has gone at different paces across Turkey, not all companies have completed their MERSIS registration.
- Oda Sicil No – the registration number assigned by the chamber of commerce in the company’s province.
To see an example of how ICOC data can be used in an investigation, read our case study on active shipping companies linked to oil smuggling and terror financing.