Amendment Fee Calculator

What Is the Amendment Fee?

In a civil lawsuit you claim a certain amount in your statement of claim, and a proportional fee is initially paid on that amount. As the proceedings advance, however, particularly after the expert report or the taking of evidence, it may become apparent that the amount claimed does not cover the actual loss. It is at this point that the claimant may increase the claim (the value of the case) by resorting to the institution of amendment (ıslah). For fee purposes, this increased part is treated almost as a new case value, and an additional fee is charged on it. In practice this additional fee is called the amendment fee.

The amendment fee is not in fact an independent type of fee; it is the completion of the advance part of the proportional judgment fee corresponding to the increased case value. For this reason, calculating the amendment fee correctly is of critical importance both for the lawsuit to continue to be heard on the merits and to avoid any loss of rights.

Legal Basis

Amendment is regulated in Articles 176 to 182 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 (HMK). The claimant may increase the relief sought, either partially or wholly, by way of amendment. The fee dimension, on the other hand, is determined under the Fees Act No. 492 and within the scope of Tariff No. (1) annexed to that Act.

Under the Fees Act, the proportional judgment fee is calculated as a certain proportion (per mille) of the case value, and a part of it is collected in advance when the lawsuit is filed. When the case value is raised through amendment, the difference between the advance fee calculated on the raised amount and the advance fee paid at the outset is deposited as the amendment fee. Because the rates are updated each year by the revaluation rate, the current tariff must be taken as the basis for the calculation.

How Is the Amendment Fee Calculated?

The logic of the calculation is based on the principle of "completing over the increased part". The steps may be summarised as follows:

• The new case value is determined: The total amount of the claim reached after amendment is taken as the basis.
• The amount of the increase is found: The amount claimed at the initial filing (on which the fee was paid) is subtracted from the new case value. The difference is the amount of the increase subject to the fee.
• The proportional fee rate is applied: The proportional judgment fee rate in the current tariff is applied to the amount of the increase.
• The advance part is calculated: The portion of the proportional fee that must be collected in advance (in practice generally one quarter) makes up the fee to be paid at the time of amendment.

This tool provides an approximate estimate of the amendment fee based on the amount of the increase you enter. The result is for information purposes; the exact amount may vary according to the date on which the lawsuit was filed, the current tariff, and the calculation of the court cashier's office.

The Distinction Between Fixed and Proportional Fees

Some lawsuits are subject not to a value-based fee but to a fixed (flat) fee. In lawsuits subject to a fixed fee, amendment as a rule does not give rise to an additional proportional fee, because the fee is not linked to the case value. By contrast, in lawsuits whose subject matter is money — such as claims for a debt, compensation or restitution — and which are subject to a proportional fee, the amendment fee comes into play when the case value is increased. For this reason, the first step is to correctly determine whether your lawsuit is subject to a proportional or a fixed fee.

Points to Watch Out For

• Amendment may be made once: As a rule, a party may exercise the right of amendment only once at the same stage of the proceedings. For this reason, it is important that the case value be increased correctly, in a single step, in line with the actual loss.
• Time and stage: Amendment may be made until the conclusion of the fact-finding stage (tahkikat). Amendment requests made too late may be rejected.
• Completing the fee is mandatory: Even if an amendment petition is filed, if the additional fee is not deposited the court grants time for the fee to be completed; if the fee is still not deposited, the case value may be deemed not to have been raised in respect of the increased part.
• Interest and ancillary claims: When the claim is increased, not only the principal but also the starting point and scope of interest must be clarified; otherwise the claim for interest on the increased part may remain incomplete.
• Limitation: It should not be forgotten that a plea of limitation may be raised in respect of the part increased through amendment; this matter should be assessed according to the type of lawsuit.

Common Mistakes

• Calculating the fee over the total rather than the increase: The fee is completed not over the whole of the new case value but only over the increased part. Counting the advance fee paid at the outset again, or disregarding it, gives an incorrect result.
• Calculating with the old tariff: The proportional fee rates and fixed items are updated each year. A calculation made with the rates of a past year leads to an insufficient or excessive fee being deposited.
• Confusing amendment with an increase of the amount: In some types of lawsuit, such as an action for an indeterminate debt (belirsiz alacak davası), the claim may be increased by procedures other than amendment; in such cases the fee regime may also operate differently.
• Failing to submit the fee receipt to the file: Even where the additional fee is deposited, failing to place the receipt in the case file in time may cause procedural problems.

A Short Example Scenario

In an action for pecuniary compensation brought on account of a work accident, the claimant initially sought 100,000 TL and paid the proportional advance fee on that amount. Following the expert report, it became apparent that the actual loss was higher, and the claimant increased the claim to 250,000 TL by amendment.

In this case the amount of the increase that forms the basis of the fee is 250,000 - 100,000 = 150,000 TL. The amendment fee will be equal to the advance part of the amount calculated by applying the current proportional judgment fee rate to this 150,000 TL. Once the claimant deposits this difference, the case continues to be heard on a value of 250,000 TL. If the fee is not deposited, the court grants time; and if it is not completed within the time granted, the increased part of 150,000 TL may be disregarded.

Important notice: This content and calculation tool have been prepared for general information purposes only; for the exact fee amount and the procedural consequences relating to your specific case, you must take the current legislation and the court cashier's records as your basis, and you should also consult a lawyer.