REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR IMPORT – EXPORT

1 power of attorney, notarized
Establishment registry gazette, 1 notary certified
Tax liability letter 1 piece
1 notarized copy of the identity card of the authorized signatory
1 signature circular, notarized
Activity certificate 1 piece
Company letterhead

In addition to the above in export transactions;

Relevant Union Membership Card
Turkish Invoice with Finance Certification
Company Stamp for the first transaction
Company Letterhead

Packages sent from abroad are delivered to our country in Istanbul. If the package is sent from Europe, it is delivered to the European Postal Processing Center (AVPİM), if it is sent from other countries, it is delivered to the International Postal Processing Center (UPİM). Considering the product is duty free, it will be mailed to your address and you will probably receive your package within 3-4 days. If the product has customs procedures or is thought to be subject to customs, it is shipped to the Customs Directorate in your province.

When the product reaches your location, it waits in the cargo section of PTT. Here, it is examined by the customs inspection officer, who usually works one day a week. For example, if the customs inspection shift is on Wednesday, the customs inspection officer goes to the PTT on Wednesday and examines the products coming from abroad and sees which ones are subject to customs clearance. It delivers the products that it thinks are duty-free to the distributor and ensures that they are delivered to the addresses. It sends a written notification to the recipients of packages that it considers to be subject to customs, informing them that the products are waiting at customs and to take the necessary procedures. (This is how it works, but most of the time, this notification does not reach those who ordered, and since the product owner does not arrive within the time limit, the product is either repatriated or liquidated. (It is left to the state)) In order to avoid this problem, after placing the order, the cargo company that carries out the transportation is sent online with the tracking number confirming that the seller has delivered the cargo. (For example: PTT is in the international tracking system, TNT, DHL etc. is in the relevant company’s shipment tracking system.) You can directly access the shipment tracking addresses of the carrier companies we mentioned in the cargo tracking section of our site.)

It is quite natural for every shipment coming from abroad to be stuck at customs. Shipments cheaper than 75 euros may be detained at customs, even if it is unlikely. For example, if a very large parcel arrives and the price is written as 20 dollars, the customs officer may not believe it and may ask to see the product in the package. In this case, you need to go to customs and your package will be opened under your supervision. Shipments are also considered as personal goods and commercial goods, and customs procedures are processed accordingly in accordance with the legislation.

1. Installation of the Product at Customs
If the product you purchased is stuck at customs, a letter will be sent to your address stating that the incoming package must be cleared for customs. If you received this letter, it means your product has been stuck at customs. In this case, just in case, we recommend that you bring with you a sales invoice (Commercial Invoice or Proforma invoice) that the sender notified you for the product, if any, and a bank receipt documenting the amount you paid, a credit card statement, or a printout of the screenshot of the payment you made via PayPal. In this way, your transactions will be much easier. .

2. Find Out the Reason for Getting Stuck at Customs
The reasons for a product to be stuck at customs may be as follows: In our legislation, customs procedures are applied for products worth more than 75 euros. If the customs officer thinks that the value of the product is higher, the number of products in the package is high, etc. (If there is more than 1 of the same product, it is considered that the products have commercial value and are brought for trade purposes.). Go to the General Directorate of PTT in your province and meet with the customs officer on duty to find out why the product was stuck at customs. In most provinces, customs inspection officers only work at PTT for 1 day. Therefore, find out which day the customs inspection officer will be at the PTT or go directly to the Customs Directorate in your city.

3.Paying Customs Duty
If the product you bought is stuck at customs because it is more expensive than 75 euros, the customs duty is calculated by the inspection officer and you pay this amount to the tax office as customs duty. You can receive your product after declaring the receipt showing that you have paid the tax to the customs inspection officer.

FOREIGN CARGO COMPANIES

You can bring the product you bought from America or any other country in two different ways: via PTT or private cargo companies. I strongly recommend that you bring it via PTT and stay away from private cargo companies.

In order for a product you buy from abroad to arrive via PTT, you need to know which company works with PTT in the country where you purchased the product. For example, the company working with PTT in America is USPS, America’s postal service. If you ensure that the product you purchase from the USA is sent via USPS, your product will reach you via PTT. In other words, PTT carries out the mail distribution services of the USPS company in America in Turkey. If you are going to buy a product from the UK and want the product to be delivered to your home via PTT, you should find out which company in the UK distributes PTT to Turkey. PTT generally carries out the distribution of state-owned postal companies in Türkiye.

PTT and its Pros
The biggest advantage of bringing products via PTT is the ease of customs procedures. If you want to bring a customs product, it is much easier and more economical to bring it via PTT than to bring it through private companies. We will explain customs procedures on another page, but know that if you are going to bring a customs product, the best company is PTT.

PTT and Cons
PTT delivers the package in longer time than private cargo companies. Shipments without a tracking code may be lost.

Private Cargo Companies and Their Pros
Except for UPS, Fedex, TNT or PTT, other cargo companies can deliver the products you purchase in a very short time. A package sent from the USA can reach you within 4 or 5 days. Considering that domestic cargo shipments are sometimes delivered in 3 days, it is truly an admirable service that the package from the USA reaches you in 5 days.

Private Cargo Companies and Cons
Private cargo companies provide more expensive services than PTT and sometimes subject products to customs against the law. For example, if a product that should arrive at your address duty-free comes via private cargo companies, it may be considered a commercial product and subject to customs duties. In this case, they demand that you pay the sum of hundreds of liras of customs duty, storage fee, customs commission fee and the cost of issuing a power of attorney, even though it is against the law. For this reason, I recommend that you stay away from private companies and prefer PTT.

Goods: It refers to all kinds of substances, products and values.

Turkish Customs Territory: It is the name given to the territory of the Republic of Turkey, including the territorial waters, internal waters and airspace of the Republic of Turkey.

Person: Real and legal persons and partnership of persons who have the legal capacity to make dispositions.

Resident Person: It refers to real persons, legal entities and a partnership of persons who have legal residence in the Turkish customs territory.

Trade Policy Measures: It refers to non-tariff measures determined by provisions regarding the import and export of goods, such as surveillance and protection measures, quantitative restrictions and import or export bans.

Customs Status: It refers to the status of the goods in terms of whether they are put into free circulation in the Turkish Customs Territory.

Goods in Free Circulation: It refers to goods originating from Turkey and the EU or originating from a third country, whose import procedures have been completed in Turkey or the EU, the necessary customs duties, taxes and duties having equivalent effect have been collected, and which have not benefited from a full or partial refund of these taxes and duties.

Customs Duties: It is a general concept that refers to all import or export taxes applied to goods in accordance with the provisions in force.

Export Taxes: It refers to the customs duties that must be collected regarding the export of goods and all financial burdens equivalent to customs duties.

Warehouse: These are temporary warehouses where goods are kept for protection against damage during import or export.

Obliged: It refers to all persons responsible for fulfilling customs obligations.

Customs Obligation: It refers to a person’s obligation to pay import or export duties in accordance with the applicable legislation.

Origin: Indicates the economic nationality of an item.

Insurance Certificate: Available for exports made according to CIF or CI delivery method. It is carried out by the exporter in accordance with the information and instructions given by the importer and on the account of the importer. In foreign trade, the commercial goods in question are insured against risks.

Form A Certificate: It is a type of proof of origin document used in the Generalized Preferences System, which is based on the principle of unilateral concessions, and shows that the goods originate from the beneficiary country. The USA, Japan, Australia, Russian Federation, Canada and New Zealand countries apply the beneficiary GSP regime to Turkey.

Customs Surveillance: It is an expression that covers the procedures generally applied by customs administrations to ensure compliance with customs legislation and, where necessary, other provisions applicable to goods under customs supervision.

Customs Inspection: Inspection of goods in order to ensure compliance with customs legislation and, where necessary, other provisions applicable to goods under customs supervision, proving the existence and authenticity of documents, examination of business accounts, books and other written documents, control of means of transport, control of baggage and the goods carried by persons and on them. It refers to the fulfillment of special transactions, such as administrative investigations and other similar transactions.

Customs Regime: It is a general concept given to the procedures to be carried out by people for an item arriving at customs; There are a total of eight regimes: free movement regime, transit regime, warehouse regime, inward processing regime, customs control declaration, temporary import regime, outward processing regime and export regime.

Customs Declaration: Requesting that the goods be subjected to a customs regime within the framework of the determined procedures and principles is called customs declaration.

Free Trade Agreement (FTA): The purpose of these agreements is to encourage and increase trade between the two countries by applying preferential tariffs to goods originating from each other.

FOB: It is the abbreviation of the English word “Free on Board”, which means free of charge on board. FOB sales value is the sum of the costs until delivery to the ship.

CIF: It is the abbreviation of the words cost, insurance and freight. CIF sales price = cost of goods + insurance cost + freight cost.

GTIP: Customs Tariff Statistics Position

Bill of Lading (Document of Shipment): It is a document in the nature of a negotiable document used in transportation by train, plane or ship, showing that the goods have been received for transportation and will be delivered to the owner of the bill of lading at the destination.

Proforma Invoice: It is an invoice in the form of a proposal prepared by the exporter at the agreement stage, which includes the unit price, features and sales conditions of the goods and aims to provide information.

Packing List: How much goods are loaded on which vehicle, each unit, package, sack, etc. includes weight. It may be requested by the customs administration and, in case of damage, by insurance companies.

Health Certificate: It is a document showing whether the exported goods comply with health conditions. It is obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.