The following article gives an overview of recent developments in enforcement of the Turkish customs regime, including decisions by the Council of Ministers and communiqués by the Ministry of Economy regarding prevention of unfair competition in imports, made between 4 August 2015 and 13 August 2015.

Application and Distribution Procedures and Principles for Tariff Quotas in Relation to a Safeguard Measure Imposed on Wallpaper and Similar Wallcoverings

A safeguard measure has been imposed on wallpaper and similar wallcoverings from 6 August 2015 by Decree number 2015/7751 by the Council of Ministers (“Decree”). The Decree outlines tariff quotas which will apply to listed countries.

The Communiqué on Tariff Quotas in Imports number 2015/02 (“Communiqué”) determines procedures and principals for applying and distributing tariff quotas related to the safeguard measure imposed on wallpaper and similar wallcoverings. The Communiqué was published in Official Gazette number 29437 on 6 August 2015 and entered into effect on that day.

To apply to receive the tariff quota, an Import License Application Form must be completed and sent to the Ministry of Economy (“Ministry”) with the following documents:

  • Signatory circular.
  • Power of attorney, if the declarer and importer are different.
  • Proforma invoice or commercial invoice.

The tariff quota will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The tariff quota amount granted will not exceed net 20 tones per import license. An import license will be only issued for a country or customs zone.

During imports made within the scope of a tariff quota, the customs authority will request import license and documents reflecting the preferential origin of the goods.

Goods which are subject to the tariff quota can only enter into free circulation while the import license is valid. Import licenses must be returned to the Ministry after expiry and cannot be transferred.

Please see this link for the full text of the relevant Communiqué and its annexes (only available in Turkish).

Please see this link for our article about the relevant Decree.

Change to Customs Duty Applied to Goods From Malaysia

The customs duty applied to goods from Malaysia has been changed by Council of Ministers Decree number 2015/7983 (“Decree”).

The Decree states that an additional customs duty (under the Additional Decrees to Import Regime Decree) will not be applied to goods from Malaysia.

The Decree was published in Official Gazette number 29434 (Duplicated) on 3 August 2015 and entered into effect on that day.

Please see this link for the full text of the relevant Decree and its annexes (only available in Turkish).