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11 January 2018

Turkish customs regulations no longer require proof of origin certificates for imports from the EU to avoid imposition of additional customs duties

In Turkey, additional customs duty (ACD) applies to the importation of certain product categories, unless a preferential arrangement is in place. Under new regulations, published on 30 December 2017 and effective 28 February 2018, an "exporter declaration" will generally be sufficient to prove the origin of European Union (EU) imports (and to exempt them from ACD). A certificate of origin will no longer be requested unless the Turkish authorities have doubts related to the origin of the imported goods based on "serious and concrete reasons." This measure will reduce the compliance burden for traders importing goods into Turkey from the EU.

Background

ACD is based on the origin of the imported goods under Turkey's preferential trade arrangements (i.e., free trade agreements and generalized system of preferences). However, the customs union between Turkey and EU is based on the free circulation of goods, rather than on their origin. Therefore, under such customs union, origin is not regulated and how to determine proof of origin has been unclear for the implementation of ACD on goods imported from EU Member States.

Goods in the customs union in "free circulation" are accompanied by an A.TR Movement Certificate to indicate this status. However, the Certificate does not indicate the origin of the goods (which may have been previously imported into the customs union from outside the EU or Turkey). To determine the origin of goods imported with an A.TR Movement Certificate, therefore, the Turkish customs authorities previously requested a certificate of origin as documentary proof to eliminate ACD, which caused additional operational burdens for traders. As noted, this certificate is no longer requested except for cases where the customs authorities have "serious and concrete" reasons.

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CONTACTS

For additional information with respect to this Alert, please contact the following:

Kuzey Yeminli Mali Müsavirlik A.S. Istanbul

  • Sercan Bahadir
    sercan.bahadir@tr.ey.com
  • Tugba Aslan
    tugba.aslan@tr.ey.com

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ATTACHMENT

PDF version of this Tax Alert

Document ID: 2018-5116

 
 

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