Importing into Turkey (Türkiye) means filing a customs declaration in the Ministry of Trade's BILGE system under Customs Law No. 4458, then paying a stack of charges that rarely stops at the customs duty: additional financial obligations, additional customs duties (IGV), any anti-dumping duty, special consumption tax (OTV) on listed goods, and VAT, generally at 20%. Product safety checks run separately through TAREKS. The point most importers miss: the EU-Turkey Customs Union removes customs duty on industrial goods moving under an A.TR, but an A.TR proves customs status, not origin, so third-country goods shipped from Europe can still owe IGV. This guide is current as of November 2026. For the general process, see our customs clearance guide.
Who runs Turkish customs and which rules apply
Customs sits inside the Ministry of Trade: its General Directorate of Customs runs clearance and its General Directorate of Imports runs trade remedy cases. The framework is Law No. 4458 of 27 October 1999 and the Customs Regulation (Official Gazette No. 27369, 7 October 2009).
Rates sit in a different layer. The Import Regime Decision (Presidential Decision No. 3350) and its lists are reissued each 31 December. The 2026 changes appeared in Official Gazette No. 33124 of 31 December 2025, and a mid-year package followed on 11 July 2026 (Decisions 11506, 11507 and 11508, Gazette No. 33307), which added tariff subheadings and changed duties. Last year's rate is not a quote. Turkish tariff codes (GTIP) run to 12 digits, so an HS code from another country is only a starting point.
Who files: importer, broker, tax number and e-signature
The US Country Commercial Guide (January 2026) says an importer needs only a tax number for all but restricted items, so a foreign seller usually relies on its Turkish buyer as importer. The WTO's 2023 review of Turkey states that using a customs broker is not compulsory, although many importers do. Filing yourself takes more than a login:
- BILGE credentials. The Ministry says a filer needs a BILGE username and password, applied for through the regional customs directorate.
- Obligor registration. Under the 2014 communiqué on the Obligor Registration and Tracking System, anyone filing electronically, or being filed for, must hold an approved record. The data is signed with an electronic signature, and each representative is recorded with their authority. A broker without that link cannot file for you.
- Single Window. Import documents and licences are obtained here. An approved application produces an e-document number that goes on the declaration, which BILGE then processes.
The WTO lists the standard set as a customs declaration, a preferential or non-preferential certificate of origin, commercial invoice, customs value statement and bill of lading or air waybill, after a summary pre-arrival declaration in BILGE.
What the EU-Turkey Customs Union covers
The EU's Access2Markets service describes the Customs Union, in force since 1995, as covering industrial and processed agricultural products, but not agricultural products in Annex I to the EU treaty, nor coal and steel. Turkey's duties on third-country goods follow the EU common external tariff for industrial and processed agricultural products, and it sets its own rates on agricultural goods.
The A.TR movement certificate carries the system: goods produced in the union or released into free circulation there move duty free with an A.TR as proof of customs status. Agricultural, coal and steel goods cannot use it. They rely on preferential origin under separate arrangements, shown by a EUR.1 or an origin declaration (see rules of origin). The Ministry also warned on 31 December 2025 that the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean area no longer works as one cumulation system from 1 January 2026, so check that every partner in a cumulation chain applies the same rules.
Additional customs duties (IGV): why an A.TR is not enough
IGV is charged on top of the regular duty under Decision No. 3351, by product and origin group. The WTO counted 3,206 tariff lines (27.7% of the total) at 2% to 30% in 2022. The July 2026 package changed rates across items including certain auto parts, electrical goods, LED lighting and lithium batteries, within a 0% to 30% range by product and country group, according to the Economic Development Foundation (IKV). The EU and certain FTA partners sit at zero.
The common mistake: treating an A.TR as an IGV exemption. Article 2(2) of Decision 3351 says goods of neither EU nor Turkish origin, imported under an A.TR, pay IGV at the "Other Countries" rate. A Chinese-made pump in free circulation in Germany arrives with an A.TR and can still owe it.
- Origin paperwork. The WTO records that, from 1 January 2021, a certificate of origin is not required for IGV goods when an A.TR proves free circulation. Ministry guidance from 2020 adds the limit: BILGE risk criteria or a reasonable doubt can still trigger a request. Check the current Customs Regulation wording.
- Responsibility. Lighter paperwork does not change the charge. Decision 3351 makes the importer responsible for declaring origin correctly, so ask your EU supplier for the manufacturing origin of each line.
- Cumulation partners. Goods from countries in a cross-cumulation system under Turkey's FTAs escape IGV only if preferential origin is documented. Decision 10791 waived that proof until 31 March 2026, so assume the window has closed unless your broker can point to an extension.
Additional financial obligations and anti-dumping duties
Additional financial obligations (AFLs, or EMY in Turkish) are set in the Import Regime. The WTO lists the agricultural component of processed foods, fish and certain other products, plus a separate AFL from 2018 on some goods originating in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Pakistan that arrive from the EU under an A.TR. Safeguards can take the same form: IKV reports a measure on PET resin of USD 120 a tonne, planned from 19 July 2026.
Anti-dumping and countervailing duties run under Law No. 3577. A Chambers 2026 practice guide counts about 250 such measures as of November 2025, lasting up to five years. They attach to origin, so a European routing does not settle the question. See our anti-dumping guide.
What an import pays
| Charge | Applies to | Where to read the rate (November 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | By GTIP and origin; nil for industrial goods under an A.TR | Import Regime lists |
| AFL and IGV | Listed goods from non-exempt origins | Import Regime; Decision 3351 tables |
| Trade remedies | Named goods and origins | Ministry communiqués |
| OTV | Fuels; vehicles, aircraft, vessels; alcohol and tobacco; durable goods | Law No. 4760 lists; the US guide cites up to 220% on cars |
| VAT | Most imports | Reported as 20% general, with reduced rates of 10% and 1%, since 10 July 2023; confirm the rate for your goods |
| KKDF | Imports paid on credit terms | 6% in the WTO's 2023 review; confirm |
The US guide says VAT falls on the CIF value plus duty and other pre-clearance charges, so every layer raises the VAT.
KKDF is a fund levy, not a bank fee. The WTO recorded the Resource Utilization Support Fund at 6% on credit-based imports (Decision 2011/2304), with 0% for goods listed since 2015 and nothing on cash payments. That is the latest official statement we could read, and Turkish practitioner guides still quote 6%. Those guides treat acceptance credit, deferred letters of credit and cash against goods as caught, say paying before the customs liability arises avoids it, and say it enters the VAT base. Payment terms are part of landed cost: ask your bank before you agree them.
TAREKS and product safety inspection
TAREKS is the Ministry's Risk-Based Trade Control System. Importers of listed goods apply online, and the system grades risk and decides which goods get a physical inspection. It covers goods such as toys, batteries, protective equipment, machinery, electrical equipment and medical devices. According to EY's February 2026 note, the 2026 Product Safety and Inspection Communiqués (Gazette No. 33124) changed the routine:
- The fixed "out of scope" reference number is gone, so every GTIP in the annexes needs a TAREKS application, even where the product is not subject to safety inspection.
- Radio equipment, toys, construction materials and batteries need bonded-warehouse product images uploaded to the system.
- A company representative must sign the sampling report at a physical inspection, or the application is rejected.
- Violations can suspend a company user and force physical inspection for 1 to 12 months.
Licences, surveillance and special regimes
Imports are liberalised in principle, but weapons, radioactive material, dual-use goods, fertilisers and IMEI devices are among the regulated groups, and health, agriculture and environment bodies issue their own control certificates.
Surveillance is the trap for low-priced goods. The Ministry sets unit values by communiqué, and goods declared below them need a surveillance certificate; the WTO notes that some products have no price threshold at all. IKV counted 192 communiqués in force after July 2026.
The inward processing regime lets inputs for export production enter under suspension or with a later drawback (our inward processing guide covers the EU and UK equivalents). Free zones are treated as outside the customs territory for import measures.
Common failure points
- Pricing EU-shipped goods at zero without checking their true origin against the IGV tables.
- Using a GTIP from before the July 2026 changes, or missing a TAREKS application on a line in the annexes.
- Declaring a price below a surveillance value without the certificate.
- Using the wrong office: the WTO review says vehicles and parts, textiles, fertilisers, solvents and petrochemicals must clear at specialised customs offices, EU and UK goods excepted.
- Shipping steel or agricultural goods from the EU with an A.TR instead of origin proof.
What to do next
- Confirm the 12-digit GTIP and true origin of each line, then read the duty, AFL and IGV in the current decree.
- Check the TAREKS annexes, surveillance communiqués and any trade remedy before the goods ship.
- Agree who is importer of record, and that their broker is linked in the registration system.
- Fix payment terms with KKDF in the landed cost.
For carriers and clearance partners, see logistics companies in Turkey. More than 29,300 logistics companies are searchable by country and service in the CargoLinked directory, and the public requests board lists freight that shippers have posted for forwarders to quote on directly.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, financial or customs advice. Rates and communiqués change during the year, so confirm the current position with the Turkish Ministry of Trade or a licensed customs broker before you ship.
