Customs Regulations
Turkish Customs Regulations
Essential guidance on customs clearance procedures, freetime rules and shipment arrival notices under Turkish Customs Law.
What Every Importer &
Exporter Must Know
To complete customs clearance on behalf of a customer, we require their Power of Attorney issued at a Turkish Notary. This Power of Attorney allows us to act on behalf of the customer at all Turkish Customs for both Import & Export shipments.
Any Freight Forwarder, Customs Broker or other organization cannot start Customs Clearance without this Power of Attorney — there are no exceptions to this rule under Turkish Customs Law.
Important: Without a valid notarized Power of Attorney, no customs clearance process can begin — regardless of shipment size or urgency.
Freetime to start customs clearance of import cargoes is 45 days from the day of arrival as per Turkish Customs Regulations.
Importers or their authorized brokers can apply for 30 days of additional freetime by paying the necessary penalty charges, which vary according to the value of the goods.
To apply for additional freetime, the consignee must first contact the forwarder or carrier to obtain a copy of the Delivery Order — which is issued solely for the purpose of applying for additional freetime, not for clearance of goods.
Critical Warning: If customs clearance has not started within the first 45 days and additional freetime has not been applied for, Customs will announce the goods on the auction list. Once on the auction list, both the consignee and shipper lose all rights to the goods — permanently.
Penalty charges for additional freetime extensions are calculated based on the declared customs value of the goods. Contact our team early to assess your options.
Estimated Time of Arrival — commonly referred to as ETA — is given without any guarantee. There are many factors outside of a carrier’s control that can affect vessel schedules, including weather conditions and port conditions.
Beyond these external factors, carriers’ own operational and commercial decisions may also change transit times and arrival dates. This reality must be clearly understood by all clients.
We always advise our clients not to begin any arrangements until they receive our official Arrival Notice. We send Arrival Notices as soon as we receive the carrier’s own confirmation — which confirms the vessel’s arrival at port.
Disclaimer: We clearly declare to all clients that ETA may change at any time and Yedaiah International accepts no responsibility for delays or changes to arrival dates caused by factors outside our control.