Customs Clearance, Trade Compliance and Declaration Management

What is customs clearance?

Customs clearance is the completion of the customs formalities needed for goods to leave a country, enter it or pass through it in transit. Lodging the declaration, checking the documents, calculating and paying any duties and taxes, and inspection where required are all part of it. For exports from Türkiye (Turkey), the declaration can be made at an inland customs office close to the loading point or at the office of exit; imported goods cannot be handed to the consignee until they are released for free circulation; and goods in transit travel under guarantee and seal until they reach the office of destination.

Our role in the customs process

In Türkiye the customs declaration is generally lodged by the trader itself or by a customs broker (gümrük müşaviri) acting on its behalf. Our role is everything before and around that declaration: planning the process, preparing complete documents, flagging regulatory risks in advance, and managing the flow between the customs broker, the carrier, the consignee and our agent in the destination country. That way your cargo does not sit at a border or in a customs area because of missing paperwork.

Declaration types: export, import and transit

For ATA Carnets and the temporary admission of exhibition goods, see our project and exhibition cargo page.

Origin and movement documents: A.TR, EUR.1 and certificates of origin

Which document you need depends on the product, its origin and the trade agreement between Türkiye and the destination country. The wrong document can cost your buyer its duty preference or leave the cargo waiting at customs.

• A.TR movement certificate: used under the EU–Türkiye Customs Union for industrial goods and processed agricultural products in free circulation. It is not a proof of origin; it shows free-circulation status and lets the goods benefit from the Customs Union. It is the core document for most shipments to EU countries on our Europe lane.
• EUR.1 movement certificate: a preferential origin certificate. It is used for reduced or zero duty with countries that have a free trade agreement with Türkiye (for example the EFTA states, the United Kingdom and the Western Balkan countries) and, in trade with the EU, for agricultural and coal and steel products outside the Customs Union. Where the agreement allows, an origin declaration on the invoice can take its place.
• EUR-MED: this certificate, used for cumulation in the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean zone, has largely fallen out of use with the move to the revised rules of origin; where the revised rules apply, proof of origin is now a EUR.1 or an origin declaration. Transitional arrangements may still apply with some countries, so we confirm the valid document for each shipment.
• Certificate of origin: a non-preferential origin document endorsed by a chamber of commerce. It gives no duty preference, but many destinations, the Middle East in particular, require it for import.

Since Brexit the United Kingdom has not been part of the EU Customs Union. To claim preferential duty on shipments to England, Wales and Scotland, you therefore need a EUR.1 or an origin declaration under the Türkiye–UK free trade agreement rather than an A.TR, while Ireland, as an EU member, still takes an A.TR. Norway, Switzerland and Iceland are outside the EU too and trade with Türkiye under the EFTA agreement.

Transit: T1 / NCTS and TIR Carnets

The transit procedure lets goods on which duties have not been paid move under guarantee from one customs office to another. Türkiye is party to the Common Transit Convention, so transit between the EU and EFTA states, the United Kingdom and the other contracting parties runs on a T1 declaration through the electronic NCTS system. The declaration is opened at departure and discharged when the cargo reaches the office of destination; one that is not discharged in time can lead to problems up to and including a claim on the guarantee.

On many routes outside the common transit area — towards the Middle East and Central Asia, for example — road transit runs under a TIR Carnet. In the TIR system the cargo travels in a sealed compartment and can cross several countries under a single international guarantee. We plan which procedure applies to your route and make sure the transit documents are complete and properly discharged on arrival.

Regulatory advisory and customs compliance

Foreign trade and customs rules change often; the duty rate, permit or document requirement that applied to a product last month may be different this month. The aim of our regulatory advice is to catch those changes while the shipment is being planned, not while the cargo is on the road. Before the goods move, we brief you in particular on:

• HS code and tariff: confirming your product’s tariff classification (GTİP) and the duties, permits and controls that follow from it before the declaration is made
• Import obligations: besides customs duty and VAT, additional customs duties, additional financial liabilities, quotas and surveillance measures
• Product compliance: product safety and standards inspections; goods that need a licence or permit
• Destination rules: origin, labelling and conformity documents, and newer measures such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

International trade and declaration management: tracking customs circulars

Circulars and announcements issued by the Turkish Ministry of Trade, tariff changes, import regime decisions and new rules in destination countries all feed directly into the declaration process. We track these customs circulars and the country-level rules on duties, quotas and origin, and share the changes that affect you at the shipment-planning stage.

On the declaration side, we follow the flow from preparing the document set to completing the declaration and discharging transit movements. The aim is simple: stop a missing or inconsistent piece of information from holding up the shipment.

How does the customs process work?

1. Initial information: you share the product description, HS code, origin, invoice value, Incoterms and the countries of export and import.
2. Risk and document review: the documents and permits required, and any likely duty or inspection risks, are identified up front.
3. Document preparation: the invoice, packing list, origin and movement certificates and transit documents are prepared and checked for consistency with each other.
4. Declaration and coordination: the declaration is lodged by the trader or its customs broker, and we follow the inspection and release stages together.
5. Transit and arrival: border crossings are monitored, destination formalities are coordinated through our agency network and the transit declaration is discharged.

What drives the cost of customs clearance?

Duties and taxes paid at customs (customs duty, VAT and the like) go to the state and are separate from the service fee. On the service side, the main cost drivers are:

• The number of declarations and the number of item lines on each
• The type and number of documents and permits required
• The transit procedure and the guarantee needed
• Inspections, waiting time and any need for bonded storage or warehousing
• Customs broker fees and agency services in the destination country

Why Multitransport?

• Transport and customs under one roof: cargo does not move until the paperwork and regulation are sorted, and we plan both from the same operations desk.
• Advance notice of risk: we raise problems while the shipment is being planned, not at the border.
• Lane-by-lane document know-how: on our scheduled departures to 54 countries in 8 regions we keep each lane’s document requirements up to date.
• Certified processes: our management system certificates include ISO 9001 and, for information security, ISO 27001.