In recent weeks, the Regulation on the Import of Products with Halal Conformity Certificates and the Communiqué on the Export of Ozone Depleting Substances and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases were published, and the Customs Regulation was amended in the commercial and trade sector

Regulation on the Import of Products with Halal Conformity Certificates

On 28 April 2023, the Halal Accreditation Authority ("Authority") published the Regulation on the Import of Products with Halal Conformity Certificates. The Regulation aims to prevent unfair commercial practices and to protect consumers and other beneficiaries against deceptive commercial practices in relation to halal conformity marks on products to be imported and placed on the market and halal conformity certificates issued voluntarily for these products. The Regulation will enter into force on 1 January 2024.

The Regulation is available here (in Turkish).

The main developments introduced by the Regulation are as follows:

  • The organizations that conduct halal conformity assessments on products to be placed on the market and for which the Authority provides accreditation services must obtain halal accreditation from the Authority or institutions authorized by other countries within the scope of bilateral or multilateral agreements.
  • The products to be imported and placed on the market must be certified by authorized institutions or organizations if they carry a halal sign, brand, stamp, picture or any halal phrase.
  • The Authority shall provide the customs authority with information on the authorized institutions and organizations, and the companies and product groups for which they have issued halal certificates of conformity.
  • The customs authority shall notify the Authority for any doubts about the halal conformity claim in the products that carry any halal indication, including a halal sign, brand, stamp, picture or other identifying elements on the inner or outer packaging.
  • As a result of the control to be conducted by the Authority or the institutions or organizations authorized by the Authority, the products that are deemed inappropriate for entry into the customs territory of Türkiye, can be left to the customs authority to be returned to the origin country, sold by transit, exported or destroyed at the expense of the owner.

Communiqué on the Export of Ozone Depleting Substances and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases

On 28 April 2023, the Ministry of Trade published the Communiqué on the Export of Ozone Depleting Substances and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases. The regulations on export restrictions entered into force on 28 April 2023 while the other regulations entered into force on 10 May 2023.

The Communiqué is available here (in Turkish).

The main developments introduced by the Communiqué are as follows:

  • Ozone-depleting substances and fluorinated greenhouse gases specified in the annexes of the Communiqué cannot be exported to countries that are not party to the 1999 Beijing amendments on the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
  • Exports of hydrofluorocarbons and mixtures containing hydrofluorocarbons require authorization from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. In addition, a hydrofluorocarbon control certificate is required for each shipment when exporting these chemicals in bulk as pure, used, recycled or reclaimed hydrofluorocarbons.
  • Real or legal persons must register with the FARAVET program of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change to obtain a control certificate to export these mixtures in bulk containers. Each control certificate is valid for a single shipment. The control certificate and the invoice submitted during the application cannot be used, except for the export of the goods, and expires following the closure of the customs declaration.
  • The exporter company must close the hydrofluorocarbon export control certificate via FARAVET within 15 calendar days at the latest following the shipment as described in the application user manual. If the shipment is not made, the exporter must also close the certificate via FARAVET.
  • The validity of the hydrofluorocarbon control certificate expires at the end of the calendar year in which the application is made, and it is not transferable.
  • The hydrofluorocarbon control certificate issued for the export of such mixtures cannot be used for more than one customs declaration. However, more than one chemical can be exported with the same hydrofluorocarbon control certificate.
  • The export of chemicals listed in the Communiqué, such as carbon tetrachloride, dichlorofluoroethanes and products containing or working with these substances, is prohibited. Exports of fire extinguishers containing bromochloradifluoromethane or bromotrifluoromethane require authorization from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.

Regulation Amending the Customs Regulation

On 3 May 2023, the Ministry of Trade published the Regulation Amending the Customs Regulation ("Customs Regulation").

The Regulation is available here (in Turkish).

The main amendments introduced by the Customs Regulation are as follows:

  • Crimes of manufacturing and trafficking in drugs or stimulants and crimes in the field of informatics have been added to the list of crimes for which applicants for approved person status must not be convicted or sentenced.
  • To apply lower financial obligations in the free circulation entry of goods set forth in the Import Regime Decree in terms of World Trade Organization member countries, a certificate of origin must be submitted to show that the goods originate from a member country.
  • If the certificate of origin is not accepted by the customs authorities, a period of 6 months can be granted from the date of registration of the declaration for the submission of a proper certificate of origin. For this purpose, the customs duty difference arising from the high rate of tax applied to the non-World Trade Organization countries in the Import Regime Decree must be bonded with cash collateral. In other cases, if the customs duty difference arising from the high rate of tax applied to non-World Trade Organization countries in the Import Regime Decree is declared and paid, the amount collected can be recovered by applying to the customs authority with the certificate of origin within 6 months from the registration date of the declaration.
  • Trade policy measures, additional customs duties and other financial obligations are also imposed if the customs duty rate set for non-World Trade Organization countries in the current Import Regime Decree is higher than the customs duty rate set for other countries in the same Decree.
  • For goods subject to end use, an application must be made to the customs authority that issued the certificate within 30 days after the expiration of the period stipulated in the certificate. Otherwise, the difference and taxes that have not been collected due to the application of a reduced or zero-tax rate for the goods shall be collected. If there is no collateral taken for the goods and the report issued by the authorized customs consultant is not submitted to the customs authority granting the certificate within 30 days from the expiration of the permit, an irregularity fine shall be imposed for each day until the report is submitted.
  • In the absence of collateral taken for the goods subject to end use, if the period stipulated in the end use certificate has expired before 3 May 2023, the 30-day application period to the customs authority starts as of 3 May 2023. If the report to be issued by the authorized customs consultant is not submitted to the customs authority that issued the certificate until the end of the 30-day period, an irregularity fine shall be imposed for each day until the report is submitted.

Conclusion

Significant legislative developments continue to be made in the commercial and trade sector. All stakeholders in the sector should carefully review the legislative developments and ensure compliance with the regulations.

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