International Affairs Resources for Turkey

• Labeling Requirements
• Required Documents
• Licensing
• Import Procedures
• Taxes/Tariffs
• Contacts

LABELING REQUIREMENTS

Please note that imported wine and alcoholic beverages must have a Turkish label put on to the bottle during production or prior to arrival to Turkey.  The Ministry of Agriculture (MARA) will not accept bottles with stickers.

Labeling Specific to Wine:

• Name of winery
• Vintage year
• Color
• Variety
• Volume of the bottle
• Percentage of alcohol
• Name and percentage of ingredients
• Importers name and address

Other Alcohol Products:

• Name and brand of product
• Name and address of producing company
• Name and address of importing company
• Production batch number and date
• Country of Origin
• Net weight/volume
• List of ingredients and additives
• Ministry of Agriculture production or import license number and date
• Storage, preparation and usage instructions (if applicable)
• Special warnings, if applicable
• Percentage of alcohol (if the product contains more than 1.2 percent alcohol)

GM (Genetically Modified) Food Labeling:

According to the 2005 FAS GAIN Report on Agricultural Biotechnology in Turkey, there is currently no legislation regulating the import of agricultural biotech products for food.  However, there have been problems importing products that have been labeled as containing GMOs.  The report cites that “There are no labeling requirements for foods or feeds; however, if it is labeled, it will likely be rejected at customs on the basis that a lack of regulations on biotech products is grounds for refusing them.”  The entire report (GAIN Report #TU5030) may be found online at: https://apps.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200507/146130406.pdf.

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REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

The following documents are needed in order to obtain an Import License for alcohol products.

• Cover letter to application
• Control Certificate form
• Pro-forma Invoice
• Specification Document
• Component List
• Distribution Certificate (provided by the producer’s company to the importer and/or distributor indicating that the Turkish company is authorized to market and deliver the product in Turkey)
• Certificate of Origin (also required by Customs)
• Label
• Certificate of Free Sale (usually issued by a State or local authority and indicates that the product was produced in accordance with local laws and regulations, is “fit for human consumption” and is “freely marketed in the country origin”)
• Commercial Activity Certificate (must only be presented for the first application; not required for subsequent applications)
• Trade Registry Gazette (this is required only if the Commercial Activity Certificate does not indicate specific commercial activities of the importing firm and does not cover the imported item in question)

The following documents may also be required by Customs upon entry to Turkey:

• Bill of Lading and/or Airway Bill
• Commercial Invoice
• Packing List
• Certificate of Insurance

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LICENSING

In order to import any foodstuff, an importer must first submit a written application to the relevant Provincial Directorate Authority.  No products may be imported until the directorate has issued an import license (Kontrol Belgesi).  The documents required for the application are outlined in the Required Documents section of this page.

The importer will normally receive written approval along with an approved import license from the Provincial Directorate Authority.

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IMPORT PROCEDURES

Upon entry of the product at Customs, the importer should be prepared to present the import license obtained from the Provincial Directorate Authority, as well as other normal import documentation such as the bill of lading, original invoice and certificate of origin.  In addition, the importer should be prepared to present the exporting company’s analysis report and a Certificate of Free Sale.

Officials take samples of the imported product to government laboratories for analysis. The product is allowed for importation if the results of the analysis are found to be acceptable, and if the imports have been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture.

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TAXES/TARIFFS

A summary of the 2006 Tariff Schedule may be found in the Foreign Agricultural Service’s GAIN report #TU6003: https://apps.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200601/146176522.pdf.

For the most current tariffs and taxes applied to imported products for this country, please visit export.gov.  Please ensure you have a 10-digit HS classification code in order to obtain tariff information.  Also see the Census Bureau’s Schedule B search function ( https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/b/index.html), which allows you to classify your product according to United States export codes. Simply click "Search" and enter the keyword (i.e. beer) that best describes your product.

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CONTACTS

There are 20 Provincial Directorate Authorities, each of which has the authority to issue import licenses (Kontrol Belgesi) for alcohol products.  They are intended to be the primary point of contact for importers to submit their applications. The main Provincial Directorate Authorities are listed below.

There are also 39 provincial food control laboratories, including:

• Ankara Provincial Food Control Laboratory Directorate
  Phone: (90 312) 315-0089, Fax: (90 312) 315 7934
• Istanbul Provincial Food Control Laboratory Directorate
  Phone: (90 212) 663-3961, Fax: (90 212) 663-4296
• Izmir Provincial Food Control Laboratory Directorate
  Phone: (90 232) 435-1481, Fax: (90 232) 462-4197

The information in this guide was obtained from external sources, including the websites of various governmental agencies and organizations, direct contact with those agencies and organizations, from Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Attaché reports, from the U.S. Commercial Service, and from www.export.gov.  Consequently, the accuracy of this information depends upon the accuracy of the sources.

TTB is not responsible for the content of external websites.

This page was last reviewed on August 17, 2010.

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