T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı

Question: Why is the submission of the invoice required in transports carried out in the TIR System?

Answer: Without prejudice to the provision of 11th Article of the Turkish Customs Law related to the information or document request, submission of the invoice is not required in case detailed definition that fully identifies the goods is written in 10^th column of TIR Carnet. However, it is mandatory to add the invoice to the TIR Carnet if there is not any definition that fully identifies the goods.

Question: What kind of procedure should be followed if country of destination declared in the TIR Carnet is different from the country written in attached documents such as CMR, invoice etc.?

Answer: According to the Road Transport Regulation (Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication), third country transport means the transport of goods and passengers loaded in a country and unloaded in a second country by a vehicle registered in a country other than that in which the transport originates or terminates. If country of destination declared in the TIR Carnet is different from the country written in attached documents, that transport is considered as a third country transport and submission of a third country transit permit is mandatory.

Question: Under which circumstances the escort of road vehicle is used?

Answer: Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) shall be used if the amount of import or export duties and taxes exceed the amount of guarantee (Euro 60.000) or there is any denunciation about possible smuggling, intelligence, strong doubt or risk data on the transport operator and goods. However, if there are enough VTS devices in Customs office, VTS is preferred instead of escort of vehicle. Customs office may prescribe escort when there is not any VTS devices.

Question: Why is TIR Carnet holder is held responsible for offence committed by the driver of vehicle?

Answer: According to Article 1/o of the TIR Convention, the term “holder” of a TIR Carnet shall mean the person to whom a TIR Carnet has been issued in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention and on whose behalf a Customs declaration has been made in the form of TIR Carnet indicating a wish to place goods under the TIR procedure at the Customs office of departure. He shall be responsible for presentation of the road vehicle, the combination of vehicles or the container together with the load and the TIR Carnet relating thereto at the Customs office of departure, the Customs office en route and the Customs office of destination and for due observance of the other relevant provisions of the Convention.

According to Article 10 of the “Declaration of Engagement by the Transport Company for Admission to the TIR Customs System and Authorization to Use Ordinary TIR Carnets”, which is signed by the holder of the TIR Carnet, the transport company is responsible for the acts and omissions of his staff, agents and servants as though they were his own acts and omissions.

As a result, TIR Carnet holder is responsible for the offences committed by the driver, representative or other person got service for the transport even though he would not have knowledge on the offences. This situation do not prevent TIR Carnet Holder from implementation of administrative sanctions.

Question: What kind of procedure should be followed if the firm has a transport operation before starting date of temporary exclusion and this transport operation has not been completed yet, when a firm was excluded from the TIR System?

Answer: After the starting date of temporary exclusion, it is possible to enter data manually to Volet-2 page of TIR Transit Tracking Program by customs officers regarding transport operation already started in Turkey and unterminated before exclusion date. In other words, after the starting date of temporary exclusion, Volet-2 page of TIR carnet can be registered while Volet-1 page of any TIR carnet that belongs to the firm cannot be registered.

Question: What kind of procedure is required if the TIR Carnet Holder demands to use the same TIR Carnet for returned goods.

Answer: According to the Communiqué Relating to TIR Procedures the second paragraph of Article 19; TIR Carnet is valid for a single transport operation. Therefore, it is not possible to use the same TIR Carnet returned goods.

Question: How are heavy or bulky goods carried in the TIR System?

Answer: To transport heavy or bulky goods, a special type of TIR Carnet can be used that the cover and all vouchers of it shall bear the endorsement “HEAVY OR BULKY GOODS” in English or “MARCHANDISES PONDÉREUSES OU VOLUMINEUSES” in French. For the transport of a mixed cargo consisting of both standard goods and heavy or bulky goods, separate TIR Carnets are required for both type of goods. Moreover, a special permit is required for transport of heavy or bulky goods acquired from Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication Road Transport.

Question: What kind of a procedure should be followed for the TIR Carnets which are exceeded the validity dates?

Answer: The TIR Carnets which are exceeded the validity dates do not accepted by Custom Offices. However, if the TIR operation is started while the TIR Carnet is still valid, it can be used for the rest of the TIR operation even if the validity of TIR Carnet ends during this period. If an expired TIR Carnet is accepted by Custom office of departure by mistake and the other custom office of TIR operation realizes this situation, TIR Carnet shall be terminated immediately.

Question: How is transit duration calculated? What kind of procedure should be followed if duration of headway is exceeded?

Answer: According to the Communiqué Relating to TIR Precedures; for the longest distance, transit duration of vehicle forwarding to custom office of destination or exit, is determined by custom office of entry or departure;
A) In April, May, June, July, August and September maximum 144 hours,
B) In October, November, December, January, February and March maximum 192, hours
If transit duration determined by custom office of entry or departure is exceeded, irregularity charge is imposed according to 241^th Article of Custom Law.