Turkey changes name in international usage – impact on trade documents
Since 1 June 2022, Turkey has been called Republic of Türkiye instead of Turkey in official international usage. This was preceded by an official application by the Turkish Foreign Ministry to the United Nations. After a transitional phase in which both Türkiye and Turkey could be used, the Turkish customs authorities now only accept trade documents with the new designation.
What changes for shippers to Turkey?
The change of the official international country designation from Turkey to Türkiye has been planned for a long time and has been pushed by the Turkish government since 2021. For shippers exporting goods from the EU to Turkey, this change has not brought any changes so far, as the old designation remained permissible on trade and shipping documents for the time being. However, the corresponding transitional arrangements have now expired.
The designation Republic of Türkiye or Türkiye must now be used on all shipping documents in order not to jeopardise import clearance at Turkish customs. Shipments with incorrectly issued documents may be subject to transit delays or rejections by customs. This applies to all:
- Shipping Documents
- Certificates of Origin
- Movement Certificates
- A.T.A. Carnet
A.TR Movement Certificate
Since the name of the destination country must usually be entered manually, consignors only have to make sure to always use the new designation now. However, the A.TR movement certificate is a special case. Since this form is only used for goods traffic between the EU and Turkey, the country name Turkey is already pre-printed in field 4.
It is mandatory to enter the name Türkiye in boxes 3 (consignee) and 6 (country of destination), both of which must be completed by the consignor. It is not clear whether the country designation in the pre-printed field 4 must also be changed, as there are contradictory statements on this from carriers and the Turkish customs authorities. However, some carriers demand a change of the pre-printed country name to be on the safe side, so we recommend you to change the designation:
- Cross out the country name Turkey and legibly add the designation Türkiye.
- Approved exporters must affix this addition to their special stamp.
- All other exporters must initial the supplement.
Individual carriers may have additional or different requirements, such as requiring all exporters to initial the amendment. It’s best to check with your LetMeShip account manager or carrier before you ship.
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