International Trade and Customs Law

• Exclusive and non-exclusive distributorship, agency, dealership, franchise, commission and commercial representation agreements
• Provisions on territory, customer group, sales target, minimum purchase, stock, pricing, trademark use and after-sales service
• Claims for equalization (denkleştirme), portfolio, commission, termination, non-competition, confidentiality and trade secrets
• Legal management of contract negotiations with a foreign party, letters of intent and preliminary protocols
• Winding down the stock, customer data, documents, licenses and trademark use when the contract ends

• Determining whether the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) applies to the specific contract
• Assessing the consequences of applying, limiting or excluding the CISG by contract
• Drafting provisions on the governing law, the court with subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction, the seat of arbitration, the arbitration rules and the language of the contract
• Determining the prevailing text and the interpretation principles in contracts drawn up in more than one language
• Risk analysis at the contract stage concerning the recognition, enforcement (tenfiz) and execution in Türkiye of a foreign court judgment or arbitral award

Whether the CISG applies is examined together with the places of business of the parties and the scope of the contract; the chosen law and the exclusion of the CISG are different questions.

• Selecting the Incoterms® 2020 rule suited to the transaction and stating the selected rule correctly with the place, port or point of delivery
• Clarifying in the contract the delivery, the passing of the risk of damage, the transport, insurance, export and import formalities and the sharing of costs
• Keeping the Incoterms® rule separate from the provisions on transfer of title, payment, defects, warranty and dispute resolution
• Reviewing whether the bill of lading, CMR consignment note, air waybill, packing list, delivery document and other transport documents are consistent with the contract
• Assessing liability arising from transport delay, cargo damage, short delivery, demurrage, storage and waiting costs

Incoterms® 2020 helps to allocate delivery and risk. The transfer of title, payment and dispute resolution are regulated separately in the contract.

• Legal risk analysis of advance payment, cash against goods, documents against payment, letters of credit and other payment methods
• Reviewing the text of the letter of credit, the conditions for presenting documents, reservation claims and payment disputes
• Arranging bank letters of guarantee, guarantees, suretyship, standby letters of credit, pledge, retention of title and other security
• Assessing the consistency of the contract and the documents in transactions where the parties have adopted UCP 600, URDG 758 or similar rules
• Legal processes concerning forgery, non-conforming documents, payment obstacles, exchange rate risk, conversion of security into cash or claims of wrongful payment

• Reviewing the risk in the tariff code and tariff classification on the basis of the technical characteristics, composition, intended use and presentation of the goods
• Determining the customs duty, additional customs duty, trade policy measure, authorization and product safety obligations attached to the tariff position
• Binding Tariff Information applications and assessing the effect of existing binding information on the transaction
• Coordination between the legal team and the relevant technical experts in laboratory analysis, chemical analysis, technical reports and tariff disputes
• Administrative and judicial applications against additional assessments and penalty decisions based on incorrect tariff classification

• Reviewing preferential and non-preferential rules of origin in respect of the specific product and supply chain
• Legal assessment of the certificate of origin, EUR.1, EUR-MED, the A.TR movement certificate, supplier declarations and other proof documents
• Correctly distinguishing the different functions of the A.TR movement certificate and the proof of origin
• Free trade agreements, cumulation rules, direct transport and claims of insufficient working or processing
• Disputes over additional taxes and penalties arising from post-clearance verification, rejection or cancellation of the proof of origin, or from an incorrect declaration of origin

In assessing the 2026 origin regime, the parties to the agreement, the product and the trade flow are taken as the basis. A.TR alone does not show that the goods are of Turkish origin.

• Reviewing the customs value of imported goods in terms of the sale price and the other applicable valuation methods
• The effect on the value of freight, insurance, commission, molds, design, engineering, packaging, assists, royalties and license payments
• Joint assessment of the effect of pricing between related parties on the customs value and of transfer pricing records
• Risks arising from subsequent price adjustments, discounts, credit notes, price differences and periodic royalty payments
• Legal processes concerning value investigations, additional assessments, penalties and requests for refund or cancellation

• Reviewing customs duty, additional customs duty, anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty, additional financial liability and other financial charges collected at customs
• Reviewing additional assessment and administrative fine decisions in terms of subject, reason, addressee, authority, notification, calculation and legal basis
• Objection to the customs authority, conciliation where the conditions are met, refund or cancellation and other administrative applications
• Lawsuit, appeal (istinaf) and cassation (temyiz) proceedings before the court with subject-matter jurisdiction, depending on the outcome of the administrative application
• Related transactions concerning collection, security, delay, payment, reservation of rights (ihtirazi kayıt) and enforcement of the decision

• Imports, export commitments, secondary processed products and procedure closing transactions under an inward processing authorization certificate or authorization
• Disputes concerning conditional exemption, refund, security, time limit, wastage, consumption and equivalent goods practices
• Temporary import authorization, ATA Carnet, intended use, extension of the time limit, identity of the goods and re-export transactions
• Transactions concerning temporary export, processing work, repair, returned goods and tax calculation under outward processing
• Reviewing whether imports under an investment incentive certificate and customs practice are consistent with the incentive conditions

• Free zone operating license, user agreement, production, trading, lease and premises disputes
• Joint review of the customs, tax and foreign exchange dimensions of movements of goods between a free zone and Türkiye or abroad
• Bonded warehouse opening and operating permits, placing goods in a bonded warehouse, handling, transfer, counting and wastage disputes
• Liability of the bonded warehouse operator, user, carrier, customs broker and owner of the goods
• Administrative or judicial processes arising from security, shortage-excess, irregular removal and disposal transactions

• Legal processes concerning AEO status and customs facilitations
• Preparing traceable record-keeping, safety and security, internal control, supplier and counterparty screening procedures
• Assessing status applications, monitoring, suspension, withdrawal or cancellation
• In-house customs compliance policy, authority matrix, document retention and notification procedures
• Establishing a customs risk management system among the purchasing, logistics, finance, foreign trade and legal units

• Assessing the scope of CBAM on the basis of the tariff code of the exported product and the EU import flow
• Reflecting in the contract the sharing of information and responsibility among the producer, exporter, EU importer and verifier
• Establishing a document system for embedded emissions data, production records, verification and confidentiality obligations
• Contractual risks arising from carbon cost, price adjustment, missing data and supplier commitments
• Coordination with authorized legal professionals and technical experts in the EU; legal monitoring of the declaration and certificate calendar

The definitive period of CBAM began on January 1, 2026. The obligations of the EU importer and the data and contractual responsibility of the producer in Türkiye are determined separately.

• The effect on imports of anti-dumping measures, countervailing measures against subsidies, safeguard measures and surveillance practices
• Risks concerning quotas, tariff quotas, additional financial liability and rendering the measures ineffective
• Participation in trade policy investigations as a domestic producer applicant or as an importer, exporter or producer
• Preparing questionnaire responses, sales and cost data, origin and producer documents and defenses
• Coordination with local advisors regarding trade policy measures applied to Turkish export products in foreign countries

• Reviewing the trade restrictions that may apply in respect of the product, technology, buyer, end user, country and payment channel of the transaction
• Risks arising from dual-use products, goods subject to license, embargo or sanctions lists and end-use undertakings
• Drafting provisions on sanctions, export control, failure to obtain a license, payment blocking and termination in contracts
• Assessing, within the limits of the applicable law, the practical effect of foreign country regulations on a contract or bank transaction in Türkiye
• Where necessary, coordination with authorized legal professionals, customs experts, banks and technical advisors in the relevant country

• The import, export, product safety, consumer and data protection dimensions of the cross-border e-commerce model
• Declaration and authorization processes for goods arriving and leaving by mail or express cargo
• Determining responsibility among the e-commerce platform, seller, importer, logistics provider and consumer
• Customs issues concerning returned products, samples, promotions, warranty replacements and free-of-charge shipments
• Compliance review of the business model and record-keeping system for a large number of low-value shipments

Because of the 2026 BGB amendment, a transaction should not be planned on the old assumptions for low-value personal imports. Import rules and e-export rules to the EU are assessed separately.

• Procedures for suspension and notification at customs for goods alleged to infringe trademark, design, patent and copyright
• Sampling, inspection, security and objection procedures for the right holder, importer, exporter or owner of the goods
• Coordination of interim injunction, civil and criminal proceedings in claims of counterfeit or pirated products
• Assessing disputes over parallel imports, trademark use, authenticity and the distribution system
• Planning the customs process together with an intellectual and industrial property lawsuit

• Assessing the direct or indirect representation relationship and the areas of responsibility of the parties
• Preparing customs brokerage, logistics, freight forwarding, transport, storage and bonded warehouse contracts
• Disputes over incorrect declarations, document transmission, instructions, delay, storage charges, demurrage, damage to goods and recourse
• Related legal support in administrative, disciplinary or criminal processes concerning customs brokers or company personnel
• Reviewing the effect of professional liability and cargo insurance policies on the dispute

• Legal analysis of receivables arising from a seller, buyer, distributor, agent or service provider abroad
• Formal notice (ihtar), negotiation, payment plan, settlement and security processes
• Assessing options for litigation, arbitration, precautionary attachment or interim injunction according to the country where the debtor and the assets are located
• Recognition, enforcement and execution in Türkiye of foreign court judgments or arbitral awards
• Coordination with authorized legal professionals in the relevant country for applying decisions rendered in Türkiye abroad

• Disputes concerning international sales, supply, distributorship, agency, transport, insurance, payment and security
• Assessing jurisdiction, governing law, evidence, time limits, collectability and cost risk before litigation or arbitration
• Mandatory or voluntary mediation, negotiation and settlement processes
• Application, response, selection of arbitrators, evidence and hearing processes in institutional or ad hoc arbitration
• Actions to set aside, recognition, enforcement and execution proceedings and requests for interim legal protection

• Investigations and prosecutions under Law No. 5607 on Combating Smuggling and related criminal legislation
• The effect on the criminal file of the nature, declaration, origin and value of the goods, import or export bans and authorization documents
• Defense concerning searches, seizure, confiscation, examination of company records and expert reports
• Distinguishing the acts and responsibilities of the legal entity, manager, employee, customs broker, carrier and other persons concerned
• Managing the criminal investigation, customs duty, administrative fine and commercial dispute in a way that does not contradict each other