WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/N/1/TUR/2
18 May 2000
(00-2042)
Committee on Customs Valuation Original:  English
NOTIFICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 22 OF THE AGREEMENT
ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE VII OF THE GENERAL
AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
TURKEY
The following communication, dated 26 April 2000, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Turkey.
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The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Turkey to the World Trade Organization has the
honour to refer to its notifications G/VAL/N/1/TUR/1 and VAL/1/Add.1 in conformity with the
Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and alsohas the honour to inform that the new Turkish Customs Law No. 4458 has entered into force as of
5 February 2000 (Turkish Official Gazette No. 23866 dated 4 November 1999).
In this connection, the Permanent Mission transmits herewith to the World Trade
Organization, in conformity with the provisions of Article 22 of the Agreement on Implementation of
the Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, this notification pertaining to customs
valuation provisions of the new Law stated above.G/VAL/N/1/TUR/2
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TURKISH CUSTOMS LAW No. 4458
(In force as of 5 February 2000)
CHAPTER THREE
Value of Goods for Customs Purposes
ARTICLE 23
The provisions of this Chapter shall determine the customs value of the goods for the
purposes of applying the Customs Tariff and non-tariff measures laid down on specific fields relating
to trade in goods.
ARTICLE 24
1. The customs value of imported goods shall be the transaction value, that is, the price actually
paid or payable for the good when sold for export to Turkey, adjusted, where necessary, in accordancewith Articles 27 and 28, provided:
(a) that there are no restrictions as to the disposal or use of the goods by the buyer, other than
restrictions which:
- are imposed or required by the laws and by-laws of Republic of Turkey or by the
public authorities designated by them,
- limit the geographical area in which the goods may be resold,
- do not substantially affect the value of the goods;
(b) that the sale or price is not subject to some condition or consideration for which a value
cannot be determined with respect to the goods being valued;
(c) that any part of the proceeds of any subsequent resale, disposal or use of the goods by the
buyer will accrue directly or indirectly to the seller, an addition may be made to the prices ofgoods actually paid or payable in accordance with Article 27;
(d) that the buyer and seller are not related, or, where the buyer and seller are related, that the
transaction value is acceptable as customs value under paragraph 2.
2.
(a) In determining whether the transaction value is acceptable for the purposes of paragraph 1,
the fact that the buyer and the seller are related shall not in itself be sufficient grounds for
regarding the transaction value as unacceptable.  In such cases, where necessary, the
circumstances surrounding the sale shall be examined and the transaction value shall beaccepted provided that the relationship did not influence the price.  If, in the light of
information provided by the declarant or otherwise, the customs administration has grounds
for considering that the relationship influenced the price, it shall communicate its ground to
the declarant in writing.  The declarant shall reserve the right to respond within the prescribed
time limit.
(b) In a sale between related persons, the transaction value shall be accepted and the goods
valued in accordance with paragraph 1 wherever the declarant demonstrates that such value
closely approximates to one of the following occurring at or about the same time:G/VAL/N/1/TUR/2
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- the transaction value in sales, between buy ers and sellers who are not related in any
particular case, of identical or similar goods sold for export to Turkey;
- the customs value of identical or similar goods, as determined under Article 25(2)(c);- the customs value of identical or similar goods, as determined under Article 25(2)(d).In applying the foregoing tests, due account shall be taken of demonstrated differences in
commercial levels, quantity levels, the elements enumerated in Article 27 and costs incurred
by the seller in sales in which he and the buyer are not related and where such costs are not
incurred by the seller in sales in which he and the buyer are related.
(c) The values set forth in subparagraph (b) are to be used at the initiative of the declarant and
only for comparison purposes.  Substitute values may not be established under the said
subparagraph.
3.
(a) The price actually paid or payable is the total payment made or should be made by the buyer
to or for the benefit of the seller for the imported goods.  This price includes all payments
made or to be made as a condition of sale of the imported goods by the buyer to the seller or
by the buyer to a third party to satisfy an obligation of the seller.  The payments may take theform of a transfer of money and they may be made by the way of letters of credit or
negotiable instruments or may be made directly or indirectly.
(b) Activities, including marketing activities, un dertaken by the buyer on his own account, other
than those for which an adjustment is provided as per Article 27, are not considered to be anindirect payment to the seller, even though they might be regarded as of benefit to the seller
or have been undertaken by agreement with the seller.  Their cost shall not be added to the
price actually paid or payable in determining the customs value of imported goods.
ARTICLE 25
1. Where the customs value cannot be determined under Article 24, it is to be determined by
proceeding sequentially through subparagraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 2.  It is only when
such value cannot be determined under a particular subparagraph that the provisions of the next
subparagraph in a sequence established by virtue of this paragraph shall be applied.  The order of
application of subparagraphs (c) and (d) shall be reversed on condition that the written request of the
declarant is deemed appropriate by the customs administration.
2. The customs value as determined under this Article shall be:(a) the transaction value of identical goods sold for export to Turkey and exported at or about the
same date as the good being valued;
(b) the transaction value of similar goods sold for export to Turkey and exported at or about the
same date as the goods being valued;
(c) the value based on the unit price at which the imported good for identical or similar imported
goods are sold within Turkey in the greatest aggregate quantity to persons not related to the
sellers;G/VAL/N/1/TUR/2
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the computed value, consisting of the sum of the co st or value of materials and fabrication or other
processing employed in producing the imported goods, and an amount for normal profit and general
expenses equal to that usually reflected in sales of goods of the same class or kind as the goods being
valued which are made by producers in the country of exportation for export to Turkey, and the other
costs or values of the items referred to in Article 27(1)(e).
3. Any further methods and principles for the application of paragraph 2 above shall be
determined in accordance with regulation.
ARTICLE 26
1. Where the customs value of imported goods cannot be determined under Articles 24 or 25, it
shall be determined on the basis of data available in Turkey, using reasonable means consistent with
the principles and general provisions of:
(a) the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade;
(b) Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade;(c) the provisions of this Chapter.
2. No customs value shall be determined under paragraph 1 on the basis of:
(a) the selling price within Turkey of goods produced in Turkey;(b) a system which provides for the acceptance by the customs administrations of the higher of
two alternative values;
(c) the price of goods on the domestic market of the country of exportation;(d) the cost of production, other than computed values which have been determined for identical
or similar goods in accordance with Article 25(2)(d);
(e) prices for export to a country from Turkey;
(f) minimum customs values;  or(g) arbitrary or fictitious values.ARTICLE 27
1. In determining the customs value under Article 24 the following additions shall be made to
the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods:
(a) the following, to the extent that they are incurred by the buyer but are not included in the
price actually paid or payable for the goods:
(i) commissions and brokerage, except buying commissions;(ii) the cost of packages which are treated as being one, for customs purposes, with the
goods in question;G/VAL/N/1/TUR/2
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(iii) the cost of packing, including the costs of labour or materials;
(b) the value, apportioned as appropriate, of the following goods and services where supplied
directly or indirectly by the buyer free of charge or at reduced cost for use in connection with
the production and sale for export of the imported goods, to the extent that such value has notbeen included in the price actually paid or payable;
(i) materials, components, parts and similar items incorporated in the imported goods;(ii) tools, dies, moulds and similar items used in the production of the imported goods;(iii) materials consumed in the production of the imported goods;(iv) engineering, development, artwork, design work, and plans and sketches undertaken
elsewhere than in the country of importation and necessary for the production of the
imported goods;
(c) royalties and license fees related to the goods being valued that the buyer must pay, either
directly or indirectly, as a condition of sale of the goods to be valued, to the extent that such
royalties and fees are not included in the price actually aid or payable;
(d) the value of any part of the proceeds of any subsequent resale, disposal or use of the imported
goods that accrues directly or indirectly to the seller;
(e) the costs of transport and insurance formalities of the imported goods, carried out up to the
port or place of entry of Turkey.
2. Additions to the price actually paid or payable to be made under this Article shall be on the
basis of objective and quantifiable data.
3. No additions shall be made to the price actually paid or payable in determining the customs
value except as provided in this Article.
4. In this Chapter, the term "buying commissions " means fees paid by an importer to his agent
for the service of representing him abroad in the purchase of the goods being valued.
5. In determining the customs value of the imported goods:(a) payments for the right to reproduce the imported goods in Turkey, and(b) payments made by the buyer for the right to distribute or to resell the imported goods
provided that no condition of the sale for export to Turkey of the goods exists, shall not be
considered within the extent of paragraph 1(c) or shall not be added to the price actually paid
or payable for the imported goods.
ARTICLE 28
Provided that they are shown separately from the price actually paid or payable, the following
shall not be included in the customs value:
(a) charges for the transport of goods and insurance after their arrival at the place of introduction
into the Customs Territory of the Republic of Turkey and into the customs territories of the
customs union to which Turkey is a party by agreements;G/VAL/N/1/TUR/2
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(b) charges for construction, erection, assembly, maintenance or technical assistance, undertaken
after importation of imported goods such as industrial plant, machinery or equipment;
(c) charges for interest incurred by the buyer under a financing arrangement relating to the
purchase of imported goods;
(d) charges for the right to reproduce imported goods in Turkey;(e) buying commissions;(f) import duties payable in Turkey by reason of the importation or sale of the goods.
Whether the finance is provided by the seller or another person shall not be considered under
circumstances mentioned in subparagraph (c).  Ne vertheless it is obligatory that the financing
arrangement has been made in writing, and where required, the buyer must demonstrate that:
- such goods are actually sold at the price declared as the price actually paid or payable,
and
- the claimed rate of interest does not exceed the level for such transactions prevailing
in the country where, and at the time when, the finance was provided.
ARTICLE 29
Specific rules and principals may be laid down in accordance with regulation to determine the
customs value of carrier media for use in data processing equipment and bearing data or instructions.
ARTICLE 30
The primary basis for customs value of goods shall be declared as Turkish Lira.  The foreign
currencies on invoices and other documents shall be converted to Turkish Lira over the rate of
exchange of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, which is current on the date the customs
debt occurs.
ARTICLE 31
1. The provisions of this Chapter shall not af fect the specific provisions regarding the
determination of the value for customs purposes of goods released for free circulation after beingassigned a different customs-approved treatment or use.
3. By way of derogation from Articles 24, 25 and 26, the customs value of perishable goods
usually released on consignment may, at the request of the declarant, be determined under simplified
rules drawn up by the customs administration.
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