The customs system in Turkey is managed by the General Directorate of Customs.
The duty of the General Directorate of Customs is to remove and facilitate the barriers to legal trade, to prevent and deter illegal trade.
For this reason, all kinds of goods, vehicles and individuals entering and leaving Turkey may be subject to search by customs officers within the framework of the Laws. During these searches, it is essential that customs personnel act in a courteous, helpful and professional manner.
At the entrance to the Turkish Customs Territory, at land, air and sea entrance gates, people passing through passenger lounges or passing goods must pass through one of the red or green colored customs lines, depending on the situation. In this way, the customs declaration is deemed to have been made.
The use of any of these lines does not mean that goods that are prohibited or subject to authorization can be brought into Turkey.
You may be requested to make a declaration by the Customs Officials at any time during the use of the red or green lines. You can be punished with a fine or imprisonment if you find items that are prohibited or subject to permission to be brought into the country with you, or if you find more than your personal rights.
If you do not have any goods subject to customs with you, you will make a declaration in this way by using the Green Line at the entrance.
In this case, you need to make sure that your goods do not exceed your customs rights (not of a commercial nature) and that they are not prohibited or authorized goods to be imported into Turkey.
If you have goods subject to customs with you or if you are hesitant to make any declaration for your goods, you should use the Red Line. Here, after the necessary declaration is made to the relevant Customs Officer, the taxes to be paid regarding the goods will be calculated and collected.
The travel goods you bring with you to use during your stay in our country, even if they are to be taken out of our country, must be declared to the Customs Officer. Such goods cannot be left within the country. You may be asked to fill in a verbal declaration form for the items that can be considered valuable in the goods (1 computer, etc.) in order to check whether they are with you when you exit.
It is possible to reach up-to-date information on passenger exemptions from the website of the Ministry of Commerce of the Republic of Turkey.
