REGULATIONS RELATED TO HANDLING OPERATIONS

Cemal Önder KORUKÇU
Customs Consultant

In warehouse management, material unloading, selective separation, delivery-receiving, unpacking, division, stacking, piling, placement, relocation, renewal-complete completion, collection, packaging, loading and similar operations are called handling.

According to Article 3, Clause 22 of the Customs Law No. 4458, handling is the operations such as stacking, relocation, transferring from large containers to small containers, renewing or repairing containers, ventilating, sifting, and mixing of goods under customs supervision without changing their original characteristics.

With the handling process, the product is better preserved and a marketing advantage is achieved by aiming to improve its appearance. The important point here is that the original characteristics of the goods do not change while the operations within the scope of handling are carried out and the handling process is foreseen for goods under customs supervision. On the other hand, the handling of goods that are not under customs supervision is of no importance to the customs administration.

The handling activities that can be carried out in customs warehouses or free zones are listed in Annex 63 of the Customs Regulation. Under normal conditions, the eight-point tariff position of the goods should not change as a result of the handling activities included in this list. The handling permit for goods whose eight-point tariff position is not included in the list is given by the Ministry.

The handling activities that can be performed in customs warehouses or free zones are listed in Annex 63 of the Customs Regulation as follows:

• Air conditioning, separation, drying, dust removal, simple cleaning activities, packaging repair, repair of damage sustained during transportation and storage provided that they are simple activities, placing and removing protective covers for transportation,
• Reorganization of goods after transportation,
• Stock counting, sampling, classification, mechanical filtering and weighing of goods,
• Disposal of damaged and contaminated components,
• Preservation by pasteurization, sterilization, radiation or adding preservatives,
• Parasite treatment,
• Anti-rust treatments,
• Simply increasing or decreasing the temperature without further processing, distillation process and (even if it leads to a change in the eight-point tariff position)
• Electrostatic, ironing of textiles,
• Stem removal and/or pitting of fruits, cutting and dividing dried fruits or vegetables or taking the juice of fruits, (even if it leads to a change in the eight-digit HS Code) operations
• Desalting, cleaning, cutting animal skins.
• Adding one or more items to the goods; adding or removing accessories belonging to the goods; provided that this adding or removing activity is a limited activity or is carried out for the purpose of complying with technical standards and does not change the nature or performance of the goods. (even if it leads to a change in the eight-digit tariff position)
• Diluting or concentrating liquids without further treatment and distillation, (even if it leads to a change in the eight-digit tariff position)
• Mixing of the same type of goods of different quality without changing the type of goods in order to obtain a constant quality or a quality requested by the customer,
• Dividing and measuring the goods within the scope of simple operations only.
• Packing, unpacking, changing the package and simply putting them in containers, adding, removing or changing brands, labels, seals, price tags or similar distinguishing marks; (even if it leads to a change in the eight-point tariff position) (as mentioned above, a separate assessment is required regarding the risk of distortion of origin and value of the goods)
• Within the scope of simple activities, testing, adjusting, adjusting and putting into working order of machines, devices and vehicles; especially for the purpose of checking compliance with technical standards.
• Processing of pipe connection points to bring them into compliance with the standards existing in different countries.
• Packaging of goods in free circulation and goods not in free circulation in the same container.

According to Article 335, paragraph 1 of the Customs Regulation, applications for handling permits must be made in writing to the supervisory customs administration and separately for each case. This application includes all the details necessary for the procedures to be carried out and the implementation of the provisions of the customs warehouse regime.

Article 335, paragraph 3 of the same Regulation states that "In cases where handling operations are indicated in the warehouse operation permit, a list containing information regarding the nature, type and Customs Tariff Statistics Position of the goods to be handled shall be added to the permit. In this case, in handling operations to be carried out in the warehouse or outside the warehouse by making a temporary exit; it is sufficient to inform the supervisory customs administration about the relevant warehouse declaration, and it is not necessary to obtain a separate handling permit."

Thus, the workload resulting from both the application by customs officers with a handling permit petition within the scope of Article 335/1 of the Regulation and the response of the relevant application by the supervisory customs administrations regarding the repeated handling activities related to the same goods in the same warehouse has been reduced. Likewise, granting a global handling permit within the framework of the conditions specified in the letter 14640530 dated 22.03.2016 of the General Directorate of Customs has also become possible.

Another important issue regarding handling is whether or not handling expenses will be included in the customs value. In delivery methods where the transportation expense is borne by the recipient, the handling expenses incurred regarding the transportation of the goods subject to import to the port or place of entry are included in the customs value in accordance with Article 27/1-e of the Customs Law No. 4458. In the handling activities carried out in the warehouse and free zone, in accordance with Articles 104/2 and 161/2 of the Customs Law No. 4458. According to the articles, the goods are considered as if they have not been subjected to handling and the costs incurred due to handling are not included in the customs value.

References:

Customs Law No. 4458

Customs Regulation

MEVZUATNET web portal

LODER web portal

Question 1. What is handling?

Answer: According to Article 3/22 of the Customs Law No. 4458, it is the stacking of goods under customs supervision without changing their original characteristics, changing their place, transferring them from large containers to small containers, renewing or repairing containers, ventilating, sifting, mixing, etc. operations.

Question 2. What are the benefits of handling?

Answer: With the handling process, the product is better preserved and a marketing advantage is achieved by improving its appearance.

Question 3. Where and how is the handling application made?

Answer: According to Article 335/1 of the Customs Regulation, handling permit applications are made in writing to the supervisory customs administration and individually for each case.

Question 4. Where can we learn which handling is allowed at customs?

Answer: The list of handling activities that can be performed in customs warehouses or free zones is given in Annex 63 of the Customs Regulation.

Question 5. Are handling expenses included in the customs value?

Answer: In delivery methods where the transportation expense is borne by the recipient, the handling expenses incurred for the transportation of the imported goods to the port or place of entry are included in the customs value in accordance with Article 27/1-e of the Customs Law No. 4458.

In handling activities performed in warehouses and free zones, the goods are evaluated as if they were not subject to handling in accordance with Articles 104/2 and 161/2 of the Customs Law No. 4458, and the expenses incurred due to handling are not included in the customs value.