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Ahmet VEYİSOĞLU
Customs Consultant
The "Association Council Decision No. 1/95", which established a "Customs Union" between Turkey and the European Union, entered into force as of 01.01.1996, and since that date, the parties have started not to impose customs duties on industrial products sent from them. For this, submission of A.TR Movement Documents proving the "free circulation status" of the goods has been deemed sufficient.
However, the problem of how the goods within the scope of the Free Trade Agreements concluded by both the European Union and Turkey with neighboring countries will circulate in the Customs Union area has arisen. Today, the economies of scale imposed by the global economy no longer allow any product to be produced in a single country, and final products are produced with input from more than one country.
In Free Trade Agreements, in order to benefit from customs duty reductions or exemptions, it is necessary to submit a "certificate of origin" in different forms. These are sometimes referred to as “EUR.1. We sometimes define “Circulation Certificate” as “EUR.MED Circulation Certificate”. “Supplier Declaration” appears as one of these “certificate of origin” forms. Therefore, when goods originating from a third country within the scope of the Free Trade Agreement are shipped from the Community to Turkey, it is not sufficient to submit only the A.TR Movement Certificate; in addition, it is necessary to submit a certificate of origin proving that the goods originate in that country.
Supplier; When we look at the meaning of the word, it means "the person who provides the necessary material". In the customs literature, supplier is used to mean "the seller who produces the goods subject to trade in the EU or Turkey or supplies them to the buyer in the EU or Turkey".
The provisions regarding the Supplier Declaration came into force with the "Decision on the Principles Concerning the Implementation of the Customs Union Established between Turkey and the EC" numbered 2006/10895, published in the Official Gazette numbered 26303 dated 28.09.2006.
Supplier Declaration; It is a document proving the preferential origin status of goods that are in free circulation within the scope of the Customs Union and originating from one of the countries party to the Pan-European Origin Cumulation System, Pan-European Mediterranean Origin Cumulation System or Western Balkan Origin Cumulation System. The supplier's declaration indicates that the goods in question meet the rules of origin in accordance with the rules of origin applicable in trade with the relevant countries and that the declarant is ready to submit any evidence supporting this declaration.
It is possible to export goods in free circulation within the scope of the Customs Union to one of the countries party to the Pan-European Origin Cumulation System, the Pan-European Mediterranean Origin Cumulation System or the Western Balkan Origin Cumulation System within the framework of the free trade agreements of Turkey and the Community (European Union).
In this context, within the scope of the Customs Union, goods originating from one of the countries party to the Pan-European Origin Cumulation System, Pan-European Mediterranean Origin Cumulation System or the Western Balkan Origin Cumulation System, which are in free circulation, are exported to other countries in the system in the same state or after processing, EUR.1. In order to issue a Movement Certificate, EUR-MED Movement Certificate, Invoice declaration or EUR-MED invoice declaration, the origin status of the goods in free circulation must be proven.
While the supplier declaration is being prepared, upon the request of the buyer, the goods in question are in free circulation within the scope of the Customs Union;
1.During export from Turkey to the Community or from the Community to Turkey or;
1.b) Following the export from Turkey to the Community or from the Community to Turkey, the goods in question are re-exported in the same condition and after processing to a country that is party to the Pan-European Origin Cumulation System, the Pan-European Mediterranean Origin Cumulation System or the Western Balkan Origin Cumulation System. It is issued by the supplier based on the request for a proof of origin certificate for the purpose and given to the buyer in Turkey or the Community.
The Supplier Declaration is issued in two ways;
- It can be arranged separately for each shipment. In this case, the declaration is made by the supplier on the commercial invoice or delivery note or any other commercial document regarding the relevant shipment. These documents must be documents that describe the goods in detail enough to enable the goods in question to be identified.
- If a supplier regularly supplies a particular buyer with an item whose preferential origin status is expected to remain the same in the long term, he/she can submit a supplier declaration (hereinafter referred to as Long-Term Supplier Declaration) covering all shipments to be made during this period. The long-term supplier declaration is valid for a maximum of one year from the date it is issued. Long-term supplier declaration can be prepared to cover past shipments. In such cases, the validity of the declaration cannot exceed one year retroactively from the date the declaration was issued. If the preferential origin status of the supplied goods changes within the validity period of the declaration, the supplier is obliged to immediately notify the buyer that the long-term supplier declaration is no longer valid.
In cases where the accuracy of the Supplier's declarations is in doubt, inspections are carried out by requesting the INF 4 Information Form issued by the customs administration where the export is made from the Supplier.
As a result, it can be said that the Supplier Declaration is a practice that prevents traffic diversion. For example, goods originating from China can be first sent by the manufacturer to its factory in Italy, and then shipped to our country accompanied by A.TR as goods originating from Tunisia. As a result of this operation, the goods in question can be put into free circulation without paying additional customs duty. The supplier declaration, on the other hand, is a deterrent element against traffic diversions, as it is a document issued by the seller company and contains detailed product information and clearly shows that the responsibility is placed on the exporter company.
SOURCE:
Decision on the Principles Regarding the Implementation of the Customs Union Established Between Turkey and the EC No. 2006/10895, published in the Official Newspaper No. 26303 dated 09.2006
https://www.ticaret.gov.tr
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Question 1. What is a Supplier Declaration?
Answer: Supplier declaration is a type of certificate of origin proving the preferential origin status of the goods.
Question 2. Is a wet signature required in the Supplier Declaration?
Answer: Yes. Supplier Declaration is a document whose original is submitted to the relevant authorities when necessary.
Question 3. Can the Supplier Declaration be issued on an invoice or other transportation documents?
Answer: Yes. A supplier declaration can be made on the commercial invoice or delivery note or any other commercial document regarding the relevant shipment.
Question 4. What are the responsibilities of the supplier when a Supplier Declaration is used?
Answer: The responsibilities of the supplier are explained as follows in Article 73 of the Decision No. 2006/10895 on the Principles Concerning the Implementation of the Customs Union Established Between Turkey and the EC.
(1) In order to ensure that the accuracy of the supplier's declaration can be checked by the Ministry when necessary,
a) It keeps records that can be used in determining the origin of the inputs used in the processing or production of the goods specified in its declaration, such as the amount, value and percentages in the ex-factory price of the goods, tariff statistical positions and description,
b) In case of doubt about the origin of the goods or when necessary, it can request the INF 4 Information Form from its supplier to use as a supporting document,
c) Keeps records and documents for three years, without prejudice to the periods stipulated in applicable laws.
(2) The Supplier is responsible for the accuracy and substantiation of every statement it makes.
Question 5. What is the procedure to be followed in cases where it is necessary to prove the accuracy of the Supplier Declaration?
Answer: The INF 4 information form issued by the customs administration where the export is made is requested from the supplier and the examinations are concluded in the light of the information in this form. Thanks to this form, the accuracy of the declaration is proven and the origin of the goods is checked.
