SURVEILLANCE APPLICATIONS

Mehmet EKTİ
Customs Consultant

VII of the “General Agreement on Customs Tariffs (GATT)” to which our country is a party. According to the "International Convention on the Implementation of Article", the customs value of the imported goods is the sales price of the goods. The sales price is the price actually paid or payable for the sale made for export to Turkey, with the necessary adjustments made in accordance with Articles 27 and 28 of the Customs Law. The price actually paid or payable includes the payments made or required to be made by the buyer to or for the seller's benefit for the imported goods. Payments to be made in exchange for imported goods can be made in the form of money transfer, or can be made directly or indirectly using a letter of credit or a negotiable negotiable instrument. In our national legislation, the issues regarding the principles on which the customs value will be determined are regulated by articles 23 to 31 of the Customs Law No. 4458 and articles 35 to 49 of the Customs Regulation.

As stated above, although it shows that the customs value of the goods to be subject to foreign purchase or sale in any way is the sum of the values ​​actually paid or to be paid in accordance with the contracts to be made between the importer and exporter, in customs and foreign trade practices, the customs value of the imported goods subject to taxation is always the seller for the goods. It does not consist of the actual sales price paid to the company. Some mechanisms such as surveillance and reference price practices in the import of some goods in our country force foreign traders to declare a higher value in the customs value declaration of imported goods at customs administrations than the price they actually paid abroad for these goods.

One of the non-tariff barriers that our country implements within the scope of trade policy measures is the surveillance practice in imports. Although the apparent purpose of the surveillance practice is to monitor the developments in the import of a certain good, in practice the result for importing businesses is to declare the customs value of the imported goods higher than the real value and increase the tax base. Surveillance practice occurs in the form of taxpayers increasing the customs value of the goods they want to import without a surveillance document to the surveillance amount and thus making a declaration to the customs administrations, or additional import taxes are accrued by the customs administration to those who declare the customs value at a value lower than the surveillance amount.

Surveillance practice in Turkey came into force for the first time with the "Decision on Surveillance and Protection Measures in Imports of Goods Originating from the People's Republic of China", which was put into effect by the Council of Ministers Decision No. 2003/5567 dated 02.05.2003. Later, the decision on basic surveillance measures was published with the "Decision on Surveillance Implementation in Imports" published in the Official Gazette No. 2004/7304, dated 29.05.2004, and the notifications published based on this decision came into force.

The application of surveillance to a good is decided by the General Directorate of Imports of the Ministry of Commerce upon application or as a result of an ex officio evaluation. As a result of the evaluation, surveillance measures are taken for the goods in question, taking into account the import conditions of the complained goods and their impact on domestic producers.

The surveillance decision can be applied prospectively by issuing a "Surveillance Certificate" or retrospectively to evaluate the actual imports.

If the customs value of the goods that the importer wants to import is below the "threshold price" determined by the surveillance notification, the said company must apply to the General Directorate of Imports and obtain a "Surveillance Certificate". Upon the duly application of the importer company, a "Supervision Certificate" is issued by the General Directorate of Imports for the entire requested amount within 10 business days. The said document is added to the customs declaration and cannot be transferred to another company. If the import has been completed with the original surveillance document, the document holder must submit a copy of the import declaration and invoice to the General Directorate of Imports within 10 business days from the end of the document validity period.

Although the legislative arrangement is like this, in practice, the said General Directorate does not issue a surveillance certificate in cases where the imported goods are lower than the "threshold price" determined by the surveillance measure.

If the value of the goods is lower than the value specified in the Surveillance Communiqué, submission of a "Surveillance Certificate" is not required if the overseas expense is declared in a way that will increase the unit price to the value specified in the Surveillance Communiqué. Thus, in a sense, importers are forced to make declarations based on the "threshold price" determined by the communiqué.

For example, with the "Communiqué on the Implementation of Surveillance in Imports" numbered 2020/8, a "threshold price" of 300 USD/Ton has been determined for the import of "Watermelon" included in the 0807.11.00.00.00 GTIP.

In the Circular numbered 2016/8 dated 29.11.2016 published by the General Directorate of Customs and in the 3rd article of the Circular numbered 2012/3, it is stated that "In the control carried out within the scope of Article 180 of the Customs Regulation, if the declared value does not reach the value specified in the relevant communiqué even though there is no surveillance certificate, If the obliged person ensures that the value of the imported goods reaches the value specified in the relevant communiqué with the additional declaration, the Surveillance Certificate will not be required for the entry of the goods into free circulation. The additional declaration in question can be made duly under "Other Foreign Expenses" in the BİLGE program. "The value resulting from the taxpayer's additional value declaration will be evaluated as the final value of the goods, and the procedures for entry into free circulation will be completed without the need for any other transaction."

This means that when the importer declares the customs value of the "Watermelon" that he procures from abroad for 150 USD per ton and declares an additional 150 USD per ton as "overseas expense", he will import without a "Supervision Certificate".

It is clear that with these regulations, importers are forced to declare value at a high "threshold price", which is in no way compatible with the provisions regarding the "value of goods" specified in the Customs Law No. 4458. Thus, a higher amount of tax is collected from the import of the said goods without changing the tax rates and a kind of "value barrier" is created. In this respect, Türkiye continues to surprise the World Trade Organization with the technical obstacles it creates in foreign trade.

SOURCE

Right to Surveillance Practice in Imports. Decision (2004/7304 )

Regulation on Import Surveillance (08.06.2004/25486 R.G.)

Article (Customs Inspector Fatih UZUN)

PC corpus program

evolution program

Circular No. 2019/1

Communiqué No. 2020/8

Customs Law No. 4458

Customs Regulation

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question 1: Where can companies apply to obtain a surveillance certificate?

Answer: They can apply to the Ministry of Commerce, General Directorate of Imports.

Question 2: If companies cannot obtain the Surveillance Certificate, how can they proceed?

Answer: They can make a declaration that reaches the "threshold price" by adding "overseas expense" to the value of the goods. In such a case, a Surveillance Certificate is not requested.

Question 3: How long is the Surveillance Certificate valid?

Answer: The surveillance certificate is valid for 6 months after it is issued.

Question 4: How long and where are the companies holding the Surveillance Certificate obliged to deliver this document after completing the import process?

Answer: Importer companies are obliged to submit the original of the Surveillance Certificate together with a copy of the declaration and the invoice to the General Directorate of Imports within 10 business days after the expiration date of the document.

Question 5: At what rate does exceeding the value or amount recorded in the Surveillance Certificate prevent imports?

Answer: If the value or quantity determined and accepted by the customs exceeds the value or quantity recorded in the Surveillance Certificate by a total of less than 5% (including 5%), it does not constitute an obstacle to import.