TEMPORARY STORAGE OF GOODS

Özlem ERSÖZ
Training Coordinator

"Temporary Storage Place" refers to places such as open or covered warehouses, warehouses, warehouses or hangars, where goods brought to the Turkish Customs Territory and not put into free circulation are placed until they are subjected to a customs-approved transaction or use, and which are built to protect the goods from external factors and interventions. It is said. These fields may be open or closed as physical spaces.

Permission to open and operate a Temporary Storage Place is given by the Ministry of Commerce and a guarantee is obtained from the operator. Following the one-time "opening fee" collected at the first opening of the Temporary Storage Area, businesses are obliged to pay an "operation fee" every year. The authority to enter the opened Temporary Storage Area is limited, and apart from customs and operating personnel, transporters, agents, customs consultants and assistant consultants and people authorized by the owner to remove the goods can enter and exit these places.

According to Article 47 of the Customs Law No. 4458, "after being presented to customs, the goods have the status of temporarily stored goods until they are subjected to a customs-approved transaction or use, and are named as such." Unlike the goods placed in a warehouse under the warehouse regime, which is a customs-approved procedure, the customs-approved treatment or use of the goods placed in temporary storage becomes clear after a certain period of time after the said goods are placed in this storage place.

According to Article 46 of the Law, after the goods that are not in free circulation are taken to the temporary storage place and presented to the customs, the goods arriving by sea must be processed within forty-five days from the date of the summary declaration, and the goods arriving by other means within twenty days from the date of the summary declaration. must be subjected to 'use'. Since the summary declaration started to be submitted before the vehicle arrived in the country after the regulations made in the legislation after 2000, when the law came into force, the date of entry to the site kept by the customs or customs enforcement authorities after the vehicle carrying the goods arrives at the temporary storage location is taken as basis in calculating these periods. However, these periods are sometimes insufficient and the traffic of "additional time extension petitions" increases in customs administrations. Although these periods are set as 90 days for all transportation modes in the new draft law, the draft has not yet become law.

Temporary storage places are important in terms of determining the legal responsibilities between the sender- carrier - receiver in international goods traffic. By unloading the goods to the temporary storage place and signing the unloading list, the transporter proves that he has delivered the goods completely to the authorized enterprise and completes his legal liability arising from international transportation.

Since customs administrations initiate "summary declaration deficiency proceedings" or "summary declaration excess proceedings" in case there is a difference between the amount declared in the summary declaration and the unloading lists, the carrier's legal liability towards the sender, the recipient and the customs administration continues unless these proceedings are concluded positively.

Although this is the case, there is no legal obstacle to initiating a customs-approved transaction or use for the part of a batch of goods in temporary storage for which "summary declaration deficiency proceedings" have been initiated. Although a batch of goods for which "summary declaration excess proceedings" have been initiated may also be subject to a customs-approved transaction or use, action can only be taken when the proceedings against the excess containers are concluded positively.

According to Article 237 of the Customs Law, if it cannot be proven within the period to be determined by the customs administration that the containers that are deficient according to the amount recorded in the commercial or official documents used as summary declaration or summary declaration were not loaded from their origin or were taken to another place by mistake or were destroyed or stolen as a result of accident and negligence. , a fine equal to the customs duties calculated according to the tariff position of the goods belonging to these missing containers or, if the tariff position cannot be determined, according to the type and type, is charged according to the highest taxable position of the chapter in which it is included in the tariff. If it is not possible to determine a penalty due to tariff uncertainty, a fine in the amount specified in paragraph 1 of Article 241 is charged for each missing container.

If it cannot be proven within the period to be determined by the customs administration that the containers, which are in excess of the amount recorded in the commercial or official documents used as summary declaration or summary declaration, have been mistakenly loaded in excess of their destination, it is decided that the goods in question will be seized and their ownership transferred to the public and they are subject to liquidation. Additionally, the carrier is charged a fine equal to the CIF value of the goods.

In addition, in cases where it is determined by the customs administration that the goods were brought without making a summary declaration, or it is notified to the customs administration after the goods are allowed to be unloaded, and it is understood that these goods are not related to one of the summary declarations given, if it cannot be proven within the period to be determined by the customs administration that the goods have been loaded more than their destination by mistake. It is decided to confiscate the goods and transfer their ownership to the public, and the goods are subject to liquidation. In addition, a fine equal to the CIF value of the goods is imposed on the carrier.

As in other countries of the world, places called "Temporary Storage Places" in Turkey are generally operated in sea ports, airports, railway stations and TIR customs areas open to international traffic. “Temporary Storage Area Enterprise” is obliged to physically preserve the goods not in free circulation delivered to it for import or transit transportation and the goods in free circulation delivered to it for export, and to allow their import or export when the customs procedures are completed. Handling operations such as unloading, loading and stacking in these places are generally carried out by the Temporary Storage Area Enterprise. However, if the business allows, such handling can also be carried out through other operators.

Temporary Storage Area Operators request storage fees and handling fees in return for this service. If the mentioned storage fee and handling expenses are not paid, the business has a "right to lien" on the goods. This right is regulated in Article 574 of the Code of Obligations No. 6098, titled "Rights of the storage keeper", as follows: "The storage keeper may request the agreed or customary storage fee and all expenses such as maintenance, transportation and customs that do not arise from storage…. As long as the warehouseman is in possession of the goods or has the authority to dispose of them through any deed representing the goods, he has the right to lien on these goods for his receivables.”

In the third paragraph added to Article 218 of the Customs Law No. 4458 with the Law No. 7099, which came into force on 10.03.2018, "Organizations operating sea and airports used in the transportation of goods and passengers by sea and air between Turkey and other countries and temporary storage place operators, To comply with the determined maximum prices of loading, unloading, storage, in-field transportation fees and similar expenses related to customs works and transactions that are outside the scope of the Presidential Organization Decree No. 1, which determines the organization and duties of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (Articles 474 to 502 of the Presidential Organization Decree No. 1, which determines the organization and duties of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure). is obliged. While determining the maximum prices by the Ministry (Ministry of Commerce), the regulations in the contracts made within the framework of privatization practices are taken into account.

According to the provision of paragraph 1-(i) of Article 478 of the Presidential Organization Decree No. 1, the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs is limited to "improving sea and inland water transportation and ensuring a free, fair and sustainable competition environment; It is seen that it is authorized to determine the usage fees of ports, piers and coastal structures and the base and ceiling fees, when necessary, for transportation activities and to supervise their implementation.

Based on this, according to the provisions of the "Communiqué on the Determination and Implementation of Service Items Provided in Coastal Facilities and the Base and Ceiling Fees for These Service Items" published by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs in the Official Gazette dated 16.05.2020, "preservation service" is defined as storage service and it is stated that the base fee will be determined for this. However, in the same Communiqué, "services related to customs affairs and transactions" are defined as the services in the third paragraph of Article 218 of Law No. 4458. The communiqué includes service items such as hatch cover opening-closing service, waste reception service, unloading service, anchoring service, electrical service, container interior filling-unloading service, and in-port transfer service.

As understood from both Article 218/3 of the Customs Law and the provision of the aforementioned Communiqué, service fees such as docking of ships to the port, unloading of cargo, transportation of containers to places considered as temporary storage areas, and keeping containers on the pier are charged by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure for the goods to be transferred from these ports. Storage and handling expenses after transportation to places deemed as "Temporary Storage Places" will be determined by the Ministry of Commerce.

Although this is the case, neither the Ministry of Commerce nor the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has yet published a minimum-maximum service tariff regarding the mentioned services. It is of great importance that these service tariffs are published as soon as possible in order to increase the global competitiveness of our entrepreneurs, who have to pay the highest storage and handling costs in the world.

SOURCE:

Customs Law No. 4458

Law of Obligations No. 6098

Presidential Organization Decree No. 1

Customs Regulation

Communiqué on the Determination and Implementation of Service Items Provided in Coastal Facilities and the Base and Ceiling Fees for These Service Items (Official Gazette No. 31129 dated 16.05.2020)

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question 1. By whom, when, where and how is the summary declaration given?

Answer: Summary declaration is made by the person who brings the goods to the Turkish Customs Territory or undertakes the responsibility of transporting the goods to the customs territory. Before the goods are brought to the Turkish Customs Territory, they are given to the entry customs administration using computer data processing techniques.

Question 2. When does the period for assigning a customs-approved transaction or use to goods that are 45 and 20 days old, specified in Article 46 of the Customs Law, begin?

Answer: The periods for assigning a customs-approved transaction or use to goods that are 45 and 20 days old, specified in Article 46 of the Customs Law, start from the date of the registration of the goods to customs and the entry of the vehicle to the customs administration where the goods will be unloaded, kept by customs or customs enforcement authorities.

Question 3. What action will be taken by the customs administration if it cannot be proven within the time period to be determined by the customs administration that the containers that are found to be insufficient according to the recorded amount in the commercial or official documents used as summary declaration or summary declaration were not loaded from their origin, were taken to another place by mistake, or were destroyed or stolen as a result of accidents and casualties?

Answer: According to Article 237 of the Customs Law No. 4458, the carrier is charged a fine equal to the customs duties calculated according to the tariff position of the goods belonging to the missing containers, or, if the tariff position cannot be determined, the highest taxable position of the chapter in which it is included in the tariff, according to its type and type.

Question 4. In cases where the customs administration determines that goods have been brought without making a summary declaration and it is understood that the goods are not related to one of the summary declarations made, what action will be taken by the customs administration if it cannot be proven within the time period to be determined by the customs administration that the goods have been loaded in excess of their origin by mistake?

Answer: In such cases, it is decided to confiscate the goods and transfer its ownership to the public, and the said goods are subject to liquidation. In addition, a fine equal to the CIF value of the goods will be imposed on the carrier.

Question 5. What action will be taken if it cannot be proven within the time period to be determined by the customs administration that the containers, which are larger than the amount recorded in the commercial or official documents used as summary declaration or summary declaration, have been mistakenly loaded in excess of their destination?

Answer: In such cases, it is decided to confiscate the goods and transfer its ownership to the public, and the said goods are subject to liquidation. In addition, a fine equal to the CIF value of the goods will be imposed on the carrier.