G/RO/LDC/N/TUR/1  
 
18 September 2019  
(19-5998) Page: 1/6 
Committee on Rules of Origin  Original: English  
 
NOTIFICATION OF PREF ERENTIAL RULES OF OR IGIN FOR  
LEAST DEVELOPED COUN TRIES  
TURKEY 
The following communication, dated 16 September 2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Turkey.  
_______________  
 
Paragraph 4.3 of the 2015 Ministerial Decision on preferential rules of origin for least developed 
countries (WT/L/917/Add.1) requires preference -granting Members to notify preferential rules of 
origin as per the established procedures1. In addition, as mandated by the Ministerial Decision, the 
Committee on Rules of Origin agreed, at its meeting of 2 March 2017, to a template for such 
notifications (G/RO/84).  
 
Following such requirements, the following revised notification has been received from: Turkey.  
A. BASIC INFORMATION  
1)  Notifying member  Turkey  
2)  Date of entering into force of 
Rules of origin and any 
substantive modification 
thereof  Rules of origin are applicable since 2002 and last substantive 
modification was made on 26/12/2018.  
3)  Date of expiration of Rules of 
origin if applicable  Not applicable.  
4)  Title of the preferential 
scheme for which legislation 
on Rules of origin is applicable  Ministerial Decree No 2014/7064 on "Determination of Origin of 
Goods Benefiting from Preferential Regime for the Purposes of 
the Generalised System of Preferences "  
5)  Authority(ies) granting the 
preferential treatment  Ministry of Trade (Former Ministry of Economy)  
6)  National authorities in charge 
of Rules of origin 
administration  Ministry of Trade (Former Ministry of Customs and Trade)  
 
  
                                                
1 The relevant notification requirements are contained in Paragraph 2(d) of Annex 1 of the Transparency 
Mechanism for Preferential Trade Arrangements (WT/L/806) and in Paragraph 4 of Annex II of the Agreement 
on Rules of Origin.  G/RO/LDC /N/TUR/1  
 
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  B. INFORMATION ON RULES OF ORIGIN  
I.  BENEFICIARIES  
1) List of Beneficiaries  See list published in:  
https://uaabgm.ticaret.gov.tr/mevzuat/genellestirilmis -
tercihler -sistemi -generalised -system -of-
preferences/turkeys -generalised -system -of-preferences -
and-list-of-gsp-beneficiary -countries  
2)  Eligibility  See link below:  
https://uaabgm.ticaret.gov.tr/mevzuat/genellestirilmis -
tercihler -sistemi -generalised -system -of-
preferences/registered -exporter -rex-system  
 
II. CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL TRANSFORMATION  
1) General criteria, if applicable for all products   
 (a) Definition of wholly obtained 
products  According to of Article 6 of the Ministerial Decree 
No. 2014/7064, the following products shall be considered 
as wholly obtained in Turkey or in a beneficiary country:  
a)  mineral products extracted from its soil or from its 
seabed ; 
b)  plants and vegetable products grown or harvested in 
Turkey or in a beneficiary country ; 
c)  live animals born and raised in Turkey or in a 
beneficiary country ; 
ç)  products from live animals raised in Turkey or in a 
beneficiary country ; 
d)  products from slaughtered animals born and raised in 
Turkey or in a beneficiary country ; 
e)  products obtained by hunting or fishing conducted in 
Turkey or in a benef iciary country ; 
f)  products of aquaculture where the fish, crustaceans 
and molluscs are born and raised in Turkey or in a 
beneficiary country ; 
g)  products of sea fishing and other products taken from 
the sea outside territorial waters of Turkey or a 
beneficiary country by its vessels ; 
ğ)  products made on board its factory ships exclusively 
from the products referred to in point (h) ; 
h)  used articles collected in Turkey or in a beneficiary 
country  fit only for the recovery of raw materials ; 
ı)  waste an d scrap resulting from manufacturing 
operations conducted in Turkey or in a beneficiary 
country ; 
i)  products extracted from the seabed or below the 
seabed which is situated outside its territorial sea but 
where it has exclusive exploitation rights ; 
j)  goods produced exclusively from products specified in 
points (a) to (i).  
 (b)  Describe the criteria for not -
wholly produced products  Products which are not wholly obtained in the beneficiary 
country within the meaning of Article 6 of the Ministerial 
Decree No . 2014/7064 shall be considered to originate in a 
beneficiary country provided that the conditions laid down 
in Annex -2 (Product Specific Rules - PSR) of the Ministerial 
Decree No . 2014/7064 for the goods concerned are 
fulfilled. The l ink to Annex 2 can be found through the link 
provided in B.I.1 of this document.  
 (c)  Insert the formula for 
calculating ad valorem  
percentage  For further  explanation, please see Box 2(b) of this 
document.  G/RO/LDC /N/TUR/1  
 
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  2) Product specific rules of origin, where applicable  
 (a) Insert the link where the 
complete list of product 
specific rules of origin can 
be found.  http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/itcdtsbmisc74rev1
_en.pdf  page 46 and ff.   
or  
https://uaabgm.ticaret.gov.tr/mevzuat/genellestirilmis -
tercihler -sistemi -generalised -system -of-
preferences/turkeys -generalised -system -of-preferences -
and-list-of-gsp-beneficiary -countries  
 (b) Insert the formula for 
calculating ad valorem  
percentage, when applied 
for product specific rule  There is no specific formula for calculating ad valorem  
percentage. PSR is based on compliance with specific 
working and processing methods or usage of maximum 
content of non -originating materials as shown in Annex 2 
of the Ministerial Decree No . 2014/7064.  
Where a product specific rule foresees the maximum 
content of non -originating materials which is permitted in 
order to consider a manufacture as working  or processing 
sufficient to confer originating status on the product ( This 
content may be expressed as a percentage of the ex -works 
price of the product or as a percentage of the net weight of 
these materials used falling under a specified group of 
chapters, chapter, heading or sub -heading.), an average 
ex-works price of the product and average value of 
non-originating materials used shall be calculated 
respe ctively on the basis of the sum of the ex -works prices 
charged for all sales of the products carried out during the 
preceding fiscal year and the sum of the value of all the 
non-originating materials used in the manufacture of the 
products over the precedi ng fiscal year.  
Ex-works price:  The price paid for the product ex -works to 
the manufacturer in whose undertaking the last working or 
processing is carried out ( The price includes the value of all 
the materials used and all other costs related to its 
produc tion, minus any internal taxes which are, or may be, 
repaid when the product obtained is exported. Where the 
actual price paid does not reflect all costs related to the 
manufacturing of the product which are actually incurred in 
the beneficiary country, th e ex-works price means the sum 
of all those costs, minus any internal taxes which are, or 
may be, repaid when the product obtained is exported. ). 
3) Definition of non -originating 
material and originating material, 
if any  The following products shall be considered as originating in 
Turkey or a beneficiary country:  
a)  products wholly obtained in Turkey  or a beneficiary 
country  within the meaning of Article 6 [ of the 
Ministerial Decree No . 2014/7064 ]; 
b)  products  obtained in Turkey or a beneficiary country 
incorporating materials which have not been wholly 
obtained  there, provided that such materials have 
undergone sufficient working or processing within the 
meaning of Article 7 [ of the Ministerial Decree 
No. 2014/7064 ]. 
4) List of insufficient working process, 
if any  The following operations shall be considered as insufficient 
working or processing to confer the status of originating 
products, whether or not the requirements of Article 7 [of 
the Ministerial Decree No 2014/7064] are satisfied:  
a)  Preserving operations to ensure that the products 
remain in good condition during transport and 
storage;  
b)  Breaking -up and assembly of packages;  
c)  Washing, cleaning; removal of dust, oxide, oil, paint 
or other coverings;  
ç)   Ironing or pressing of textiles and textile art icles;  
d)  Simple painting and polishing operations;  
e)  Husking and partial or total milling of rice; polishing 
and glazing of cereals and rice  
f)  Operations to colour sugar or form sugar lumps; 
partial or total milling of crystal sugar;  G/RO/LDC /N/TUR/1  
 
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  g)  Peeling, stoning and shelling, of fruits, nuts and 
vegetables;  
ğ)  Sharpening, simple grinding or simple cutting;  
h)  Sifting, screening, sorting, classifying, grading, 
matching; (including the making -up of sets of 
articles);  
ı)  Simple placing in bottles,  cans, flasks, bags, cases, 
boxes, fixing on cards or boards and all other simple 
packaging operations;  
i)  Affixing or printing marks, labels, logos and other like 
distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;  
j)  Simple mixing of products, whether  or not of different 
kinds; mixing of sugar with any material;  
k)  Simple addition of water or dilution or dehydration or 
denaturation of products;  
l)  Simple assembly of parts of articles to constitute a 
complete article or disassembly of products into parts;  
m)  A combination of two or more of the operations 
specified in points (a) to (l);  
n)  Slaughter of animals.  
5) Rules for application of cumulation 
and related procedures if any  There are 3 kind of cumulation foreseen in Turkey 's GSP 
scheme:  
1) Bilateral Cumulation (with Turkey)  
2) Cumulation with Norway, Switzerland and the 
European Union.  
3) Regional Cumulation (within the same regional group 
of countries as described in Article 16 of Ministerial 
Decree No . 2014/7064).  
Please see for further information: 
http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/itcdtsbmisc74rev1
_en.pdf  page 12 and ff.  
6) Any other information that member 
deems necessary  -  
 
III. DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS  
1) Certificate of origin and other proofs of origin  
 (a) Requirement  for certificate 
of origin and/or any other 
proof of origin, if any  Turkey accepts  
- certificate of origin Form A, or  
- "Statement on origin " given by the exporters who are 
registered to the Registered Exporter System (REX) 
and shall be made out on any commercial document 
on which the exporter and the goods concerned 
obviously appear. It may be made out on a 
commercial invoice or a delivery not e relating to the 
consignment or a commercial document issued in 
detail  that adequately allows the identification of the 
goods involved. It shall be made out by the exporter 
and provided to the importer in Turkey.  The exporter 
shall not be required to sign  the statement on origin.  
- "Invoice declaration " made out properly by the 
exporter on an invoice, a delivery note  or any other 
commercial document, may be made out by any 
exporter for any consignment consisting of one or 
more packages containing originating products whose 
total value does not exceed €6,000. 
 (b) Authority to be designated 
for issuance of certificate of 
origin   Turkey does not designate competent authorities in 
beneficiary countries for issuing certificate of origin Form A. 
Turkey leaves this field to the initiative of beneficiary 
countries ' government as long as provisions of Article 4 and  
31 (Administrative Cooperation with Turkey) of the 
Ministerial Decree No . 2014/7064 are satisfied by that 
beneficiary country.  G/RO/LDC /N/TUR/1  
 
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   (c) Prescribed form of 
Certificate of origin and/or 
any other proof of origin   Certificates of Origin Form A, Statement on Origin and 
Invoice Declaration provided to support a claim of origin 
under the Turkish GSP arrangement must meet the 
requirements as indicated in the Turkish GSP manual.  
The Turkish GSP manual can be found at 
http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/itcdtsbmisc74rev1
_en.pdf   
Also please check for additional information:  
https://uaabgm.ticaret.gov.tr/mevzuat/genellestirilmis -
tercihler -sistemi -generalised -system -of-
preferences/turkeys -generalised -system -of-preferences -
and-list-of-gsp-beneficiary -countries  
https://uaabgm.ticaret.gov.tr/mevzuat/genellestirilmis -
tercihler -sistemi -generalised -system -of-
preferences/registered -exporter -rex-system  
 (d) Any other procedures 
applied for certificate of 
origin and/or any other 
proof of origin, if any   - 
2) Direct shipment  
 (a)  Rules applicable for direct 
shipment, if any  There are direct shipment/consignment requirements.  
Pursuant to Article 21 of Ministerial Decision 
No. 2014/7064, the Turkish Customs Administration may 
seek further evidence of non -alteration during the 
consignment which may be split prior to being declared for 
release for free circulation to Turkey.  
 (b)  Documentary requirement 
for proof of direct shipment 
including when the transport 
of consignment involves 
transit through one or more 
intermediate countries, if 
any There is no specific proof of direct shipment/consignment 
requested.   
The customs authorities may request the declarant to 
provide evidence of compliance, which may be given by 
any means, including contractual transport documents such 
as bills of lading or factual or concrete evidence based on 
marking or numbering of package s or any evidence related 
to the goods themselves.  
 
IV. VERIFICATION AND PENALTIES  
1)  Procedure for verification of proofs 
of origin  Subsequent verifications of certificates of origin Form A and 
invoice declarations shall be carried out at random or 
whenever the customs authorities have reasonable doubts 
as to the authenticity of such documents, the originating 
status of the products concerned or the fulfilment of the 
other requirements of Ministerial Decision No . 2014/7064.  
For the purpose of subsequ ent verification, the Turkish 
Customs Offices shall return the certificate of origin Form A 
and the invoice, if it has been submitted, the invoice  
declaration, or a copy of these documents, to the 
competent governmental authorities in the exporting 
benefic iary country giving, where appropriate, the reasons 
for the enquiry.  
For the statement on origin, the Ministry may request the 
subsequent verification of the statements and replacement 
statements on origin at random or when there is a 
reasonable doubt as to their authenticity, the originating 
status of the goods concerned or the fulfillment of other 
requirements within the scope of the Ministerial Decree 
No. 2014/7064.  
A copy of the statements on origin or the replacements 
statement on origin and any document  and information 
suggesting that these  statements are incorrect may be 
forwarded to the competent authority of the Beneficiary 
Country in support of the request for subsequent 
verification.  G/RO/LDC /N/TUR/1  
 
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  2)  Penalties for fraud and false 
declarations  Provisions o f the Customs Law ( No. 4458) of 
27 October  1999 and Law on Fight Against Smuggling ( No. 
5607) of 21  March 2007 and other relevant legislation  in 
force shall apply to the acts contrary of this Decision.  
3)  Authorities and procedures for 
appeal in the case of dispute on 
verification  Traders have right to appeal to review by the Turkish 
Custom Offices provided for in Article 6 of Turkish Customs 
Code.  
4)  Requirement for preserving the 
documents related to issuance of 
certificate of origin  Certificates of origin Form A, all appropriate documents 
proving the originating status of the products concerned 
and as well as any export documents referring to them 
shall be kept for at least three years from the end of the 
year in which the certificate of origin Form A was issued.  
For Statement on Origin, In addition to the ones specified 
in the Ministerial Decree  No. 2014/7064, exporters and 
registered exporters shal l keep for at least 3 years from the 
end of the calendar year in which the statement on origin 
was made out, or a longer period of time if required by 
their national law, records of the statements on origin they 
made out and their originating and non -originating 
materials, production and stock accounts.  
5)  Any other relevant information  - 
 
V. REFERENCE TEXTS  
(a)  The legislative texts in one of the 
official WTO languages containing 
the preferential rules of origin 
applicable under a PTA granted 
under the Decision on Measures in 
Favour of Least -Developed 
Countries (Annex F of the Hong 
Kong Ministerial Declaration)  http://unctad.org/en/pages/PublicationWebflyer.aspx?publi
cationid=1703   
or 
https://uaabgm.ticaret.gov.tr/mevzuat/genellestirilmis -
tercihler -sistemi -generalised -system -of-
preferences/turkeys -generalised -system -of-preference s-
and-list-of-gsp-beneficiary -countries  
(b)  The full text of the administrative 
regulations concerning modalities 
for issuance, acceptance, 
retrospective issuance and 
replacement of certificates of origin 
or any equivalent declarations to be 
made, includ ing any requirements 
related to stamps to be used along 
with notification of stamps  
(c)  The full text and related 
administrative regulations of the 
modalities for the proof of 
movement of the consignment of 
the goods from the beneficiary 
countries to preference -giving 
countries including transit through 
third countries  
(d)  The full texts of the modalities of 
the verification procedures and 
related penalties  Links as above  
or 
https://uaabgm.ticaret.gov.tr/mevzuat/gumruk -kanunu -
customs -code/turkish -customs -code 
 
__________