Turkey hikes customs duties on overseas ecommerce sales

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• Online duties raised to 30% and 60%
• Restrictions on value and weight
• Aims to defend domestic market share

Turkey is raising customs duties on goods bought online from international retailers as it seeks to defend local retailers against the global ecommerce giants. 

Under regulations announced on August 6 and due to come into force on August 21, items valued at up to €30 ($32.75) ordered online from a European Union vendor and delivered by mail or courier will be subject to 30 percent customs duty, up from 18 percent.

Products bought from countries outside the EU, such as China, will be taxed at a rate of 60 percent. A further 20 percent tax will be levied on some products, as yet unspecified. 

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The sum of €30 will also be the limit for each individual item shipped from overseas, down from €150. 

In addition, there will be restrictions on the weight of purchases. Anything above 30kg will incur additional charges. 

Responding to criticism that the new duties would add to consumers’ cost burdens, trade minister Ömer Bolat told reporters on August 7 that the aim was to defend the market share of Turkish companies against overseas rivals. 

The Ministry of Trade later issued a statement saying the customs increase was a response to complaints from consumers, and from “manufacturers and small business as well as chambers of industry and trade stressing falls in sales, production and employment”. 

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Professor Binhan Elif Yılmaz of İstanbul University’s Faculty of Economics said the main targets were the likes of Amazon and China’s Temu. 

However, given Turkey’s small contribution to those companies’ overall income, the levies will not have a major impact on their bottom line or the national revenue, she said.

“Customs taxes have a limited share in state income,” Yılmaz told AGBI. “Last year, it was at 3.16 percent, while the average over the past three years was 3.2 percent. The current regulation represents a narrow fraction of customs taxation and its contribution to the budget will be limited.”

Although the increased duties may not generate significant funds for state coffers, they may have an unforeseen impact on the economy as ecommerce sales fall. 

Yilmaz said that with “domestic pricing being an issue, I can see local companies increasing their prices”.