Importing from China to Türkiye: Process, Incoterms Choice and Customs Clearance
The steps a shipment from China goes through, from the supplier agreement to delivery in Türkiye, who bears which cost and what customs asks for.
Importing from China to Türkiye means buying goods from a Chinese supplier, bringing them in by sea or air and releasing them for free circulation at Turkish customs. Three decisions shape the whole process: the Incoterms rule the goods are bought on, whether the cargo travels FCL or LCL, and the tariff position (GTİP in Türkiye) the goods fall under. Everything else is a consequence of these three.
Step by step
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Agree with the supplier and get a proforma invoice
The process starts with a complete proforma invoice. It should state the full commercial description of the goods, a proposed HS code, quantity, unit and total price, currency, delivery term, payment term, production time and packing. Vague descriptions such as "sample" or "gift" lead to arguments over tariff and value at customs. At this stage, check that the supplier's trade name is the same as the name on its bank account.
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Fix the Incoterms rule and the payment term
Raise the Incoterms rule before haggling over price. Write the rule, the named place and "Incoterms 2020" together in the contract; under every rule except DDP, import customs clearance is the buyer's. The payment term is fixed here too: a full advance transfer puts the risk on the buyer, while a letter of credit or documents against payment ties payment to the presentation of documents. Whether the bill of lading is an original or a telex release follows directly from this decision.
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Inspect before loading
Pre-shipment inspection is done before the goods go into the container; there is no chance to correct anything afterwards. Check conformity with the sample, quantity, labelling and whether the packing will survive transport. Have the outer carton dimensions and gross weight measured at the same stage, because freight follows the real measurement, not the supplier's declaration. If wooden pallets or crates are used, confirm the ISPM 15 stamp by photo.
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Booking and inspection preparation
The booking is opened once the ready date is firm. The forwarder confirms the line, vessel, container type and port and in return gives the container and document cut-off times. These fall days before departure, and missing them leaves the cargo for the next vessel. At the same time, check whether the product is subject to import inspection in Türkiye; if a TAREKS application is needed, preparation starts here.
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Loading, sealing and the bill of lading
The container is stuffed at the factory or at a warehouse in the port and closed with a numbered seal. The seal number is written on the bill of lading and the packing list; a matching number on arrival shows the container was not opened in transit. The VGM of the loaded container is declared before it is taken on board. In LCL the cargo is delivered to a consolidation warehouse and stowed there with other shippers' cargo.
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Export clearance in China and sea transit
Export clearance is the supplier's job under every rule except EXW. Once the declaration is registered and the container is loaded, the bill of lading is issued and transit begins. The importer's job now is to follow the documents: scanned copies of the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and certificate of origin should be in hand before the vessel arrives. Asking for documents after arrival means storage and demurrage.
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Arrival port and customs clearance
The arrival notice triggers the summary declaration, and the customs process begins. Under Article 46 of Customs Law No. 4458, goods arriving by sea must be assigned a customs-approved treatment or use within forty-five days of the date the summary declaration is lodged, and goods arriving by any other mode within twenty days. The customs broker registers the declaration, permits and inspection documents are linked through the single window, and duties are paid after any inspection. See customs clearance.
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Delivery and return of the empty container
Once duties are paid, freight and arrival charges are settled, the delivery order is collected from the line's agent and the container is taken out of the port. In FCL the container is unloaded and returned empty to the depot the line names; if it is late, detention runs. In LCL the cargo is collected after separation at the bonded warehouse. How long these steps take differs between İzmir Alsancak, Ambarlı, Mersin, Gemlik and Aliağa.
What does a Chinese supplier's FOB price cover, and what does it not?
A FOB price covers the costs up to the moment the goods are loaded on the vessel at the Chinese port of loading; everything after that is for the importer. So inland haulage from the factory to the port, Chinese export clearance and loading-port charges are inside the price, while sea freight, arrival terminal charges, the delivery order, storage, customs brokerage, customs duties, VAT and inland haulage in Türkiye are not. A profitability calculation that treats the FOB figure as total cost goes wrong for this reason. A second trap is subtler: some sellers quote "FOB" but hand the cargo to an agent of their own choosing, who then collects high local charges from the importer on arrival. What is saved on freight is taken back at destination. When comparing quotes, ask in writing which item falls on whom and who sets the arrival charges.
- Included in FOB: inland haulage, export clearance, loading-port terminal charges, loading on the vessel.
- Not included: sea freight, arrival THC, delivery order, storage, brokerage, customs duties, VAT, inland distribution.
- Insurance is not the seller's obligation under any F-group rule; the party that bears the risk arranges the policy.
How do EXW, FOB and FCA differ in the importer's pocket?
The difference is who carries the costs inside China and the export clearance. Under EXW the seller's only duty is to make the goods available at its factory; the buyer arranges the truck, inland haulage, export declaration and port charges. In practice the forwarder's correspondent in China does this work anyway; the cost does not disappear, it moves on the invoice. The real consequence of EXW is this: if the export declaration is not registered in the seller's name, the seller loses its export tax refund and passes that into the price. That is why the gap between EXW and FOB is often larger than the real cost difference. For container cargo the better rule is FCA; the ICC recommends FCA instead of FOB for containerised and multimodal shipments. The reasoning, and the loading-notation arrangement added to FCA in Incoterms 2020, are explained in Incoterms 2020.
- If you cannot write FCA, make sure cargo insurance starts from the factory gate.
- EXW gives control for small loads from a single supplier; for loads collected from several suppliers it is unavoidable anyway.
Sea or air from China?
The decision is made by comparing the freight difference with the value of the cargo and the cost of delay. Air freight per unit of weight is many times sea freight, but transit is measured in days rather than weeks. The higher the unit value, the smaller freight is relative to the value of the goods and the more air becomes arguable; for cheap, bulky cargo freight can exceed the goods value, so air is ruled out at the start. The second variable is stock: if shelves will be empty, a season will be missed or a production line will stop, the cost of delay can exceed the freight difference. By air the charge is on the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight, so calculate both before deciding. A common practical answer is to split the shipment: the urgent part by air, the rest by sea. See Sea Freight and Air Freight.
FCL or LCL: how does consolidation work for cargo from China?
In LCL your cargo is stowed with other importers' cargo in one container at a consolidation warehouse in China and separated again at the bonded warehouse at the arrival port. This has two consequences: because the container has to fill, there is a gap of a few days between the date the warehouse receives the goods and the vessel's departure, and the cargo is handled at least twice more. In LCL the price follows whichever is greater, volume or weight; at sea 1 m³ is treated as equal to 1 tonne, and the resulting unit is the revenue ton (R/T). Fixed items such as the delivery order, bonded warehouse, separation and minimum charge push the total up quickly on small loads. If you buy from several Chinese suppliers there is a third option: collect the cargo in one warehouse in China and ship it as one FCL container. Do not decide before pricing both scenarios side by side for the same cargo. See FCL and LCL.
- In FCL the seal is applied at the place of loading and is not opened until arrival, so the risk of mix-ups and damage is lower.
- In LCL the measurement is taken from the outer dimensions including the pallet, so the form of the packing goes directly into the freight; the CBM calculator helps.
Why can't transit time be given as a fixed number of days?
Because the time is the result of a service schedule, not a distance. Whether the service is direct or with transhipment, the number of port calls on the vessel's rotation, the weekly timetable of the connecting vessel at the transhipment port, the season and port congestion all set the time; it varies from week to week even for the same pair of ports. If a connection is missed on a transhipment service, the cargo can wait a week at the transhipment port. To this add whether the cut-off was met on the China side and the type of customs inspection on the Türkiye side; a declaration routed to physical inspection waits its turn. In LCL, consolidation and separation on arrival add a few more days. The right approach is to look not at a single number of days but at the service timetable valid that week and a realistic buffer.
What does customs ask for: HS code, customs value and origin
The HS code sets the frame for the import. The Customs Regulation defines the customs tariff statistical position as a position of twelve digits in the Turkish Customs Tariff Schedule; this code decides not only the tax rate but also which agency permission and which inspection are needed. If in doubt, a Binding Tariff Information (BTI), valid for six years from issue, can be obtained under Article 9 of the Customs Law (see HS code). The basis of the tax base is the customs value: under Article 24 of Customs Law No. 4458 the main method is the transaction value, and under Article 27 the transport and insurance costs up to the point of entry in Türkiye are added to it. The VAT base on import, under Article 21 of VAT Law No. 3065, is found by adding to that every tax, duty, charge and share paid on import and other expenses up to the registration date of the declaration; so customs duty and any additional customs duty enter the VAT base. Origin is a separate matter: as there is no free trade agreement between Türkiye and China, goods of Chinese origin get no preferential tariff. The certificate of origin is requested here not for a reduction but for the correct application of measures that depend on origin.
- Commercial invoice and packing list: full commercial description, quantity, value, outer dimensions and gross/net weight.
- Bill of lading or sea waybill. The delivery order is not a document found in customs legislation and is not required to register the declaration; the line's agent issues it so that the goods can actually be collected from the terminal.
- Certificate of origin: proof of non-preferential origin.
- Where required, a surveillance certificate, the TAREKS reference number and product-specific agency permissions.
Which products need a product safety inspection (TAREKS)?
Product safety inspection is determined by the HS code of the goods and completed before the customs declaration. The Ministry of Trade publishes the Product Safety and Inspection (ÜGD) notices each year at the end of December; the 2026 notices were published in the 4th repeated issue of Official Gazette no. 33124 of 31 December 2025. For groups in the lists annexed to the notices, such as toys (ÜGD 2026/10), personal protective equipment (2026/11), certain products that must bear the CE mark (2026/9), machinery (2026/32), construction products (2026/14) and consumer products (2026/12), the application is made through the Risk-Based Control System in Foreign Trade (TAREKS). The system runs a risk analysis on the declared data and sends only some shipments to physical inspection. When the inspection is positive, or the goods are found to be out of scope, a TAREKS reference number permitting import is generated and written on the declaration. Access to the system is by company authorisation.
- The CE mark is the conformity mark that must be on the product; on its own it does not replace a TAREKS application.
- Before loading, check that the declaration of conformity sent by the supplier really refers to the relevant technical regulation.
What mistakes are most common in imports from China?
The most common mistake is not reading the proforma invoice the way customs will. An invoice with an incomplete commercial description or no origin information will not let the declaration be registered; while the goods wait at the port, storage runs. The second is the measurement error: if carton size and gross weight are not measured before loading, freight comes out higher than declared, and in LCL the difference goes straight onto the invoice. On payment, a full advance transfer puts the risk on the buyer; for a first order, methods that tie payment to the presentation of documents are preferred, and money is always sent to an account opened in the supplier's trade name — a request to change account details received by email must be confirmed through a second channel. On wooden pallets and crates, look for the ISPM 15 heat-treatment stamp: the wood must be treated so that its core temperature is held at no less than 56 degrees for thirty minutes and must carry the stamp of an authorised facility. Finally, the calendar: Chinese New Year falls on 6 February in 2027, and the actual stoppage of factories lasts clearly longer than the official holiday.
- The national holiday week at the beginning of October creates a similar pile-up on the production and port side.
- It becomes harder to find space on the last vessels before the new year; build the order calendar backwards from that.
Which party bears each cost item in a container shipment from China, by Incoterms rule. The table shows cost liability only; the transfer of risk is a separate subject and, under C-group rules, happens at a different point from the cost. Under FCA the limit of liability varies with the place named in the contract.
| Cost item |
EXW |
FCA (terminal) / FOB |
CFR / CIF |
DAP |
DDP |
| Inland haulage in China, factory to port |
Buyer |
Seller |
Seller |
Seller |
Seller |
| Chinese export clearance |
Buyer |
Seller |
Seller |
Seller |
Seller |
| Terminal charges at the loading port |
Buyer |
Seller |
Seller |
Seller |
Seller |
| Sea freight |
Buyer |
Buyer |
Seller |
Seller |
Seller |
| Cargo insurance |
Optional (buyer) |
Optional (buyer) |
Seller under CIF, optional under CFR |
Optional (seller) |
Optional (seller) |
| Terminal charges and delivery order at the arrival port |
Buyer |
Buyer |
Buyer |
Seller |
Seller |
| Turkish import duties and VAT |
Buyer |
Buyer |
Buyer |
Buyer |
Seller |
| Haulage from the arrival port to the delivery address |
Buyer |
Buyer |
Buyer |
Seller |
Seller |
Frequently asked questions
Who does what in an import from China?
The supplier makes and packs the goods and, under every rule except EXW, does the Chinese export clearance. The forwarder opens the booking, organises inland haulage in China and consolidation through its correspondent, and manages the transport and arrival charges. The customs broker registers the declaration in Türkiye, links permits and inspection documents through the single window and calculates the taxes. The importer takes on the purchase decision, the Incoterms rule and payment term, the conformity of the product with legislation and the payment of taxes; the party legally responsible for the accuracy of the declaration is the importer.
Is a small sample order exempt from tax?
No. The 30-euro lower limit for low-value consignments arriving by post and express courier has been removed: Presidential Decision No. 10813 of 6 January 2026 (Official Gazette no. 33130 of 7 January 2026) repealed the words "exceeding 30 euros but" in Article 126(1)(b) of Decision No. 2009/15481 and took effect thirty days after publication, on 6 February 2026. On goods not exceeding 1,500 euros in value a single flat-rate tax is collected; the rate is lower when the goods come directly from European Union countries and higher from other countries. Samples of commercial quantity and nature are imported with a normal declaration anyway.
Can anything else be added on top of customs duty for Chinese-origin goods?
It can. As there is no free trade agreement between Türkiye and China, goods of Chinese origin are subject to non-preferential rates under the Import Regime; in addition, many HS codes carry an additional customs duty and some products an anti-dumping duty. If the declared unit value is below the threshold in the relevant surveillance communiqué, a surveillance certificate must be obtained from the Ministry of Trade. All three are determined once the HS code and origin are clear, and should be asked about before the order.
Which charges run if my container waits at the port?
Three separate items run. Storage is paid to the port operator for the space the container takes in the port yard. Demurrage is paid to the line for the container waiting in the yard once the free time the line grants has run out. Detention runs from the moment the container leaves the port until it is returned empty. All three grow with delay, so the documents are completed before the vessel arrives. See demurrage and detention.
How do I check that the supplier is real?
Look for the company name, the name on the bank account and the exporter name on the export declaration to be the same; if the three do not match, pause. On a first order, do not send the full payment in advance. Always confirm a request to change payment instructions by email through a second channel such as the telephone. Pre-shipment inspection is the most concrete way of seeing that the goods really exist; the forwarder's correspondent in China also sees whether the address is real at the pick-up stage.