2026 Product Safety and Inspection Notifications – TAREKS Exemption Declaration and Physical Inspection Process

Circular: 2026/01

With the Product Safety and Inspection Notifications that came into effect in 2026, significant changes have been made to the TAREKS exclusion declaration processes and physical inspection practices.
In the Product Safety and Inspection Notifications that were in effect in previous years;
• Products that fall within the scope of the Regulation based on their GTIP but do not fall within the scope of the standards specified opposite the relevant GTIP or are not targeted for inspection by the Ministry shall be declared as outside the scope to the relevant customs authority.
• If the customs authority decides that the product falls within the scope of the Regulation, the scope assessment shall be carried out by the relevant inspection unit.
• For the import of products declared as outside the scope to the customs authority, the 23-digit TAREKS reference number specified in the Communiqués shall be recorded by the importer in field 44 of the customs declaration.
However, with the Product Safety and Inspection Notifications effective in 2026, these provisions were removed and a new practice was introduced. According to the new regulation;
The out-of-scope declaration regarding the import consignment subject to the application shall be made by the importer company directly to the relevant inspection unit during the TAREKS application process.
In this context;

• Although listed in the Communiqués as GTIP, declarations of non-compliance for products that do not fall within the scope of the standards specified opposite them will no longer be made to the customs administration,
• but directly to the authorized inspection body.
• The assessment of whether the product falls within the scope of the relevant technical regulation will be carried out by the authorized inspection unit.
Furthermore, in applications referred for physical inspection under TAREKS, the inspection unit will check whether the goods fall within the scope of the relevant technical regulation. As a result of the examination:
• Goods found not to fall within the scope of technical regulations will be concluded as “Out of Scope – Inspection Result.”
• However, goods declared as outside the scope by the importer will be referred for physical inspection during the first import operation.
• In subsequent imports, whether the goods will be referred for physical inspection will be determined based on risk analysis and past inspection results.
It is estimated that these changes may cause delays in the application process, an increase in the number of physical inspections, and congestion in the authorized inspection units, especially in the early stages of implementation. Therefore, it is important to plan the import process accordingly and to prepare TAREKS applications completely and accurately.