Circulation Documents' Subsequent Submission and Irregularity Penalty Application

Circular: 2026-12

Pursuant to the letter issued by the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Trade numbered E-20117910-163.99-00118171930 titled “Submission of Circulation Documents After Export – Administrative Penalties”;

Based on cases submitted to the Ministry, it is understood that when preferential origin documents such as A.TR Movement Certificates and EUR.1 Movement Certificates are issued with the remark “issued retrospectively” in accordance with the relevant legislation and attached to customs declarations, certain customs offices impose administrative fines pursuant to Article 241/1 of the Customs Law No. 4458, citing declaration amendments as justification.

However, the relevant legislation explicitly provides that A.TR and EUR.1 preferential origin documents may be issued after export due to:

oversight, error, or negligence,
rejection for technical reasons, or
special circumstances.

Accordingly, it is clearly stipulated that such documents may be issued after export, and no administrative penalty is предусмотрed for certificates issued with the remark “issued retrospectively.”

Article 241/1 of Customs Law No. 4458 states that an administrative penalty may only be imposed provided that the relevant act is explicitly defined in legislation.

Within this framework, neither Article 584 of the Customs Regulation, nor Annex-82, nor any other Regulations or Communiqués issued by the Ministry contain a definition of a penalized act regarding the subsequent submission of A.TR and EUR.1 certificates.

Furthermore, Circular No. 2019/36 clearly states that amendments made to customs declarations in order to reflect situations arising after refund/remission procedures shall not be considered procedural violations attributable to the declarant and therefore must not be subject to administrative penalties under Article 241/1 of the Customs Law.