Türkiye fines firms $300 million for foreign trade violations in 9 months – Türkiye Today

The Turkish Ministry of Trade announced that it imposed₺8.8 billion ($300 million) in additional tax assessments and fines over the first nine months of this year for violations of customs and foreign trade regulations.

The ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that post-clearance and secondary control audits against irregular foreign trade practices that create unfair competition have continued at a full pace between January and September.

Advanced analysis and inspection

The ministry underlined that these inspections are coordinated by the Directorate General of Trade Research and Risk Assessment, which uses next-generation technologies to analyze company data.

Under this system, the past transactions of firms are subject to post-clearance audits by ministry inspectors, while registered customs declarations are reviewed through secondary control checks by control units across 18 regional directorates.

Sharp increase in penalties

The ministry said that in the January–September period, post-clearance audits resulted in a 32% rise in additional assessments, totaling 1.6 billion liras, while secondary control examinations led to a 149% increase, reaching ₺7.2 billion.

In total, 5,503 companies and 51,649 customs declarations were examined, resulting in an overall 114% increase in fines and assessments, amounting to ₺8.8 billion.

The ministry emphasized that inspections will continue with the same determination “to protect honest traders who comply with regulations and to effectively combat those who create unfair competition through irregular practices.”

“Efforts to ensure that customs and foreign trade operations are carried out transparently, efficiently, and securely continue uninterrupted,” the statement added.