Turkish certificate of origin (menşe şahadetnamesi) translation

What the certificate is, and what it is not

A certificate of origin (menşe şahadetnamesi) is issued and stamped by a chamber of commerce or industry at the exporter's request, on a standard form that names the exporter and consignee, the means of transport, the marks and numbers, the goods with their tariff codes (GTİP), the gross weight and the country of origin, followed by the chamber's certification, seal and signature. Since 2018 chambers issue it through TOBB's electronic system (MEDOS), so most certificates now carry a QR code that lets a customs officer verify them. Some chambers print the form bilingually, but the goods description, endorsements and stamps are in Turkish.

It is important to know what the certificate does for UK imports. It is a non-preferential document: it proves where goods come from for purposes such as letters of credit, buyer requirements, trade remedies and quotas. It does not by itself reduce duty. Since 1 January 2021 the A.TR movement certificate that once covered trade with the UK has had no effect, and preference under the UK–Turkey trade agreement is claimed instead on a declaration of origin made by the exporter on the invoice or another commercial document, with the prescribed wording. Our guide to importing from Türkiye: trade agreement documents explained walks through the two documents side by side.

We translate the certificate with its codes and endorsements, the chamber's stamps and the QR caption, and, where the origin declaration is on a Turkish-language invoice, the invoice with the declaration rendered in the agreement's wording.

Who asks for it in the UK

• HMRC and customs agents. Verification of origin after an import declaration, evidence for non-preferential origin rules, and queries about a claimed preference. See importing from Türkiye.
• UK importers, who keep the certificate with the shipping file and need it in English for their own compliance checks and for customers who ask where goods were made.
• Banks handling letters of credit. Where the credit calls for a certificate of origin, the bank examines the document as presented; a translation helps resolve discrepancies between the Turkish form and the English credit.
• Cargo insurers and courts, in claims over damaged or misdescribed goods.

What the translation must contain

The UK guidance on the trade agreement, quoted below, ties preference to the exporter's declaration rather than to a certificate, so a translated certificate is read for what it proves about origin, not for duty. Our certificate of accuracy follows the gov.uk wording, dated and signed with our company details, and states the document's number so a customs officer can match it to the declaration. Tariff codes are copied digit for digit, goods descriptions use the terms of the UK tariff where they match, and the country of origin is given as the certificate states it.

Details customs officers check

Three points cause queries. The tariff code on the certificate must agree with the code on the invoice and the import declaration, so we translate the set together when we can. The declaration of origin on an invoice must carry the exporter's details and, for shipments above the value threshold, an authorisation number, and it must be signed unless the exporter is approved to omit the signature; where the Turkish invoice shows these, the translation shows them in the same place. And a certificate is valid only for the consignment it names, so a translation made for one shipment cannot be reused for the next. Certificates of origin are not apostilled.

Price and turnaround

A certificate is one page, £10.00; with the invoice and packing list the set is 2 or 3 pages. No UK VAT is charged, and certification is included in the page price. Because goods wait at the port, we return the certified PDF the next working day as standard and the same day with the fast option for files received before 11:00 UK time. Regular importers send each consignment's documents as they arrive and receive them back in the same order. A hard copy by courier from Ankara is £30, though customs work is done on the PDF. There is no UK office, so nothing is collected in person.