Importing from Turkey: UK–Turkey trade agreement documents

What changed on 1 January 2021

While the UK was in the EU, goods moved between Britain and Türkiye under the EU–Turkey customs union with an A.TR movement certificate stamped by customs. That ended with the transition period. Since 1 January 2021 the UK–Turkey Free Trade Agreement has applied instead, and it is a conventional free trade agreement: industrial goods in chapters 25 to 97 of the tariff enter duty-free if they originate in the other party, and origin is proved by the exporter's own declaration rather than a customs-stamped certificate. GOV.UK guidance on trading with Türkiye says so directly: exporters need to prove origin via self-certification, and instead of an EUR1 or an ATR you declare a statement of origin on the customs entry. The treaty text was later published in the UK Treaty Series as TS No. 24/2025.

Both governments have said they want an enhanced agreement covering services and more, and a UK strategic approach was published in 2024. Until a new text is in force, the 2021 rules below apply; check the GOV.UK collection page for the current position before relying on this summary.

The origin declaration and what customs sees

Your Turkish supplier writes a declaration of origin on the commercial invoice or another commercial document (not the bill of lading) describing the goods in enough detail to identify them. GOV.UK notes that Turkish exporters do not need a REX number for this. Your customs agent then enters the statement code U110 for a single consignment, or U111 for a statement covering multiple shipments, on the import declaration in CDS. Goods that do not meet the rules of origin pay the UK Global Tariff rate.

Where does translation come in? HMRC, Border Force and freight forwarders work in English. A Turkish invoice with the origin declaration in Turkish, a menşe şahadetnamesi from a chamber of commerce for non-preferential purposes, a Turkish sales contract, a technical file or a test report can all be requested in English during a customs query, an audit of preference claims, an insurance claim or a dispute with the supplier. HMRC does not prescribe a form of certification for these translations; our English translations carry the same certification statement we use for UK authorities, which meets the wording on GOV.UK for certified translations.

Documents you will need

• Turkish commercial invoices and proformas carrying the origin declaration
• Certificate of origin (menşe şahadetnamesi) where a non-preferential origin proof is needed
• Trade registry gazette and signature circular of the supplier, for due diligence and bank onboarding
• Sales contracts, packing lists and technical documentation, priced by length
• For the Turkish side of the trade: UK invoices and origin declarations translated into Turkish for your supplier's customs broker

Common pitfalls

• A supplier who still issues an A.TR because that is what their EU customers get; it is not a valid proof of origin for UK preference.
• An origin declaration missing the exporter's reference or covering a period rather than a consignment without the U111 code being used.
• Translating only the invoice header and leaving the Turkish product descriptions untranslated, which is where HMRC classification queries arise.
• Treating a chamber of commerce certificate of origin as proof for preferential duty; under this agreement, only the exporter's declaration does that.
• Losing the Turkish originals: keep them, because a preference audit can come years later.

How we help and what it costs

Trade documents are translated Turkish to English at £10.00 per page of 1,000 characters, with the certification statement included, or English to Turkish at £6.50. A commercial invoice with origin declaration is usually 1 to 2 pages; a supplier's registry gazette 2 to 5. Volume work such as catalogues, technical files or recurring monthly invoices is quoted at a discount and can be handled with a terminology list so product names stay consistent across shipments. No UK VAT is charged. Delivery is a signed PDF by e-mail within 1 to 3 working days; a wet-signed hard copy by courier is £30 and is rarely needed for customs purposes. We do not act as customs agents or give tariff classification advice; that is for your freight forwarder or a customs consultant. For a walk-through of the paperwork, read importing from Türkiye: trade agreement documents explained.