What Is GTİP? How Is the GTİP Code Determined and Who Bears Liability for the Penalty for an Incorrect Declaration?

Last updated: 17.10.2026 · Author: Attorney Coşkun Genç, Istanbul cybercrime lawyer

What Is GTİP?

GTİP is the abbreviation of "Customs Tariff Statistics Position" (Gümrük Tarife İstatistik Pozisyonu). It is the 12-digit numerical code assigned to each product for the classification of goods used in international trade. The GTİP code determines which customs duties, trade policy measures or restrictions an item of goods will be subject to. In other words, GTİP is the common language of foreign trade and is binding on customs administrations.

Why Is GTİP Important?

The GTİP code of an item of goods directly affects the customs duties payable, the legislation to be applied during importation and exportation, and the necessary permits. An incorrectly determined GTİP may lead to the overpayment of taxes, the imposition of penalties or the detention of the goods at customs. For this reason, determining the GTİP is of critical importance for exporters, importers and customs brokers (gümrük müşaviri).

Is There an Obligation to Declare the GTİP?

Yes. Under the Turkish Customs Law, a GTİP declaration is mandatory for all goods imported into or exported from Türkiye. The correct and complete declaration of the GTİP in the customs declaration is the responsibility of the obligor. Where an incorrect GTİP declaration is made, administrative fines and additional tax liabilities may arise.

A customs declaration may be made in writing, electronically or orally (Article 59 of Law No. 4458). A written declaration must contain all the information necessary for the application of the procedure for which the goods are declared, and the required documents must be attached to it (Article 60). A registered declaration binds the declarant, as an undertaking, in respect of the taxes and fines relating to the goods and is taken as the basis for assessment (Article 61(3)).

The Law recognises two types of representation (Article 5): in direct representation the representative acts in the name and on behalf of another person, whereas in indirect representation it acts in its own name but on behalf of another person; customs brokers handle matters by way of indirect representation (Article 225(1)). On importation, the customs debtor is the declarant; in indirect representation, the importer on whose behalf the declaration is made is also a debtor. Persons who provided the data required for the declaration and who knew or should have known that such data were false are also liable for the taxes collected short (Article 181(3)).

Who Is Responsible for an Incorrect GTİP Determination? The Company or the Customs Administration?

The important point here is the following: according to the majority opinion of the 7th Chamber of the Council of State, the failure of the importing or exporting company to determine the GTİP correctly is not, in itself, a ground for a fine. In other words, while exporters and importers are legally obliged to submit a correct declaration to the customs administration, the final determination of the GTİP code of the goods contained in the declaration is the duty of the customs administration. In the words of the Chamber, there is likewise no provision in the law that makes it necessary and mandatory for obligors to declare the customs tariff and the tax rate. It is not legally possible to have this determination, which belongs to the customs administration and its officers, carried out by customs taxpayers.

Article 234(1)(a) of the Customs Law contains the following provision:

This provision relates to declarations and not to the determination of the GTİP; nevertheless, customs administrations at times disregard this point and impose erroneous penalties. The penalties most frequently imposed by customs administrations stem from the failure to make this distinction, and the established practice of the Council of State is also to this effect.

"The duty of applying the Customs Tariff Schedule belongs to these Administrations, which are charged with applying the customs legislation. Accordingly, it is a legal requirement that the customs tariff and the tax rate to be applied to imported goods also be determined by these Administrations in respect of each declaration."

Council of State, 7th Chamber, E. 2016/9410, K. 2020/5044, 08.12.2020

"In a case where there is no allegation that the information and documents submitted to the Customs Administration were incomplete, incorrect or misleading as regards the determination of the tariff statistics position under which the goods fall, since no act has occurred that could form the basis of a penalty…"

Council of State, 7th Chamber, E. 2023/1499, K. 2025/2503, 17.06.2025

This case law has three limits. First, what is protected is the fine: taxes left unpaid according to the correct position may still be claimed separately by way of additional assessment. Second, the criterion is the information and documents provided to the administration; if the invoice, technical data sheet or description of the goods does not reflect reality, a fine comes into play. Third, both decisions were rendered by majority vote; the dissenting opinion argued that the position number is to be indicated in the declaration by the obligor or its representative and that, where a different position is established, a fine should be imposed according to the conditions of Article 234(1)(a).

How Is the GTİP Code Determined?

The GTİP is determined on the basis of the Harmonized System (HS) adopted by the World Customs Organization. Of the 12-digit GTİP code used in Türkiye, the first 6 digits are identical to the HS code. The remaining digits are broken down in further detail according to national and regional needs. For this reason, the GTİP is determined in accordance with both international and national rules.

According to the explanation of the Ministry of Trade, the digits are distributed as shown below; the sample code is read as 540761 90 90 11. The Customs Tariff Schedule, its explanatory memorandum and the index of goods are published in the Official Gazette and are taken as the basis in administrative and judicial practice (Article 15(7)). In classification, the explanatory notes and classification decisions are also consulted in addition to the Schedule.

How is Binding Tariff Information (BTI) obtained?

The Ministry does not respond to requests for GTİP determination; where there is doubt, binding tariff information is issued upon written request (Article 9). The application is made electronically or by means of a form, to the Ministry or to the authorised regional directorates. BTI is valid for six years from the date of issue and binds the administration only as regards the tariff classification of the goods, for transactions to be completed after the date on which the information was issued. The applicant must prove that the goods declared correspond in every respect to those described in the BTI; BTI based on incorrect or incomplete information is revoked.

What Are the Consequences of Failing to Declare or Incorrectly Declaring the GTİP?

As explained above, the final determination of the correct tariff position of the goods falls within the duty and responsibility of the customs administration. The full and complete submission of the declarations on which this determination is based, however, falls within the duty and responsibility of exporters or importers. Objection and judicial remedies are available against threefold fines imposed solely on the ground of a GTİP discrepancy without this distinction being observed.

Article 234 of the Customs Law differentiates the sanction for a difference found during examination and inspection, or in post-release control, according to the customs procedure of the goods.

For a company that notices an incorrect position, the safest course is to report the situation in writing before the administration detects it; in that case the fine is applied at ten per cent of the amount provided for. Tax receivables relating to voluntarily reported discrepancies also fall within the scope of settlement (Article 244(1)(b)).

How Can a Penalty for an Incorrect GTİP Be Challenged?

Against the additional assessment and penalty decision, settlement or objection must be sought within 15 days of notification; after the objection is rejected, an action must be brought within 30 days; these time limits cannot be extended (Article 14(1)).

1. Analyse the decision: Establish the date of notification, which declaration is based on which position difference, and the paragraph applied.
2. Choose your route within 15 days: Settlement (Article 244) covers customs duties and administrative fines. The request suspends the time limits for objection and legal action; if no settlement is reached, the time limit continues to run from where it stopped and, if fewer than five days remain, it is extended to five days. Settlement may not be requested again.
3. File a petition of objection: The petition is submitted to the next higher authority or, where there is no higher authority, to the same authority; a petition submitted in time to the wrong authority is still deemed to have been filed in time (Article 242(1) and (3)). For registered mail, the date of posting is taken as the basis (Article 14(3)).
4. Await the decision: The objection is decided and notified within 30 days (Article 242(2)).
5. Bring an action: Against the rejection decision, recourse is had to the administrative judicial authority of the place where the act was performed (Article 242(4)); the time limit for bringing an action before the tax court is 30 days (Article 7 of Law No. 2577 on Administrative Judicial Procedure – İYUK).
6. Know the outcome of settlement: The settlement record is final; no action may be brought on a settled matter. The amount is paid within one month, default interest is applied to the settled taxes, and no additional early-payment reduction applies to settled fines (Article 244(4)–(6)).

Which documents should be prepared for the objection?

• ✓The additional assessment and penalty decision, with the notification document
• ✓The declaration and all of its annexes
• ✓Commercial invoice, technical data sheet, catalogue and product photographs
• ✓Examination, laboratory or expert report
• ✓Binding tariff information, if any
• ✓Correspondence with the customs broker and the instructions given
• ✓Declarations previously registered under the same position for the same goods

Common mistakes and exceptions

• Late disclosure: A disclosure made after detection by the administration does not secure the reduction under Article 234(3).
• Action without objection: For an action against an assessment, the Council of State requires that the objection under Article 242 has first been made and rejected.
• Declaration without reservation: A declaration made at registration without entering a reservation (ihtirazi kayıt) binds the declarant; in a case concerning surveillance value, the Council of State held that the lawfulness of a value declared without reservation could not be reviewed in the action.
• Link to smuggling: Where the act is connected with the smuggling offences under Law No. 5607, the settlement provision does not apply (Article 244(2)).

"…in order for an administrative action to be brought before the tax court in respect of customs duty assessments, the administrative objection procedure provided for in Article 242 of the Customs Law must have been pursued against the said assessments and that application must have been rejected, either implicitly or expressly…"

Council of State, 7th Chamber, E. 2022/3202, K. 2024/5391, 24.12.2024

When Does an Incorrect GTİP Declaration Become a Smuggling Offence?

As a rule, an incorrect GTİP declaration remains within the field of administrative sanctions under the Customs Law; where, however, the position difference is aimed at the underpayment of taxes by means of deceptive acts and conduct, a criminal offence comes into play. Under Article 3(2) of Law No. 5607 on Combating Smuggling, a person who brings goods into the country by deceptive acts and conduct without paying customs duties in whole or in part shall be punished with imprisonment from two to five years and a judicial fine of up to ten thousand days. An attempt is punished as if the offence had been completed (Article 3(22)); the penalty is increased where the value of the goods is excessive and reduced where it is minor or very minor (Article 3(23)).

Where goods have entered the customs territory in breach of the Law, the customs debt is incurred on the date of entry; those who carried out the entry, and those who participated in the entry or acquired or held the goods while knowing or being required to know of the breach, are liable for the taxes (Article 182 of Law No. 4458). The distinction drawn by the Court of Cassation rests on the intent to mislead and on whether the documents accurately reflect the goods:

"…since it is understood that the defendant's act, carried out by declaring in a single item goods subject to different customs tariff statistics positions and to surveillance and thereby causing the customs duties and other additional financial obligations payable to be underpaid, falls within the offence under paragraph 3/2 of Law No. 5607 of bringing goods into the country by deceptive acts and conduct without paying customs duties in whole or in part…"

Court of Cassation, 7th Criminal Chamber, E. 2023/15474, K. 2025/6975, 14.05.2025

"…having regard to the fact that, in the invoice issued by the exporting company for the goods subject to exportation, the type of goods was recorded as 100% cotton upholstery fabric, that the goods conformed to the description recorded in the invoice, and that there was no act aimed at misleading the Customs Administration… no unlawfulness has been found, since the legal elements of the offence imputed to the defendant were not established."

Court of Cassation, 7th Criminal Chamber, E. 2021/2152, K. 2023/525, 16.01.2023

GTİP Disputes with an Istanbul Customs Lawyer

In GTİP disputes, the course of the file is usually determined by three points: whether the invoice and technical documents submitted to the administration accurately reflect the goods, whether the 15-day settlement and objection period is used correctly, and whether the technical characteristics of the goods are established through laboratory or expert examination. Av. Coşkun Genç Law Office provides legal support in Istanbul at the stages of settlement applications, petitions of objection and actions before the tax court against additional assessment and fine decisions, as well as investigations conducted on allegations of smuggling. In our work as an Istanbul customs lawyer, the aim is to have the chain of information and documents that determines whether a position difference turns into a fine placed on the file in good time.

Companies wishing to obtain the support of an Istanbul customs penalty lawyer may request a preliminary assessment through our contact page, together with the notified additional assessment and penalty decision, the declaration and its annexes, the commercial invoice, the technical data sheet and, if any, the binding tariff information. For the general framework of the field, see our article on customs law; for the area the goods enter, see our article on the Customs Territory of Türkiye.

Sources

1. Customs Law No. 4458, Articles 5, 9, 14, 15, 59, 60, 61, 181, 182, 225, 234, 242, 244 – mevzuat.gov.tr
2. Law No. 5607 on Combating Smuggling, Article 3 – mevzuat.gov.tr
3. Law No. 2577 on Administrative Judicial Procedure, Article 7 – mevzuat.gov.tr
4. Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Türkiye, Gümrük İşlemleri – Sıkça Sorulan Sorular: Tarife [Customs Procedures – Frequently Asked Questions: Tariff] – ticaret.gov.tr
5. Council of State, 7th Chamber, E. 2016/9410, K. 2020/5044, 08.12.2020
6. Council of State, 7th Chamber, E. 2023/1499, K. 2025/2503, 17.06.2025
7. Council of State, 7th Chamber, E. 2022/3202, K. 2024/5391, 24.12.2024
8. Court of Cassation, 7th Criminal Chamber, E. 2023/15474, K. 2025/6975, 14.05.2025
9. Court of Cassation, 7th Criminal Chamber, E. 2021/2152, K. 2023/525, 16.01.2023