Turkey: Bonded Warehouses to Be Transformed into Logistic Centers

Turkey’s bonded warehouses are planned to be transformed into the country’s logistic centers to increase the global competitiveness of the Turkish retail industry, a state minister said at a meeting Monday in Istanbul.

“Exporters will not be required to obtain permission from customs for assembling imported and Turkish products to be exported,” said Hayati Yazıcı, while talking about aspects of the Turkish Retail Sector Strategy Plan.

The minister announced the pace of the procedures will be accelerated by the government according to a new strategy plan. Moreover, Yazıcı said export products might be called back from bonded warehouses if any problem appears while exporting abroad.

In the event of a dispute between a buyer and seller, previously it was compulsory to export the product once it was registered by the bonded warehouses as export material.

The minister said the textile exporters assembling Turkish products with imported materials are under a heavy tax burden of nearly 40 percent according to current law. Tax on some imported materials to be used in Turkish exports will be slashed by the government soon, he added.

According to Yazıcı, such a tax decrease would slash the costs of Turkish textile retailers, amounting to $1.5 billion annually.

May 23, 2011
SOURCE: HURRIYET DAILY NEWS