Import of Herbal Food from Japan

Import procedures for food, feedstuff, and materials and articles intended to come into contact with food in Turkey are conducted through the procedure stipulated within the frame of the secondary legislation prepared based on Law no. 5996 on Veterinary Services, Plant Health, Food and Feedstuff (Law). It is stated in article 34 of Law no. 5996 that conditions of import and entry into the country and control guidelines relating to products and livestock falling under the law will be determined by the Ministry. The “Regulation on Official Controls of the Import of Herbal Food and Feedstuff” (Regulation) that has already been applied for herbal food imports done to Turkey was published in Official Gazette dated 17.12.2011 and entered into force on 01.01.2012; and the Communiqué no. 2013/5 on the Import Control on Products Subject to Control of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock” published on 30.12.2012 superseded the communiqué no. 2012/5 published in Official Gazette dated 30.12.2011 and entered into force on 01.01.2013.

The procedure prescribed for the control prior to the import to be done to Turkey is described in both the Regulation and the Communiqué, and it is possible to see which products will be included in the control process in the list in the Annex to the Communiqué. The Communiqué includes the products in the attached lists requested to be subjected to Regime of Release for Free Circulation, Inward Processing Regime, Outward Processing Regime, Regime of Processing under Customs Control and Temporary Import Regime and the products in paragraph 2, article 5; and the rice in husk coded 1006.10 (Annex-7), the rice for seed coded 1006.10.10.00.00 (Annex-3) and the seaweeds falling under the class coded 06.04 (Annex -7) are included in the Communiqué.

Preliminary notifications need to be made for the products indicated in the lists in Annex-1/A and 1/B to the communiqué in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on Preliminary Notifications and Veterinary Controls During the Entry of Animals and Products published in Official Gazette no. 28145 dated 17.12.2011, and for the products indicated in the list in Annex-2 to the communiqué in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on Official Controls of the Import of Herbal Food and Feedstuff published in Official Gazette no. 28145 dated 17.12.2011. Importers obtain their user name and password details in order to enter the electronic environment to apply to the border checkpoint or provincial directorate and complete a preliminary notification form, and make a preliminary notification to the border checkpoint or provincial directorate by completing an electronic form. Companies that will carry out imports start procedures by making a preliminary notification on www.ggbs.gov.tr. For preliminary notification, the same user name, password and codes are designated for all companies. Documents required in applications for preliminary notification need to be scanned in the system.

These documents include;

• Health certificate
• Ingredient,
• Turkish label, and
• Other documents to be determined by the Ministry based on product features.

A letter of conformity is issued by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock for the import of products in the additional lists which also include classes of seaweed and rice products. Information and documents requested during the application for a letter of conformity need to be submitted to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. A control certificate approved by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock is required prior to the import for issuing a letter of conformity for importing of the products in Annex-1/A, Annex-3 and Annex-5. For obtaining a control certificate, an application is made to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock prior to the import together with the Control Certificate form, invoice or pro forma invoice and other documents required pursuant to the related legislation as indicated in the Control Certificate form based on the product feature. Seaweed and rice products are not included in Control Certificate exemption lists stipulated in the Communiqué.

The letter of conformity is sent to the importer for the products in Annex-2, Annex-3, Annex-4, Annex-5, Annex-6 and Annex-7. In case that the product is found to be incompatible with the related legislation, a letter of conformity in Annex-10 is justifiably issued, and the state of affairs is notified to the importer or its representative.

The presence of a letter of conformity issued by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock is a prerequisite for carrying out imports. The procedure can be summarised with the following table [1];
No distinction is made on a country basis in terms of the preliminary procedure described in the Regulation and Communiqué, and imports to be done from Japan need to be evaluated separately for another communiqué available in the legislation. Some actions were taken by the Turkish Government following the leakage having occurred in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in 2011. In the “Communiqué no. 2012/2 on the Radiation Control on Food and Agricultural Products to be Imported from Japan” published in Official Gazette dated 30.12.2011 and having entered into force on 01.01.2012 and superseded the communiqué no. 2011/38 published in Official Gazette dated on 24.03.2011, it is stipulated that a letter of conformity issued by the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority indicating that the products do not contain radiation will be required in addition to the processes to be carried out while a letter/certificate of conformity is issued by related organisations for products of Japan origin and/or with a departure point of Japan that are included between chapters 1 and 24 of the Customs Tariff Schedule and shipped after 11 March 2011 pursuant to the Communiqué on Import Control on Products Subject to Control of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Product Safety and Control: 2012/5); the Communiqué on Import Control on Afforestation Materials (Product Safety and Control: 2012/17); the Communiqué on Import Control on Tobacco, Tobacco Products, Alcohol, and Alcoholic Drinks (Product Safety and Control: 2012/19); and the Communiqué on Import Control on Some Products Controlled by the Ministry of Health (Product Safety and Control: 2012/20); and that a letter of conformity issued by the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority will be required during the registration of the customs declaration by customs administrations for products of Japan origin and/or with a departure point of Japan that are included between chapters 1 and 24 of the Customs Tariff Schedule, but not included in the Communiqués indicated in paragraph 1 or, although included, not subject to a letter/certificate of conformity under the Communiqué and shipped after 11 March 2011. It is also emphasised that the exemption provisions in the said communiqués will not apply to the import of such products.
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In accordance with this regulation, during a process of import to be done from Japan to Turkey, first of all it is required that an application form accompanied by a petition be completed and submitted to the Saraykoy Directorate of Nuclear Research and Training Centre located in Turkey together with the receipt indicating the payment of the application fee and the product sample and customs declaration, and a radiation certificate issued by the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority be obtained for all products demanded to be imported in order to maintain the import process.