In Emergency Situations
04 Feb, 2025

As of 12.12.2023, within the scope of the Official Gazette No. 32397, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey has published the Communiqué on the Amendment of the Communiqué on the Transition of Boats Located Abroad or Flying Foreign Flags to the Turkish Flag (Communiqué No: 2017/3) (“Communiqué”). Within the scope of the Communiqué containing these amendments, a provisional article provision has been added to the provisions of the aforementioned Communiqué No. 2017/3.

Before mentioning the provision of this provisional article, a general framework should be outlined regarding the Communiqué No. 2017/3.

The Communiqué No. 2017/3 aims to facilitate the free circulation entry for the registration or documentation of yachts, cutters, boats, passenger vessels, and cruise ships belonging to natural and legal persons located abroad or flying foreign flags. This Communiqué has been enacted by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey under the authority granted by the Decree Law No. 655 on the Organization and Duties of the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs, and Communications, to be applied to the free circulation entry of goods listed under tariff numbers 8901.10.10.00.11 and 8901.10.90.00.11 of the Turkish Customs Tariff Schedule, as well as yachts, cutters, boats, and cruise ships falling under tariff position 89.03. With the enactment of Communiqué No. 2017/3, the Communiqué on the Importation of Turkish-Owned Private Vessels and Inland Watercraft Flying a Foreign Flag, published in the Official Gazette No. 27327 dated 22/8/2009 (Communiqué No: 2009/3), was repealed.

The relevant Communiqué No. 2017/3 has established the import and registration requirements to be sought by port authorities for the registration or documentation and free circulation entry of yachts, cutters, boats, passenger vessels, and cruise ships located abroad or flying a foreign flag. In this regard, it is stipulated that once the mooring register license is issued, the owner(s) of the vessel shall be responsible for carrying out the measurement process in accordance with national legislation within no later than one (1) year. Finally, in the Communiqué where the provisional article provision has been added as of today, it is regulated that the registration and documentation shall be carried out upon the request of one of the vessel owners, and the subsequent customs procedures shall be completed within sixty days following the notification of registration and documentation by the port authorities. This notification shall replace the documents required under the Import Regulations.

Within the scope of the Communiqué on the Amendment of the Communiqué on the Transition of Boats Located Abroad or Flying Foreign Flags to the Turkish Flag (Communiqué No: 2017/3), summarized above, no fundamental changes have been introduced to the relevant regulations of Communiqué No. 2017/3. Only the following provisional article provision has been added to Communiqué No. 2017/3 as of the Official Gazette dated 12.12.2023, and it is anticipated that this provision will take effect on the date of publication of the Communiqué, thereby becoming effective as of 12.12.2023.

“Transitional Provision
PROVISIONAL ARTICLE 1- (1) No applications shall be accepted within the scope of this Communiqué after the publication date of this article.
(2) Applications submitted to the Regional Port Authorities/Port Authorities before the publication date of this article and whose procedures are still ongoing shall be concluded by 31/12/2023.

The transitional provision added to Communiqué No. 2017/3 through the Communiqué on its amendment effectively closes the door for new applications within the scope of this Communiqué. Accordingly, as of 12.12.2023, applications submitted to port authorities for the registration or documentation and free circulation entry of boats belonging to natural and legal persons located abroad or flying a foreign flag under this Communiqué will not be considered.

In the second paragraph of the transitional provision, it is stipulated that applications submitted to the Regional Port Authorities/Port Authorities before the publication date of the provisional article and whose processes are still ongoing shall be concluded by 31/12/2023. With the immediate effect of the provisional article provision, the intended outcome is to achieve the goal set by the enactment of this provision by the end of the year and ensure the implementation of the new regulation.

The provisions of the Communiqué shall be executed by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure.
➢ You can access the Official Gazette No. 32397 dated 12.12.2023 here, and the Communiqué on the Amendment of the Communiqué on the Transition of Boats Located Abroad or Flying Foreign Flags to the Turkish Flag (Communiqué No: 2017/3) here.
➢ If you require further details regarding the matter, please feel free to contact us anytime via the contact details below.

Esenyel Partners | Published in the Official Gazette: Communiqué Amending the Communiqué (Communiqué No: 2017/3) on the Transition of Boats Located Abroad or Hoisting a Foreign Flag to the Turkish Flag
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