gümrük

Gümrük is the Turkish term for customs, the government authority and set of procedures that regulate the movement of goods and people across borders. It covers the assessment and collection of duties and taxes, enforcement of import and export rules, and control against illicit trade. In Turkey, gümrük agencies operate at ports, airports, and border checkpoints and coordinate with other state bodies on border security, health and safety standards, and statistics on international trade.

Key functions include tariff policy implementation, classification of goods under tariff schedules (often using the Harmonized System), valuation for duty purposes, and verification of origin to determine eligibility for preferential rates. Customs authorities also manage procedures for transit, temporary admission, warehousing, and processing under customs control, and they issue licenses or permits where required.

Procedures typically involve an official customs declaration, risk-based inspections, assessment of duties and taxes, and release of goods for home consumption, warehousing, or re-export. Modern customs regimes emphasize trade facilitation through electronic declarations, single-window systems, and streamlined clearance while maintaining controls against smuggling and fraud.

Internationally, customs administrations cooperate under organizations such as the World Customs Organization and align with the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System. Tariff policies and border rules are influenced by bilateral and multilateral trade agreements; for Turkey, the customs regime has been closely integrated with the European Union via the EU‑Turkey Customs Union since the 1990s, and reforms continue to modernize revenue collection and border management.

Historically, gümrük institutions trace back to the Ottoman era and evolved through the Republican period, with significant modernization in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including digitization, risk management, and reforms aimed at improving trade facilitation while enforcing compliance.