The Directorate General of Customs has issued a written explanation on the customs value, VAT base and RUSF treatment of imports invoiced in foreign currency but paid in Turkish lira.
By its letter No. E-85593407-156.06-00080479953, the Directorate General of Customs of the Ministry of Trade has issued a written explanation on the points of doubt concerning the customs value to be declared, the VAT base and the Resource Utilisation Support Fund levy in import transactions where the invoice is issued in foreign currency but payment is made in Turkish lira.
The main points of that explanation are summarised below.
- Where the invoice for the value of the goods covered by the declaration is issued in foreign currency but payment is made in Turkish lira, the value forming the basis of the customs value of the imported goods must be declared in Turkish lira as the equivalent of the foreign currency amount on the invoice at the foreign exchange selling rate of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye in force on the date the customs obligation arose, as set out in Article 30 of the Customs Law.
- In order to avoid a Resource Utilisation Support Fund levy, it must be evidenced to the customs authorities — by means of a transfer reference ID or, for imports within the scope of Circular No. 2014/18, by documents such as a bank letter, receipt or SWIFT message — that the Turkish lira equivalent of the value of the goods on the invoice as at the payment date was transferred on or before the date of registration of the declaration.
On the other hand, in such transactions the difference between the exchange rate on the date the value of the goods was paid and the rate on the date the free circulation declaration was registered is of no significance either for the customs value of the goods or for the VAT base on importation.