Türkiye Granted E-Commerce Exemption from the EU’s €3 Customs Duty

Türkiye has maintained a significant trade advantage under the European Union’s (EU) new customs regulation for low-value e-commerce shipments. As of July 1, 2026, the EU abolished the tax exemption for e-commerce shipments valued at €150 or less arriving from third countries and temporarily introduced a €3 duty per item. The regulation is planned to remain in effect until July 1, 2028.

Advantage for Turkish Products Covered by the Customs Union

The Turkish Ministry of Trade announced that, as a result of discussions held between Ankara and the European Commission, eligible products in free circulation in Türkiye will continue to benefit from preferential treatment when shipped to the EU under an H1 declaration with an “A.TR Movement Certificate.”

The Ministry also introduced an electronic system that automatically generates A.TR documents using simplified declaration data for eligible parcels sent through authorized express cargo companies and postal services. Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat stated that the system developed aims to preserve the fundamental principles of the trade framework between Türkiye and the EU in cross-border e-commerce.

Türkiye currently carries out approximately $2 billion in e-exports to EU countries. It is projected that this figure could reach $20 billion if the existing trade advantage is effectively utilized. (customs)

A.TR Certificate Is Now Generated Automatically

The “de minimis” practice in the field of e-commerce in the European Union (EU) ended on July 1, 2026. For this reason, an important systemic regulation was implemented as part of the efforts carried out to establish a bilateral and preferential mechanism between Türkiye and the EU in the field of e-commerce in order to preserve the legal framework of the Customs Union.

Within this scope, a system was established for the automatic generation, in accordance with Simplified Customs Declaration (BGB) data fields, of a facilitated A.TR Movement Certificate suitable for the e-commerce business model for goods exported to the EU under the Simplified Customs Declaration (BGB) applied to low-value e-commerce shipments in Türkiye and whose value does not exceed €150. As of July 3, 2026, this system was made available for use by express cargo companies authorized as operators by the Ministry of Trade and by the postal administration.

With the electronic “A.TR Movement Certificate” system developed by the Ministry, additional financial burdens that could be imposed per product on e-commerce exports from Türkiye to EU member states were prevented. Thus, exporters preserved their competitiveness in the European market.

Merve Özçelik Became the First E-Exporter to Use the Electronic A.TR Certificate

Under the system made available to Turkish exporters on July 3, 2026, the first exporter to complete an export using the electronic A.TR Movement Certificate was female entrepreneur Merve Özçelik. Merve Özçelik and her family deliver traditional handcrafted leather products unique to Türkiye, produced through activities carried out in a home environment, to many countries around the world, particularly the United States, through international e-commerce marketplaces.

The first A.TR Movement Certificate, generated electronically within seconds and regarded as a symbol of the transformation in Türkiye’s digital customs infrastructure, was framed to commemorate this historic achievement and presented to female entrepreneur Merve Özçelik by Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Minister Bolat said: “I wholeheartedly congratulate our female entrepreneur Merve Özçelik, who represents Türkiye’s production power, entrepreneurial spirit, and digital transformation vision in the best possible way. Her success story, reaching the world from her home and bringing our traditional handcrafted products to global markets through international e-commerce marketplaces, is a separate source of pride for us

 As the Ministry of Trade, with both the digital and traditional practices we have developed, we will resolutely continue to pave the way for our exporters and, in particular, to enable our female entrepreneurs and SMEs to access global markets more easily.”