Export proceeds repatriation in Türkiye: İBKB The cargo has sailed, the file is still open.

Where the rule comes from

The chain has four links, each resting on the one before:

• Law No. 1567 on the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency: gives the President the power to take decisions on foreign exchange matters (art. 1) and sets the penalties (art. 3).
• Decree No. 32 (Official Gazette 11.08.1989 / 20249): leaves exporters free to dispose of export proceeds, but authorises the Ministry to regulate their repatriation where needed (art. 8/1).
• Communiqué No. 2018-32/48 on Export Proceeds (Official Gazette 04.09.2018 / 30525; last amended Official Gazette 21.02.2021 / 31402): issued under that power; it sets the deadline, the İBKB, reporting and write-off.
• TCMB Export Circular: the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye announces the procedures for applying the Communiqué (Communiqué art. 12/1). The Circular is updated often through letters of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance; the most recent basis in the text we read is the Ministry's letter of 30.07.2026 no. 4922313.

Most of the amounts and percentages used in practice are in the Circular, not the Communiqué. If you see a difference between the two, look at the current Circular and the Ministry letter cited in that rule's footnote; below, we give the article number of the text each rule comes from.

The repatriation deadline

The clock starts on the actual export date, which the Circular defines as the closing date of the export declaration for the goods (art. 3/1-e). It is not the invoice date or the bill of lading date. 180 days is a ceiling; the actual rule is that proceeds are brought home directly and without delay once the importer pays (Communiqué art. 3/1).

What the İBKB is and who issues it

The Export Proceeds Acceptance Certificate shows that the proceeds have been brought into Türkiye; its template is annexed to the Communiqué. The exporter does not issue it; the bank does (Communiqué art. 8/2). Until the Ministry's information system for tracking export proceeds goes live, banks may use a Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate (DAB) instead (Communiqué temporary art. 1/2); for any one transaction only one of the two is issued (Circular art. 30/2).

• Intermediary bank: the bank entered in box 28 of the declaration, or the bank the exporter has agreed with to close the file by presenting the declaration details (Circular art. 3/1-c, 24/1). The payment method goes in the same box (art. 5/1).
• Several declarations: one İBKB can be issued with the details of all the declarations attached (Circular art. 8/11).
• If the money moves to another bank: no second İBKB is issued for an amount transferred after the İBKB; the first bank notifies the receiving bank in writing (Circular art. 8/8).

Sale to the bank: at least 35%

Under temporary article 4 of the Circular, from its entry into force until 31.01.2027 (inclusive), at least 35% of export proceeds tied to an İBKB or a DAB is sold to the bank that issues the document. The bank sells this currency to the Central Bank the same day at the buying rate the Central Bank announces for that day, and pays the exporter the equivalent in Turkish lira. The article was last based on the Ministry's letter of 30.07.2026 no. 4922313. The rate and end date have changed several times through these letters; we follow the current version in the 2026 regulatory tracker.

How the export file is closed

What exporters call the "export file" is the export account the intermediary bank opens for each declaration. If the proceeds arrive in time and an İBKB is issued, the account is closed at the intermediary bank (Communiqué art. 8/1; Circular art. 23/1). The sequence:

1. Declaration: the payment method and the intermediary bank go in box 28. The value in box 22 is taken as the export proceeds; if that amount also includes freight or insurance and equals the invoice, the invoice amount is used (Circular art. 10/1).
2. Proceeds arrive: the bank accepts them and issues the İBKB within 180 days of actual export (Circular art. 8/1).
3. Documents: to close the file, a copy or the details of the declaration, the related İBKBs, the sales invoice and any deduction and set-off documents are given to the intermediary bank (Circular art. 25/1).
4. Closing: if nothing is missing, the account is closed at the intermediary bank; small shortfalls are closed under the write-off rule below.

The proceeds may arrive short because the buyer deducted costs such as freight, insurance premium, commission, storage, bonded warehouse, customs duty or factoring charges. The intermediary bank reviews and settles these deductions (Communiqué art. 7/1). The reason for the shortfall is documented to the bank, and the type and amount of the cost are noted on the İBKB (Circular art. 21/2).

The exporter is responsible for bringing the proceeds home in time and closing the account (Communiqué art. 6/1; Circular art. 26/1). In indirect exports through a foreign trade company, the manufacturer or supplier is responsible unless the agreement says otherwise (Circular art. 26/1).

Payment method and Incoterms

The Communiqué lists seven payment methods: letter of credit, cash against documents, cash against goods, acceptance credit under a letter of credit, acceptance credit against documents, acceptance credit against goods, and advance payment (art. 3/2). The choice changes how and where the file is closed:

• Advance payment: the clock runs the other way; the money comes first, and the goods must be exported within 24 months. Advance payments not used for exports in time, or not refunded in a single payment, fall under the pre-financing rules (Communiqué art. 4). The account is closed at the bank that accepted the advance (Circular art. 24/1).
• Letter of credit: the money comes through the banks, but documents that do not match the credit delay payment, while the 180 days keep running from the actual export date. How to read the credit before loading is on the how to read a letter of credit page.
• Deferred payment: if the term is over 180 days, the deadline is 90 days after the due date; the document showing the term is given to the bank at the outset (Circular art. 4/4).

The Circular has one explicit rule on the Incoterms rule of sale: in exports on CFR and CIF terms, freight and insurance are treated as foreign currency earned for services (Circular art. 22/2). If freight and insurance are part of the sale price, discuss how they will appear in the file with your intermediary bank before the declaration. Who pays freight and insurance under each rule is on the Incoterms® 2020 page.

If the deadline is missed

1. 5 working days: the intermediary bank reports an account that has not been closed to the tax office within 5 working days (Communiqué art. 8/3; Circular art. 29/1). If the proceeds are accepted after the deadline but within these 5 working days, the account is closed without a report (Circular art. 23/3).
2. 90-day notice: within 10 working days of the report, the tax office sends a notice with a 90-day period. In that time the account is closed, or force majeure or a justified case is documented (Communiqué art. 8/4).
3. Extensions: while force majeure lasts, extensions are given in six-month periods; for a justified case, the tax office decides up to six months in three-month periods, and the Ministry beyond that (Communiqué art. 8/5–6). Force majeure cases are listed: bankruptcy or composition of either party, strikes, lockouts, general average, decisions of official authorities, natural disasters, war, blockade, loss of or damage to the goods, and litigation or arbitration (Communiqué art. 9/1).
4. Public prosecutor: for an account still open at the end of the notice and any extensions, the tax office notifies the public prosecutor (Circular art. 29/4).

Penalty: under Law No. 1567, a person who does not bring receivables home in time is fined 5% of the market value of the amount they were required to repatriate. Anyone who brings the money home before the decision becomes final gets a lighter fine, which may not exceed 2.5% of the amount to be repatriated. If the offence is committed for the benefit of a legal entity, the entity receives the same fine; the public prosecutor decides (art. 3).

Country exemptions

For exports to the 36 countries on the Circular's Annex 2 list, the obligation to bring proceeds home does not apply (Circular art. 4/6). For exports to the 9 countries in Annex 3, the exporter is free to dispose of 50% of the proceeds (art. 22/1): Azerbaijan, Algeria, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Libya, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and Ukraine. Both lists change through Ministry letters; the most recent letter behind Annex 2 in the version we read is dated 18.12.2025, no. 4440660. For exports to Iraq, Libya and Mauritania, the Circular also sets out special ways for banks to accept the proceeds (art. 8/4).

When it goes wrong

The deadline is counted from the invoice date

The clock starts on the day the declaration is closed (Circular art. 3/1-e), not on the invoice, bill of lading or collection date. An exporter counting from another date gets the last day wrong and may miss the reporting window.

The bank or payment method on the declaration is wrong

Box 28 shows which bank follows the account. If you close the file at another bank, that bank must notify the bank in box 28 in writing (Circular art. 24/2). Give both details to the customs broker in writing before the declaration; our in-house customs broker prepares the export declaration and asks for them at the start.

Proceeds are first collected in an account abroad

For proceeds coming from the exporter's own account abroad to be accepted, the account statements for the 180 days after the declaration date are given to the bank (Circular art. 11/2). Without them, acceptance takes longer even if the money arrives in time.

Proceeds are moved to another account before the İBKB is issued

The foreign origin of the money then has to be proven separately, with a letter from the first receiving bank containing the SWIFT message and the sales documents (Circular art. 8/7). The shortest route is to tie the proceeds to an İBKB at the bank where they arrive.