EXW exports from Turkey: why FCA works better EXW is easy on paper, orphaned at customs.
Under EXW (Ex Works) the seller makes the goods available at its own premises, not loaded on any vehicle and not cleared for export; under Incoterms® 2020 both loading and export clearance are the buyer's. On exports from Türkiye that split does not work as written: the declarant must as a rule be established in Türkiye, the exporter must be a member of an exporters' association, and the VAT export exemption ties the seller's file to the customs declaration. The ICC's own text recommends FCA where export clearance is expected to be difficult.
What EXW says in Incoterms® 2020
The rule is short. The seller places the goods at the buyer's disposal at the agreed point, not loaded on any collecting vehicle (A2). Carrying out and paying for export, transit and import clearance is up to the buyer (B7); duties, taxes and the cost of customs formalities on export are the buyer's too (B9). The seller's part in clearance is limited to helping, at the buyer's request, risk and cost, with documents and information (A7).
In the explanatory note to the same rule, the ICC writes that EXW may be suitable for domestic trades where there is no intention at all to export the goods. Its advice to a buyer who expects difficulty with export clearance is equally clear: choose FCA, under which the obligation and cost of export clearance lie with the seller. The ICC checklist advises exporters to consider EXW, if at all, only for domestic sales. For the overview of all eleven rules see Incoterms® 2020; for the item-by-item split see the Incoterms cost allocation table.
Who files the declaration in Türkiye
None of the texts we read contains a sentence saying "a foreign buyer cannot file an export declaration". The result comes from reading several provisions together, and they all point the same way.
| Provision | What it says |
|---|---|
| Customs Law art. 62/2 | Where acceptance of a declaration imposes particular obligations on a specific person, the declaration is made by that person or on its behalf, and the declarant must be established in the customs territory of Türkiye. Transit, temporary import and occasional declarations accepted by customs are outside this condition. |
| Customs Law art. 3/4 | An established legal person: one with a registered place of business, legal centre of business or branch in Türkiye. |
| Customs Law arts. 5 and 225 | Anyone may appoint a representative; the representative is, as a rule, established in Türkiye. Representation is direct (in another's name and on its account) or indirect (in its own name, on another's account); a customs broker acts as an indirect representative. |
| Export Regulation art. 4/1-ğ | Exporter: a natural or legal person with a tax number that is a member of the relevant Exporters' Associations General Secretariat for the goods exported. |
| Export Regulation arts. 16–17 | The association checks the proportional fee when approving the declaration; goods do not leave on a declaration whose "association approval code" is not verified. |
| Customs Regulation art. 113 and Annex 14 (boxes 2 and 14) | Exporter and declarant are separate fields on the declaration; a declaration cannot be transferred to someone else, and selling the goods does not release the declarant from its obligations. |
This table summarises the provisions; it does not interpret them. Ask your customs broker whether a route such as an occasional declaration or the buyer's branch in Türkiye fits a given shipment.
The practical result: a foreign buyer that is not established in Türkiye and is not a member of an exporters' association cannot, as a rule, put itself in the exporter field of the declaration. The declaration is opened either in the Turkish seller's name or in the name of another Turkish company working on the buyer's account. Writing EXW in the contract does not change this; it only leaves open who will do it. For the legal position of the forwarder the buyer appoints, see the legal status of a freight forwarder.
Why the VAT exemption depends on the seller
The Turkish VAT Law exempts export deliveries (art. 11/1-a). A delivery counts as an export delivery under two conditions: it is made to a customer abroad, and the goods leave the Turkish customs territory and reach a foreign country (art. 12/1). A customer abroad is a buyer whose residence, place of business, legal seat and centre of business are abroad (art. 12/2).
The VAT General Implementation Communiqué sets out how the exemption is documented: the customs declaration and the sales invoice issued to the buyer abroad are attached to the VAT return in which the exemption is declared; if the invoice and the declaration do not match, the tax office asks the customs office for information (II/A-1.1.2). In other words, the seller's exemption file needs a declaration showing its own export against its own invoice.
The Communiqué addresses a close case explicitly: where, before export, the goods are processed or otherwise used by domestic companies acting for the buyer abroad, deliveries to those companies are taxable and the export they make is exempt (II/A-1.1.1). For a plain EXW pick-up the text is less explicit, but the exemption is documented with a declaration matching the seller's own invoice (II/A-1.1.2). If the buyer's company in Türkiye opens the declaration in its own name, the seller has no declaration to document the exemption and the sale may be treated as a domestic sale with VAT; confirm with your tax adviser. VAT borne on an exempt transaction that cannot be deducted is refunded to the person who made that transaction (art. 32).
A seller delivering to an exporter on condition of export is a separate regime (art. 11/1-c), with its own deadlines and conditions. Discuss with your tax adviser which one fits you.
Loading risk and FCA
Under EXW delivery happens, and risk passes, when the goods are placed at the buyer's disposal unloaded. Yet the seller usually does the loading: the forklift and the ramp are on its premises, and safety rules make it hard to let outside staff in. The ICC accepts that the risk of damage while the seller loads may lie with the buyer, who has not physically taken part, and advises the parties to agree on it in advance.
FCA closes this gap. Where the named place is the seller's premises, delivery happens when the goods are loaded on the means of transport arranged by the buyer; the risk during loading stays with the seller, and the seller clears the goods for export (FCA A7). The place can be the same factory and the buyer can send the same truck; the only change is who loads and who clears.
| Item | EXW | FCA (seller's premises) |
|---|---|---|
| Moment of delivery | Goods placed at the buyer's disposal, not loaded | Goods loaded on the buyer's vehicle |
| Who loads | Not the seller's obligation | Seller |
| Risk during loading | Disputed, write it into the contract | With the seller |
| Export clearance | Buyer | Seller |
| Main carriage | Buyer | Buyer |
Where the place of delivery is a terminal or a port, the choice between FOB and FCA is a separate question: FOB or FCA for containerised cargo.
Offer FCA first. Same factory, same truck; for the buyer the difference is that loading risk and export clearance sit with the seller. That is the same advice the ICC gives the buyer.
If EXW stays, write down who the exporter on the declaration will be. You, or the buyer's company in Türkiye? The VAT result differs. If it is you, also write whether the clearance cost is in the price or charged separately; how a price is converted between rules is on the price conversion page.
Name the loading and the loading risk. An added clause such as "the seller loads; risk during loading is with the seller" fills the gap the rule leaves open.
Name the documents and their cost. State who prepares documents such as licences or pre-shipment inspection and that the cost is passed to the buyer (EXW B9). For the list see export documents; for how the rule is entered on the declaration and the e-invoice, see Incoterms codes on the declaration and e-invoice.
If you are the exporter, the proceeds are your file too. Bringing export proceeds into Türkiye is subject to the foreign exchange rules (Export Regulation art. 18): export proceeds and the İBKB.
When it goes wrong
An exempt invoice was issued, another exporter is on the declaration
The seller issues a VAT-free export invoice for an EXW sale; the buyer's forwarder has the declaration opened in the name of another Turkish company working on the buyer's account. The seller has no declaration that matches its own invoice; the rule the Communiqué sets for domestic companies acting for the buyer (II/A-1.1.1) points towards treating the sale as a domestic delivery with VAT. Discuss with your tax adviser how to correct the invoice; this is something to settle before the goods leave.
A pallet falls during loading
The buyer's truck arrives at the factory, the seller's forklift loads, a pallet is damaged. The seller says "I had delivered, the risk is yours"; the buyer says "I did not take part in the loading". The ICC says this risk may lie with the buyer but does not say so firmly. Under FCA there is no argument: loading is the seller's obligation and the risk stays with the seller until loading is complete.
An EXW price was quoted, and the seller cleared export anyway
In good faith the seller has the declaration opened in its own name. Because the price was calculated EXW, clearance and loading costs are not in the quote, and who pays is argued about later. If the work actually runs like FCA, writing FCA into the contract and the price simply records the real split.
Frequently asked
Who does customs clearance under EXW?
Under Incoterms® 2020, the buyer. Export clearance formalities and their cost are the buyer's (B7, B9); the seller only helps with documents and information at the buyer's request and cost (A7).
Who goes in the exporter and declarant fields of the declaration on leaving Türkiye is decided by Turkish law, not by the contract. A foreign buyer that is not established in Türkiye and not a member of an exporters' association cannot, as a rule, be the exporter on the declaration; exceptions such as an occasional declaration are at the discretion of customs.
What is the difference between EXW and FCA?
Two differences. Export clearance is the buyer's job under EXW and the seller's under FCA. Loading is not the seller's obligation under EXW; under FCA, if delivery is at the seller's premises, the seller loads and the risk during loading is the seller's. The buyer pays the main carriage under both.
Can the seller claim a VAT refund on an EXW sale?
The exemption, and the refund linked to it, belong to whoever makes the export delivery documented by the customs declaration. If you are the exporter on the declaration and the invoice is issued to the buyer abroad, you declare the exemption. If a Turkish company working on the buyer's account opens the declaration, the declaration that documents the exemption is that company's; your delivery may be treated as a domestic delivery with VAT (in line with the rule the Communiqué sets in II/A-1.1.1 for companies acting for the buyer).
Get your tax adviser's view on your own transaction; this page is not tax advice.
How do I write an ex-factory export sale into the contract?
In the ICC seller flowchart, the rule for a seller who wants to sell from its factory and is willing to clear export is FCA. Wording: "FCA [facility name and full address] Incoterms® 2020". The seller then loads the goods onto the buyer's vehicle and clears them for export.
Sources
- ICC — Incoterms® 2020 rule text: EXW and FCA (ICC Publication No. 723E, ICC Digital Library) EXW explanatory notes 1 (delivery, not loaded), 5 (loading risks, FCA suggestion) and 6 (export clearance, domestic trades, FCA suggestion); EXW A2, A7, B7, B9; FCA explanatory notes 1 and 5, FCA A7 · library.iccwbo.org · accessed 24 Oct 2026
- ICC — Incoterms® 2020 Checklist and Flowcharts Checklist point 2: exporters well advised to consider EXW, if at all, only for domestic sales; seller flowchart point 1: FCA for a seller willing to clear export · ICC Publication No. 817E, © 2022 · library.iccwbo.org (PDF, free) · accessed 24 Oct 2026
- ICC — Incoterms® 2020 Introduction (Publication No. 723E) EXW may cause problems with loading and export clearance; the seller would be better advised to sell under FCA. The introduction is signed by Charles Debattista; by its own note the views are the author's and not part of the rules · icc-switzerland.ch · accessed 24 Oct 2026
- Customs Law No. 4458, arts. 3/4, 3/17, 5, 62, 225 Definitions of established person and declarant, representation, the declarant's establishment condition and its exceptions, indirect representation by customs brokers · mevzuat.gov.tr · accessed 24 Oct 2026
- Customs Regulation (Gümrük Yönetmeliği), arts. 112/4, 113 and Annex 14 declaration instructions (boxes 2 and 14) Export declaration signed electronically by the declarant, binding nature of the declaration, exporter (box 2) and declarant (box 14) fields · mevzuat.gov.tr · ticaret.gov.tr (DOC) · accessed 24 Oct 2026
- Export Regulation (İhracat Yönetmeliği, OG 06.06.2006 / 26190), arts. 4/1-ğ, 16, 17, 18 Definition of exporter and association membership, proportional fee, no exit without the association approval code, export proceeds subject to foreign exchange rules · mevzuat.gov.tr · accessed 24 Oct 2026
- VAT Law No. 3065 (Katma Değer Vergisi Kanunu), arts. 11/1-a, 11/1-c, 12, 32 Export exemption, delivery on condition of export, definition of export delivery and customer abroad, deduction and refund of VAT borne · mevzuat.gov.tr · accessed 24 Oct 2026
- VAT General Implementation Communiqué (OG 26.04.2014 / 28983), II/A-1.1.1 and 1.1.2 Invoice issued to the buyer abroad, deliveries taxable where domestic companies acting for the buyer abroad process or otherwise use the goods before export, exemption documented with the customs declaration and the sales invoice · resmigazete.gov.tr (DOCX) · accessed 24 Oct 2026
This page is for information only and is not legal, tax or customs advice. Confirm with your customs broker who will be the exporter on the declaration and with your tax adviser what the VAT result is. Incoterms® is a registered trademark of the ICC.
Change log
- Page published together with the Turkish page of the same date. Basis: ICC Incoterms® 2020, Customs Law, Customs Regulation, Export Regulation, VAT Law and VAT General Implementation Communiqué; all texts were read directly.