Who pays, who carries, who is liable.
Trade documentation guidance is easy to find and hard to trust. Every page here states the rule version it relies on, links its primary source directly, and shows when it was last checked. Where we could not verify something, we say so.
Method
No claim without a source
We reviewed 34 sites while building this section — 22 Turkish forwarders and customs brokers, 12 international knowledge centres. Three things stood out.
No dates
Only one of the 22 Turkish sites showed both a publication and an update date. A page explaining customs terminology carried a 2016 date and was still live. Regulations change; undated content quietly turns false.
No sources
Not one forwarder or customs broker linked a claim to a primary source. An article whose subject was the ICC rules themselves contained no link to the ICC. We put the source, its direct URL and our access date at the foot of every page.
No stated basis
None declared which version of a rule set the content relied on. Some pages explaining trade terms still use Incoterms 2000 language. Our byline names the basis, so you know which text we are speaking from.
We do not publish figures we cannot verify. Freight rates, demurrage, delivery order fees and port tariffs change constantly and differ between carriers. You will not find prices on these pages. You will find how a charge is set, who sets it and where to verify it — and our calculators run on the numbers you enter, with no tariff hard-coded.
Contents
Written for the buyer's side of a Turkish shipment
These pages focus on what overseas buyers actually ask their Turkish suppliers — movement certificates, release mechanics and container capacity — rather than restating general guides that already exist in English.
Incoterms
Who delivers where, when risk passes and which cost belongs to whom.
Documents & customs
What a Turkish exporter can and cannot issue, and what it means for your import clearance.
- A.TR or EUR.1A.TR proves free circulation, EUR.1 proves origin — they are different things.
- Bill of ladingThe only transport document that represents the goods. Types, endorsement, lost originals.
- How to read a letter of creditMT700 fields, UCP 600 articles, the 5-day and 21-day rules, a pre-shipment checklist.
- Export documentsFour core documents; origin and movement certificates by destination; health and inspection documents by product.
- Release methodsOriginal, surrender, telex release and sea waybill: security, speed and credit compliance.
Cost
What appears on an invoice at the Turkish end of the shipment, and who issues each line.
- Demurrage, detention and storageThree separate invoices, three separate clocks — plus the Turkish 45/20-day customs period.
- Incoterms cost allocationEleven rules against twelve cost items, including delivery order and storage.
- Ocean freight cost itemsWhich party each invoice line comes from; surcharge glossary and the EU ETS at 100% in 2026.
- Delivery orderIts function is not in dispute; charging it as a separate fee has been taken to court.
Capacity & tools
Two calculators that run in your browser. Neither embeds a tariff or invents a figure.
- Container dimensionsInternal size, tare, payload and the kg/m³ threshold that decides which limit fills first.
- How many pallets fitLayout pattern, double stacking and the 80 mm that turns 25 into 30.
- Chargeable weightCBM, LDM and volumetric weight. Calculator with the air cargo rounding rules.
- Logistics glossary70+ terms from documents and invoices, each in one paragraph, with the Turkish term.
- Container numberISO 6346 validator that shows the check digit calculation step by step.
Regulation & agenda
Changes with a verified date of entry into force and gazette number; reviewed monthly.
Ask
Ask what the page does not answer
These pages cover general rules. Your shipment is specific — the commodity, the destination and your contract all change the answer.