January 4 - Turkish Customs has instigated an Entry Summary Declarations (ENS) or advance manifest system for containerised inbound or transit cargo on vessels, effective January 1, 2012.
The documentation closing times are similar to other advance manifest 24 Hour Rules in place in markets such as the US,Canada, EU or Mexico.
ENS transmission must be carried out no later than 24 hours prior to start of the loading of vessels, from a non-Turkish load port, which are bound for a Turkish port. Ports in the Black Sea and Mediterranean for the purpose of ENS transmission will be treated as short sea, for which ENS must be submitted two hours prior to the vessel's arrival.
Ocean carriers will be responsible for timely submission of the ENS-based on the information supplied by customers and are likely to impose fees to cover these charges.
ENS is applicable from any country and there has been no transition period before implementation.
In the January/February issue of HLPFI magazine, we are carrying a Turkish market report.
