Importing bakery equipment from Türkiye to the EU with A.TR.

The customs union, briefly

Türkiye and the EU have been in a customs union since 31 December 1995, with the formal agreement (Decision 1/95) entering into force in 1996. The union covers industrial goods and processed agricultural products. It does not cover unprocessed agricultural goods or the steel/coal sector (those have separate trade arrangements).

For a planetary mixer, a sheeter, an oven, a dough divider — anything in HS Chapter 84 (machinery) or Chapter 85 (electrical equipment) — the customs union applies. Movement of these goods between the EU and Türkiye, in either direction, is at 0% customs duty when documented with the A.TR movement certificate.

What the A.TR certificate is

The A.TR (German: Anlaufschein für Türkei; English: A.TR Movement Certificate) is a specific customs document — not a regulation, not a directive, just a piece of paper with the right stamps. It accompanies a shipment of goods leaving Türkiye for the EU (or vice versa) and proves the goods are in free circulation under the customs union.

The document is:

• Prepared by the exporter (the Turkish manufacturer or their shipping agent)
• Stamped and validated by the Turkish customs authority before goods leave the country
• Presented in original (not a photocopy) by the importer's broker at the EU port
• Valid for one specific shipment — A.TR isn't a blanket annual document

For Dirmak shipments, every EU-bound order leaves İzmir with an A.TR prepared by our export team. It's not an option, not a paid extra — it's part of every EU shipment.

The 0% duty — and what it doesn't cover

A.TR removes customs duty, the tax most people picture when they think "import tax". On a 25,000 EUR industrial planetary mixer that would otherwise face (for example) a 2.8% MFN duty, the saving is 700 EUR per shipment.

What A.TR does not remove:

• Import VAT at the destination-country rate. Germany 19%, France 20%, Italy 22%, Spain 21%, Portugal 23%, Netherlands 21%, Belgium 21%, Austria 20%, Poland 23%. Assessed on the CIF value (commercial value + freight + insurance). You reclaim this through your normal VAT return; it's cashflow, not cost.
• Local handling charges at the port (customs broker fees, port handling, inland transport).
• Special / anti-dumping duties if the product code is on a watchlist (planetary mixers are not).

Net effect: the customs-duty line on your import paperwork shows €0,00 for a planetary mixer; the import VAT shows the destination-country rate; the handling is the same as it would be for any import.

Incoterms — picking the right one

The Incoterm decides who does what between "manufacturer's gate in İzmir" and "your gate in the EU". Dirmak supports all the standard Incoterms (EXW, FCA, FOB, CIF, DAP). The two most common for European buyers are:

CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) — destination port

• Manufacturer arranges sea freight from İzmir to your nearest EU port (Hamburg, Le Havre, Genoa, Valencia, Rotterdam, etc.) and covers insurance to that point.
• At the EU port, you handle customs clearance, import VAT payment and inland transport to your facility.
• Risk transfers to you when goods are loaded on the vessel at İzmir.
• Good for: buyers with their own customs broker and inland-transport relationships at the EU port.

DAP (Delivered At Place) — your facility gate

• Manufacturer arranges the full journey from İzmir to your facility gate, including the EU-side inland transport.
• You handle customs clearance and import VAT payment at the destination.
• Risk transfers to you on delivery at the named place.
• Good for: buyers without their own freight relationships in the EU; smaller bakeries; first-time importers.

EXW (Ex Works — you arrange pickup from İzmir) and FOB (Free on Board — manufacturer to port, you arrange everything from there) are also possible but rarely used for the bakery-equipment trade.

The document set, in order

A complete document set for an EU import from Dirmak looks like this:

Document	Purpose	Who issues
Commercial invoice	Goods description, HS code, value	Dirmak
Packing list	Crate-level weights and dimensions	Dirmak
A.TR movement certificate	0% customs duty entitlement	Dirmak + Turkish customs
Bill of lading (sea) or AWB (air)	Title to the goods, freight contract	Freight forwarder
CE Declaration of Conformity	Machinery safety	Dirmak
EN 454 conformity (≤200 L)	Bakery planetary mixer safety	Dirmak
EC 1935/2004 statement	Food-contact compliance	Dirmak
EN 10204 3.1 material certificate (on request)	AISI 304 stainless traceability	Dirmak
User manual + wiring diagram	Operator + facility electrical	Dirmak
Insurance certificate (if CIF)	Marine cargo insurance	Dirmak / freight

The three traps importers hit

1. HS code mismatch

The exporter's HS code on the commercial invoice and the importer's HS code at customs clearance must agree. The standard code for industrial planetary mixers is HS 8438.10 (bakery machinery; machinery for the manufacture of macaroni, spaghetti or similar products). If your local broker independently classifies under 8438.80 (other) or 8479.82 (mixing machinery, not elsewhere specified), the duty calculation gets confused.

Action: confirm the HS code in writing during quotation. Dirmak's quotations include the export HS code so you can pre-agree the import classification with your broker.

2. Incoterm confusion

The single most common mistake we see: a buyer accepts a CIF quote, doesn't read the Incoterm definition, then discovers they need to arrange port handling, customs clearance, import VAT and inland transport themselves — at the moment the goods arrive, when there's no time to set it up.

Action: pick the Incoterm deliberately. DAP is the right answer for most first-time European importers (one supplier, one quote, one delivery). CIF is right when you already have a freight broker at your nearest EU port.

3. Forgetting the import VAT cashflow

Import VAT is paid up-front at customs clearance and reclaimed through the normal VAT return cycle — sometimes 3–6 weeks later. On a 25,000 EUR planetary mixer with 19% German import VAT, that's a 4,750 EUR cashflow gap. Most importers handle this fine; first-time importers occasionally don't budget for it.

Action: agree the financing of the VAT chunk before goods leave Türkiye, not after. Many freight forwarders offer to advance the import VAT in exchange for a small fee; some banks offer trade-finance lines that cover it.

Timeline — what to expect

Stage	Typical duration
Production (Industrial Mixers, 80 L+)	6–10 weeks
Production (Standard Series, 10–60 L)	4–6 weeks
Loading + İzmir customs clearance	2–3 days
Sea freight İzmir → Hamburg / Le Havre / Genoa / Valencia	10–14 days
EU port customs clearance (you / your broker)	1–3 days
Inland EU transport to facility	2–5 days
Total from order placement	~8–14 weeks

Air freight cuts the sea-freight leg from 10–14 days to 2–4 days, at notably higher cost per kg. Rarely justified for industrial machinery; usually only for an urgent spare-parts shipment.

Where Dirmak makes this easier

For every EU shipment, Dirmak's export team handles:

• A.TR preparation and Turkish customs validation (no extra cost)
• Full document set in the export package
• HS-code coordination with your local broker if needed
• Incoterm flexibility — DAP, CIF, FOB, FCA, EXW all supported
• One named contact at İzmir for the duration of the shipment

See the European delivery, warranty and spare parts guide for the full operational picture, or start a quote at the quote form — Incoterm and destination country are part of the first question set.