Export, import and transit operations of plants, plant products and other substances are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the "Plant Quarantine Regulation", which was prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Veterinary Services, Plant Health, Food and Feed Law No. 5996 and entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette dated 3/12/2011 and numbered 28131.

EXPORT

Export Controls

• Real or legal persons or their legal representatives who wish to export plants, plant products and other substances shall apply to the Directorate with the export application form, the sample of which is determined by the Directorate General, and request official control of the plants and plant products to be exported.
  
• Except for plants, plant products and other substances prohibited for export, official controls are carried out by taking into account the characteristics of the product such as the harmful organism it is likely to carry and its location.​ 
• Plants, plant products and other substances intended for export and their packaging shall be subject to official control in terms of the phytosanitary conditions of the receiving country. Additional laboratory analyzes are performed or commissioned when necessary. 
• Analyses are carried out in the laboratories of the Directorates of Agricultural Quarantine, Directorates of Agricultural Control Research Institute/Station, Directorates of Forestry Research Institute and other Research Institute/Station Directorates authorized by the Ministry. 
• For plants, plant products and other substances that meet the phytosanitary requirements of the recipient country, the Phytosanitary Certificate shall be issued as one original and two copies in accordance with ISPM-12 rules. The original and a copy are given to the exporter. A copy is kept at the Directorate. In line with the request of the exporter, a certified copy is given in the desired amount. 
• Within fourteen days of the issuance of the Phytosanitary Certificate and the Re-Export Phytosanitary Certificate, plants, plant products and other substances must exit. Plants, plant products and other substances that have not been exited within this period are checked again.
• For products that are intended to be exported but do not meet the phytosanitary requirements of the receiving country as a result of the official control, the product owner or its representative shall be informed.
  
• During the issuance of the Phytosanitary Certificate, if the required information does not fit in the relevant section of the Phytosanitary Certificate, this information is added to the Phytosanitary Certificate as a list. These annexes should bear the same serial number, date, signature and seal as the Phytosanitary Certificate. In the relevant section of the Phytosanitary Certificate, it is stated that the necessary information for this section is provided as an annex. 
• If the plant and plant product to be exported is a plant and plant product that is not produced in our country and information about the production area or cultivation periods is needed Re-Export Phytosanitary Certificate is issued and a certified copy of the Phytosanitary Certificate of the country of origin is attached. For plants and plant products for which there is no need for information on the production area or cultivation periods, a Phytosanitary Certificate is issued by specifying the country of origin in cases where the importing country does not request a Re-Export Phytosanitary Certificate. 
• Plants, plant products and other substances for which an official control has been carried out and a Phytosanitary Certificate has been issued may be subjected to official control again when deemed necessary until their exit. If the products subjected to re-official control are found to be contrary to the first control, the existing Phytosanitary Certificate shall be canceled. If customs procedures have been initiated for the product, the customs directorate is informed and the product is prevented from leaving.

IMPORT

Import control

• For the entry of plants, plant products and other substances into the country, real or legal persons or their legal representatives responsible for the shipment shall apply to the Directorate with the Entry Application Form, the sample of which is determined by the Directorate General. The application form is accompanied by the original Phytosanitary Certificate or Re-Export Phytosanitary Certificate issued by the official plant protection service of the exporting country, one of the international transport documents declared to customs and a photocopy of the invoice for the product. Importers and their legal representatives should fulfill the following conditions before importation:
  
• Importers or their legal representatives are registered in the electronic information system and given a registration number.
• Importers or their legal representatives shall notify the relevant directorates in advance of the imminent importation of plants, plant products and other substances. This notification shall be given at least 24 hours before the arrival of the shipment for sea transportation; at least 4 hours before the arrival of the shipment for air transportation; at least 12 hours before the arrival of the shipment for land transportation. This notification is made to the directorate at the entry point in accordance with the shipment notification form, accompanied by the registration number.
• Entry control is carried out in three stages: document control, declaration control and phytosanitary control of the shipment or batch:
  
• Document control: It is the control that the documents required to be attached to the application petition for the shipment or batch are complete and in accordance with the procedure and that there are no plants, plant products and growing environments prohibited from entering the country as specified in the Plant Quarantine Regulation and that the special conditions specified in the Plant Health Certificate are specified.
• Declaration control: It is the control of whether the documents submitted in the annex of the application petition are compatible with the product to be entered.
• Phytosanitary control: it is the control of whether the plants, plant products and other substances, their packages and, where necessary, their transport vehicles are free of harmful organisms subject to quarantine in the Plant Quarantine Regulation and whether they carry the special conditions specified in the regulation and whether there are plants, plant products and growing media prohibited from entering the country after the completion of document and declaration controls.
• Official controls of wooden packaging materials used in the transportation of goods other than plants and plant products within the scope of the Plant Quarantine Regulation are carried out in cooperation with customs directorates in the form of reduced controls with appropriate frequency on the basis of risk.
• The inspector shall confirm by laboratory test whether the harmful organism found during the official control of the plants, plant products and other substances to be entered is one of the harmful organisms subject to quarantine.
• Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect the presence of plants, plant products and other substances in shipments not declared to contain plants, plant products and other substances, official controls shall also be carried out on these shipments to ensure that the requirements of the Plant Quarantine Regulation are met.
• In cases where it is not possible to carry out the declaration and phytosanitary control of plants, plant products and other substances listed in the Plant Quarantine Regulation at the point of entry, document control may be carried out at the point of entry and shipment to another authorized control place within the country may be allowed. In such cases;
  
• The inspectors at the first point of entry shall complete and certify the 'Phytosanitary Circulation Document' in accordance with the Regulation in one original and one copy, and the original document shall accompany the shipment. This document is filled in legibly in capital letters, handwritten or electronically. The Phytosanitary Certificate of Circulation is required by the relevant directorate at the destination.
• Official Controls are carried out in bonded areas, temporary storage places under customs supervision, and in the seven-guarantee areas, provided that they are isolated.
• In order to prevent the risk of contamination and spread of the harmful organism during transportation, the provision of Article 4 regarding transportation in the phytosanitary circulation document is filled in and signed by the importer/representative or carrier under the supervision of the Directorate.
• The directorate responsible for control at the destination ensures that the minimum conditions specified by the Ministry by instruction are met and that adequate facilities, vehicles and equipment are available and/or maintained in order to carry out official controls.
• The transport vehicles used for shipments that cannot be inspected at the point of entry or the packaging of shipments must be closed and sealed in a way that will not cause infestation or infection and that the contents will remain unchanged during the transportation of the products when they arrive at the appropriate inspection points (warehouses, depositary areas, etc.). Only in justified cases may the Directorate concerned authorize unsealed shipments of the products during their transportation to the approved place of inspection, provided that this does not lead to infestation or infection.
• Temporary storage and depositary areas should be under the supervision of the Customs Directorate, should be physically disconnected from their surroundings and isolated from the external environment, measures should be taken to prevent the contamination of harmful organisms from the outside, and entry and exit to and from these areas should be under control. Based on the application petition submitted by the company, the relevant Directorate shall check the suitability of the temporary storage and depositary areas. The Directorate shall notify the importer and the relevant Customs Directorate of the reasons for the unsuitability of the temporary storage and depositary areas and the additional measures to be taken.
• It is ensured that the information exchange between the Directorate at the point of entry and destination and the Customs Directorates regarding the packaging and transportation of plants, plant products and other substances planned to be imported is carried out effectively by using the Phytosanitary Circulation Document in writing or electronically.
• The importer of the shipment shall notify the relevant Directorate at the place of destination in advance of the entry of the products, taking into account entry by air, land and sea, in accordance with the above-mentioned deadline.
  The importer shall inform the relevant Directorate at the place of destination in case of any change in his notification.
• Pest risk analysis in accordance with international phytosanitary standards may be requested from countries from which plants and plant products will be imported to our country within the scope of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) at the first import or in case of change in phytosanitary conditions.

Transit control

• Transit of plants, plant products and other substances not in free circulation from a foreign country to a foreign country by passing through the Türkiye Customs Territory is subject to transit. However, plants, plant products and other substances brought to the port area in closed containers by sea and sent abroad by sea without opening at the same port area, and plants, plant products and other substances brought to the airport area in closed packages by air and sent abroad or domestically by air without opening at the same airport are not subject to transit.
• For the plant and plant product for which transit control is requested, an application is made to the Directorate with the transit form determined by the General Directorate.
• Plants, plant products and other substances are subjected to document, declaration and phytosanitary control by the inspector with closed and sealed transport vehicles in a way that does not allow harmful organisms to contaminate and spread to the territory of our country, and transit is allowed if there is no risk in terms of phytosanitary.
• Plants, plant products and other substances prohibited for entry listed in the Plant Quarantine Regulation shall be transited by refrigerated and closed container transportation vehicles without changing their customs status. They cannot be subjected to any kind of unloading, loading and transshipment.
• Phytosanitary Certificates or Re-Export Phytosanitary Certificates are not issued for plants and plant products that have not been imported but are in transit through the Customs Territory of Türkiye without being subject to pest infestation or contamination. However, in the event that the plant and plant products within the scope of the transit regime, which have not been imported, are disassembled, combined with another shipment, or there is a change in the transportation vehicle or packaging the necessary controls are carried out by obtaining the Phytosanitary Certificate of the exporting country, and if appropriate, a Re-Export Phytosanitary Certificate is issued and a certified copy of the Phytosanitary Certificate of the exporting country is attached to it. If the shipment is subjected to infestation or contamination by harmful organisms, a Phytosanitary Certificate shall be issued by specifying the country of origin if the requirements of the importing country are met and the transit of the product shall be continued.