Turkish transit log warning

P

pathfinderstu

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 Sep 2011
Messages
401
Visit site
have just been fined 6K gb pounds by the customs in Turkey for having my Turkish apartment address on my transit log instead of my English home address over the last 5 years. there was no fraud involved and I was legally entitled to the log. also the papers had been stamped correct every year by the harbour master customs etc. The log had been filled out by a registered agent as required..all was correct except the address which was just a clerical error. I appealed against the fine with a lawyer but was rejected, after advice from some very high levels I was advised not to take the issue to court..so paid up my boat was freed up and I have written the issue off....but left a bad taste in my mouth.
 
RichardS said:
One of the pitfalls with a police/military state. :ambivalence:

Richard
Click to expand...
Is thís because as far as their are concerned you live in Turkey but own a boat that's registered in another country ?
Bit like the owners who live in Spain and have their boat registered under SSR not to pay the tax .
Just asking to get the fact straight .
 
sailaboutvic said:
Is thís because as far as their are concerned you live in Turkey but own a boat that's registered in another country ?
Bit like the owners who live in Spain and have their boat registered under SSR not to pay the tax .
Just asking to get the fact straight .
Click to expand...

Just to correct that a little. Registering a boat on the SSR in Spain (if you live in Spain) does not avoid any taxes. The main reason is to avoid having to take the Spanish Skipper's licence and comply with their equipment, survey and sailing area restrictions if it is on the Spanish register.
 
Tranona said:
Just to correct that a little. Registering a boat on the SSR in Spain (if you live in Spain) does not avoid any taxes. The main reason is to avoid having to take the Spanish Skipper's licence and comply with their equipment, survey and sailing area restrictions if it is on the Spanish register.
Click to expand...

You are 100% correct but the problem while we was there was British people who had apartment some even worked of their boat and was living full time in Spain , who trying to avoid paying import duly tax .
 
Very Sorry to hear of your experience pathfinderstu, clearly a genuine mistake by you and a hefty fine. Thank you for sharing so that myself and others can be more diligent.Hope you can move on and forget about it.
 
sailaboutvic said:
You are 100% correct but the problem while we was there was British people who had apartment some even worked of their boat and was living full time in Spain , who trying to avoid paying import duly tax .
Click to expand...

That is because they did not apply for residence and when the law changed to bring in the matriculation tax they were caught out. Little sympathy for most of them.
 
Doesn't sound fair at all,; and Turkey, nowadays, has bacome very autocratic, almost dictatorship, so you will never win. Put it down to experience and carry on sailing. Better still, move your boat across to Greece.
 
Last edited:
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
Doesn't sound fair at all,; and Turkey, nowadays, has bacome very autocratic, almost dictatorship, so you will never win. Put it down to experience and carry on sailing. Better still, move your boat across to Greece.
Click to expand...

It does seem fairly reasonable that someone with a Turkish residential address is treated as living in Turkey.
You have to be very careful with this sort of thing.
 
no I was srickly legal as many others I know, in my honest opinion and others they were just looking for a way to screw me for money and did..haha
 
Your right I will move over to Greece if the pluses get lower than the minuses but at the moment am still on the up side so put it down to an unseen taxation and keep a very close eye on the ball..
 
My previous boat was registered in Ireland and I used my address in Turkey when registering it. That address was also used on the transit logs. A couple of years ago the marina office in Kuşadası told me it would be advisable to have a foreign address on the registration and the transit log so I changed the registration to an Irish address and the address on the TL was changed at next renewal. I used an Irish address when registering my current boat in Jersey and on the transit log. It would seem from my experience this issue was well flagged at least 2 years ago so any agent worth his salt should have known about it. There was an amnesty in 2016 under whichever foreign flagged boats could be changed to Turkish registration very cheaply and it was said at the time there’s would be a tightening of regulation to make it more difficult for Turkish residents to have foreign flagged boats. This may be the start of it. Crickey £6k. Geçmiş olsun.
 
Irish Rover said:
My previous boat was registered in Ireland and I used my address in Turkey when registering it. That address was also used on the transit logs. A couple of years ago the marina office in Kuşadası told me it would be advisable to have a foreign address on the registration and the transit log so I changed the registration to an Irish address and the address on the TL was changed at next renewal. I used an Irish address when registering my current boat in Jersey and on the transit log. It would seem from my experience this issue was well flagged at least 2 years ago so any agent worth his salt should have known about it. There was an amnesty in 2016 under whichever foreign flagged boats could be changed to Turkish registration very cheaply and it was said at the time there’s would be a tightening of regulation to make it more difficult for Turkish residents to have foreign flagged boats. This may be the start of it. Crickey £6k. Geçmiş olsun.
Click to expand...
One of the annoying things about it is that the transit log had been officially stamped as correct every year for the last 6 years by the harbour masters office and the customs. the agency I used was probably one of the best around here and as you know you need to use a licenced agency to fill the log in as they have the computer program. A couple of my close friends around here were shocked to hear this as they have the same on their logs. Its perfectly legal here to own property here as a UK national and be registered on the ssr system. I know all about the tr government incentive over the last couple of years to change from flags of convenience to Turkish flag it was aimed mostly at Turkish nationals avoiding
tax over 500 boats locally have done so from Gocek and Fethiye alone. I think Spain is a different issue as is within the EU and subject to their taxation laws. but that's another kettle of fish......You were lucky that your marina office pointed out that the address you were using on your transit log was wrong although I presume officially stamped by all the relevant authorities as correct....My fine was 8 thousands gb pounds but I got 25 percent discount for paying up within a given time.....hopefully the post will save some others from falling into the same trap.
 
Last edited:
pathfinderstu said:
One of the annoying things about it is that the transit log had been officially stamped as correct every year for the last 6 years by the harbour masters office and the customs. the agency I used was probably one of the best around here and as you know you need to use a licenced agency to fill the log in as they have the computer program. A couple of my close friends around here were shocked to hear this as they have the same on their logs. Its perfectly legal here to own property here as a UK national and be registered on the ssr system. I know all about the tr government incentive over the last couple of years to change from flags of convenience to Turkish flag it was aimed mostly at Turkish nationals avoiding
tax over 500 boats locally have done so from Gocek and Fethiye alone. I think Spain is a different issue as is within the EU and subject to their taxation laws. but that's another kettle of fish......You were lucky that your marina office pointed out that the address you were using on your transit log was wrong although I presume officially stamped by all the relevant authorities as correct....My fine was 8 thousands gb pounds but I got 25 percent discount for paying up within a given time.....hopefully the post will save some others from falling into the same trap.[/QUOTEI
I don’t know your circumstances but I’m permanently resident in Turkey and, as such, I’m probably cheating the system. However I agree there are so many anomalies it’s very frustrating. That said I’m in Greece on a transit log at the moment and I visited my eight Coast Guard station this morning and no 2 of them wanted the same thing from me - in Skala Patmos this morning they said I don’t need the check in I only need a stamp when I’m leaving the office. By the way you don’t need to use an agent in Turkey - the Harbour Master’s office can print the Transit Log form although you do need a reasonable level of Turkish and for sure they prefer if you work through an agent.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I arrived back in Turkey yesterday and did the check-in myself. It’s now even more straightforward than previously as it’s no longer necessary to get a Health Department stamp.
 
Irish Rover said:
I arrived back in Turkey yesterday and did the check-in myself. It’s now even more straightforward than previously as it’s no longer necessary to get a Health Department stamp.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, did you arrive by plane and keep your boat in TR or did you arrive with your boat from another country...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

S
Amiable demands for money!
Replies
15
Views
815
penberth3
P

Share this page

Top