The Line Between a Foreign Exchange Misdemeanour and the Offence of Smuggling

Bringing precious metals and precious stones into or out of the country without subjecting them to customs procedures, that is, without filing a customs declaration or outside customs gates, constitutes the offence of smuggling. By contrast, failing to comply with registration, notification and delivery obligations while the goods are being cleared through customs, or afterwards, is a foreign exchange misdemeanour punishable by an administrative fine. If the act does not constitute a smuggling offence, unauthorised movements of money and assets are subject to sanctions under the legislation on the protection of the value of Turkish currency.

The legal basis for this distinction lies in Article 3 of Law No. 1567 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency (1567 sayılı Türk Parasının Kıymetini Koruma Hakkında Kanun; “Law No. 1567”) and Article 3 of the Anti-Smuggling Law (Kaçakçılıkla Mücadele Kanunu), Law No. 5607 of 21 March 2007 (“Law No. 5607”). In addition, Article 7 of Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency (32 sayılı Karar; “Decree No. 32”), published in the Official Gazette of 11 August 1989, and Articles 235 and 241 of the Customs Law (Law No. 4458) of 27 October 1999 (“Law No. 4458”) set the administrative and operational framework of this boundary. The judgment of the Criminal General Assembly of the Court of Cassation in Docket No. 2017/1035 and the decision of the 7th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation in Docket No. 2023/12420 draw the judicial limits on this issue.

What Is the Rule That Draws the Boundary?

The order is clear: the smuggling legislation is looked at first. Law No. 1567 provides that the foreign exchange administrative fine applies if the act does not constitute an offence or misdemeanour under Law No. 5607. In other words, the foreign exchange sanction is subsidiary; it applies where the smuggling provisions do not come into play.

The practical consequence of this rule is as follows: before characterising an act directly as a "foreign exchange misdemeanour", it must be examined whether the same act falls within the scope of Law No. 5607. In practice, the element that draws the distinction is usually the declaration to customs; bringing goods in without a declaration may be treated as smuggling even where the goods are free to import.

How Is the Boundary Between a Foreign Exchange Misdemeanour and a Smuggling Offence Drawn?

The legislation liberalises the import of precious metals, but this freedom does not mean exemption from customs procedures. The fact that goods are free to import does not confer a right to bring them into the country outside customs control. A person who attempts to bring non-standard gold (unprocessed gold in the form of bullion, bars, ingots or scrap below the minimum fineness) into the country without declaring it to customs, for example through the green channel, commits the offence of smuggling under Law No. 5607, the Anti-Smuggling Law. In such a case, the Court of Cassation treats the fact that the offender is not a member of Borsa İstanbul, did not file a declaration and acted for commercial purposes as constituent elements of the smuggling offence.

By contrast, if the import has been declared to the customs administration but other technical rules in the legislation have been breached, the act takes on the character of a misdemeanour. For example, if an authorised intermediary institution that is a member of Borsa İstanbul fails to deliver the standard unprocessed precious metals it has imported to the Exchange's custody vault within the statutory period of three business days, the public prosecutor's office imposes an administrative fine under Law No. 1567. Similarly, passengers may freely bring into the country jewellery carried with them that is not for commercial purposes and whose value does not exceed USD 15,000. For commercial jewellery that exceeds this limit and is not declared at customs, the customs administration imposes the sanction of transfer of ownership to the State or a fine.

Is Entry and Exit Without a Declaration Always an Offence?

No. Law No. 7555 of 20 July 2025 rewrote Article 3 of Law No. 1567. Under the new provision, if the act consists of taking out of or bringing into the country without authorisation the assets listed in Article 1 of the Law, an administrative fine of from half to twice the market value of the goods and assets is imposed. If the act remains at the attempt stage, the fine is reduced by half.

In other words, entry and exit without a declaration also has a counterpart on the foreign exchange side. The boundary is drawn by the subsidiarity rule: if the act constitutes an offence under Law No. 5607, those provisions apply; if it does not, Article 3 of Law No. 1567 applies.

What Are the Practical Consequences of the Differences Between the Two Laws?

A characterisation error takes an act that would end with an administrative fine to imprisonment and confiscation. In the case of foreign exchange misdemeanours, the public prosecutor imposes an administrative fine. The fine may be fixed or proportional; it is administrative in nature, is not entered in the criminal record and is not converted into imprisonment. In addition, an administrative fine is imposed on those engaging in unauthorised activity, and all activities at the business premises are suspended for one month; if the premises were opened solely for the activity subject to authorisation, activities are suspended permanently (Law No. 1567, Article 3(5)).

In the smuggling offence, on the other hand, the criminal courts of first instance hear the case and impose on the defendant imprisonment of one to five years and a judicial fine. The court enters this sentence in the criminal record. The most severe practical consequence arises under the confiscation regime: the court confiscates the gold or precious stones that are the subject of the offence in favour of the Treasury; the vehicle used to transport the smuggled goods may be seized and, where the conditions in the law are met, the vehicle is also confiscated (Law No. 5607, Articles 10 and 13). In a foreign exchange misdemeanour, as a rule, the goods are not confiscated; the administration only calculates a fine on the basis of their value.

What Should Be Done to Avoid Sanctions?

To avoid heavy penalties in import and export processes, those concerned should take the following concrete steps:

• If you are going to import standard or non-standard unprocessed precious metals, as a rule, carry out the transaction through an intermediary institution that is a member of Borsa İstanbul. Under the Inward Processing Regime (Dahilde İşleme Rejimi), however, the import of non-standard metal is free; persons resident in Türkiye (Türkiye'de yerleşik kişi) that are not intermediary institutions may also import up to 40 kilograms of standard gold (standart altın) or 200 kilograms of standard silver per import (Decree No. 32, Article 7(2); Communiqué (tebliğ) No. 2008-32/34, Article 6(8)).
• Physically deliver the unprocessed precious metals you import to the Borsa İstanbul Clearing Centre within three business days following completion of customs procedures. For imports under the Inward Processing Regime, there is no delivery requirement; it is sufficient for the intermediary institution to inform the Exchange in writing within three business days.
• Remember that, as a passenger, you may bring with you jewellery that is not for commercial purposes and whose value does not exceed USD 15,000.
• When taking jewellery worth more than USD 15,000 abroad, have ready the official documents showing that you declared it on entry or bought it in Türkiye.
• When passing through customs gates, choose the red channel for valuables of a commercial nature and make a written declaration.
• Prevent criminal risks from the outset by completing administrative foreign exchange inspection and notification requirements on time.

Warning. The information in this article is for general information purposes and does not constitute a legal opinion. Foreign exchange and precious metals legislation is a frequently changing area; the amounts, rates, thresholds, time limits and dates in this article may change in line with the legislation in force. Verify the latest version of the legislation before every application and transaction. Current texts are available at mevzuat.gov.tr.

Source: Law No. 1567, Article 3 · Law No. 5607, Article 3 · Decree No. 32, Article 7 · Customs Law (Law No. 4458), Articles 235 and 241 · Court of Cassation, Criminal General Assembly, Docket No. 2017/1035 · Court of Cassation, 7th Criminal Chamber, Docket No. 2023/12420

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