Customs Exemption for Overseas Shopping Abolished: What It Means for E-Commerce

Türkiye’s long-standing €30 customs exemption has been abolished, so all products brought from abroad via postal services or express courier are now subject to customs duties, regardless of their value. A significant regulation affecting overseas shopping is coming into force.

This decision directly affects not only individual consumers, but also e-commerce businesses, entrepreneurs planning to launch new e-commerce brands, and companies operating with overseas sourcing models.

What is a customs exemption?

A customs exemption refers to the partial or full exemption of certain goods brought into the country from customs duties and some additional financial liabilities under specific conditions.

Put simply: it allows a product that would normally be subject to tax to enter the country tax-free within limits defined by law.

What has changed in the customs exemption?

With the new regulation:

• The era of duty-free overseas shopping has ended
• All imported products are now subject to tax, regardless of price
• Additional taxes will apply to products within the scope of Special Consumption Tax (SCT)
• Customs procedures will be carried out in a more comprehensive and detailed manner

This change means a significant increase in costs, especially for low-value purchases.

How will consumer behaviour change?

The long-standing perception of “cheap overseas shopping” is weakening with this regulation.

• For low-priced items, the total cost can multiply due to taxes and processing fees
• Delivery times may become longer
• Unexpected customs charges can reduce customer satisfaction

As a result, consumers are expected to shift toward local e-commerce platforms and domestic sellers.

What are the impacts on e-commerce businesses?

1. Overseas sourcing models become more challenging

Costs increase substantially for e-commerce businesses operating through dropshipping or direct overseas sourcing. Business models that previously offered a price advantage may lose competitiveness.

This is especially true for those who:

• Import products from China, the US or non-EU countries
• Sell low-priced, high-volume products

Such businesses will need to reassess their strategies.

2. Local inventory and domestic sourcing gain an advantage

In the new era, the following models become far more sustainable:

• Selling from inventory stored within Türkiye
• Working with local manufacturers or distributors
• Importing products in advance and selling from local warehouses

This creates a competitive advantage for local e-commerce brands.

3. Pricing and profit margins must be recalculated

Taxes, customs clearance and logistics costs may:

• Reduce per-product profit margins
• Make price increases unavoidable

At this point, e-commerce companies need to focus more on value-based pricing, product bundles, and campaign and loyalty strategies.

A new era begins in e-commerce

The removal of the customs exemption for overseas shopping is reshaping Türkiye’s e-commerce ecosystem. This regulation:

• Changes consumer behaviour
• Makes overseas-sourced e-commerce more difficult
• Creates new opportunities for local sellers and brands

For e-commerce businesses, this process can become not a threat, but a major transformation and opportunity when managed with the right strategies.

At Moon Workshop, we see this new era not as a crisis but as a transformation opportunity when managed well. Through performance-driven advertising management, conversion rate optimization and user experience improvements, we focus on helping brands make better use of the traffic they already have. In a period where every visitor and every unit of ad spend matters more, we build Meta and Google Ads campaigns with a profit-focused approach and review the entire sales journey, from product pages to the checkout step. Alongside that, we develop content and brand strategies that strengthen local brand perception, build trust and establish transparent communication with consumers.