How to Seize My Receivables in Turkey

*Deniz Mete Özcan

In connection with the latest developments in the world, Turkey has become a trade center for many companies. One of the situations that we, as international lawyers encounter in practice is that the debtor in Turkey does not pay enough attention to the creditor abroad and resists paying his debt.

First of all, what we want to mention about this issue is that different burdens such as the obligation to warn or notify in different cases may be imposed on the creditors by law. In such cases, if the creditor does not fulfill these obligations on time, he/she may lose his/her right to claim his/her receivable by legal means. That is why, in case of a dispute with the person with whom you do business in Turkey, we recommend that you consult a lawyer who is an expert in these matters without delay. Now that we have conveyed one of the situations we frequently encounter to you and made our necessary warnings, we will answer the question of how to receive your receivables through compulsory execution in Turkey, which is the subject of the article, at this point.

First of all, it should be noted that there are more than one forced execution methods in Turkey, these are divided into three as a proceeding without judgement, proceeding with judgement and pawn foreclosure. In our article, we will exclude the pursuit through the foreclosure and explain to you briefly the proceeding with and without judgement.

In the case of proceeding with the judgement, the subject of the enforcement is performance of the court decision. Therefore, in order to apply this way, first of all, a lawsuit should be filed in the competent court and the court should decide in your favor. In order for the receivables that are not subject to money to be followed up, a judgment must first be obtained from the court on this issue. For example, suppose you buy a ton of fabric from a Turkish manufacturer. Even though you have made the payment in the past, you could not get the product from the manufacturer. However, considering the recently rising fabric prices, it will be a more reasonable option for you to seize the goods in kind rather than paying in cash, and if the debtor has the opportunity to perform in kind, then you can file a lawsuit and seize the said receivable in kind after receiving the decision.

Another enforcement method that we will talk about in this article is proceeding without judgement. The Enforcement Bankruptcy Law of Turkiye Republic has regulated the execution without judgment only for money and collateral receivables. You can directly apply for enforcement proceedings without applying to the court in this enforcement process. It is not necessary for this receivable to be subject to a decree or even a document in order to follow up your receivable through proceedıng wıthout judgement. It should not be forgotten that the legislator has given the debtor the right to object since he did not request any document from the creditor in the proceeding without judgement.

We can say from our experience that many merchants are hesitant to pay their debts due to the lack of communication and the fact that they think that the incident will not go to court. As Seyhan Law Office, we can help you get your receivables as soon as possible and in line with your interests with our Russian, Turkish and English speaking professional lawyers and financial experts. If you have a problem with such a matter, you can contact us via WhattsApp or Telgram.

INCOTERMS – International Commerce Terms – The importance of International Commerce Terms in International Trade

INCOTERMS – International Trade Terms – A list of International Trade Terms established by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). These are the conditions that determine the responsibilities of the parties in international trade activities. It is widely used in international commercial activities, and its use is often encouraged by courts, lawyers, and commercial advisory agencies.

These are three-letter terms. The most important purpose of these is in International Carriage of Goods: to determine the activities, costs and risks. INCOTERMS add clarity to contracts regarding liability – that is, the transport costs of the goods up to the destination of the goods and the risks associated with it.

INCOTERMS are used by the world’s states and various national and international organizations to identify the most common practices in international trade. In this way, disputes that may arise due to differences in foreign trade legislation in different countries are eliminated. Therefore, they are used in commercial contracts all over the world.

INCOTERMS are only determined by the ICC because they are a registered trademark of the ICC.

The first International Trade Regulations were published by the ICC in 1923, but were first published as INCOTERMS in 1936.

There are specific terminology used in incoterms:

Delivery: It is the moment when the risk of damage or loss related to the goods passes from the seller to the buyer.

Arrival: It is the moment when the transportation is paid in incoterms.

Free: The seller has the responsibility to take the goods to a designated address and deliver them to the carrier.

Carrier: any person who, in a contract of carriage, undertakes to carry out or cause to be carried out the carriage by rail, road, air, sea, inland waterway or a combination of such modes

Freight Forwarder: A firm/party that adjusts or helps arrange transportation

Terminal: It can be an indoor or outdoor area, stock, dock, road, railway or air cargo terminal

To clear for export: Sending the export declaration of the carrier and obtaining the export permit.

INCOTERMS are a set of three-letter trade terms used in international trade to clearly define the responsibilities of buyers and sellers. There are 11 different INCOTERMS, and each one outlines the responsibilities for delivering goods from the seller to the buyer.

EXW (Ex Works) – The seller’s only obligation is to make the goods available at their premises. The buyer bears all costs and risks involved in taking the goods from there to the destination.

FCA (Free Carrier) – The seller delivers the goods to the carrier nominated by the buyer at the seller’s premises. The seller is responsible for loading the goods on the means of transport. The buyer assumes all costs and risks from this point onwards.

FAS (Free Alongside Ship) – The seller delivers the goods alongside the ship at the port of shipment. The buyer assumes all costs and risks of loss or damage to the goods from this point onwards.

FOB (Free on Board) – The seller delivers the goods on board the ship at the port of shipment. The buyer assumes all costs and risks of loss or damage to the goods from this point onwards.

CFR (Cost and Freight) – The seller delivers the goods on board the ship at the port of shipment. The seller pays the cost of transport to the port of destination and assumes the risk of loss or damage to the goods until they are on board the ship.

CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) – The seller delivers the goods on board the ship at the port of shipment. The seller pays the cost of transport to the port of destination, arranges for and pays for the insurance and assumes the risk of loss or damage to the goods until they are on board the ship.

CPT (Carriage Paid To) – The seller delivers the goods to the carrier at the port of shipment. The seller pays the cost of transport to the port of destination and assumes the risk of loss or damage to the goods until they are handed over to the first carrier.

CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To) – The seller delivers the goods to the carrier at the port of shipment. The seller pays the cost of transport and arranges and pays for the insurance to the port of destination and assumes the risk of loss or damage to the goods until they are handed over to the first carrier.

DAP (Delivered at Place) – The seller delivers the goods to the place specified by the buyer. The seller is responsible for all costs and risks involved in getting the goods to the specified place.

DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) – The seller delivers the goods to the place specified by the buyer and is responsible for unloading them. The buyer assumes all costs and risks involved in getting the goods from the port of arrival to their final destination.

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) – The seller delivers the goods to the place specified by the buyer, clears them for import and pays any customs duties and taxes. The buyer assumes all costs and risks involved in getting the goods from the port of arrival to their final destination.

It’s important to note that these terms only define the responsibilities for delivering goods and do not cover the actual contract of sale. The parties involved in a transaction must agree on which INCOTERM to use and define the specific details of their agreement.

 Author and Translator of the Text: Doruk Arslan