Accounting services for transit trade through a Turkish company

Merchanting is not customs transit

In merchanting, the sale contracts and the transfer of title matter: the company buys and resells goods that ship directly from supplier to buyer. Customs transit is a procedure for carrying goods across a territory under customs control and need not involve a sale at all. One supply chain can involve both, so each deal should be described on its own terms.

Typical situations

Companies usually contact us when:

• They buy in China or Europe and sell to Central Asia, with goods never reaching Turkey.
• The accountant is unsure how to evidence a sale with no Turkish customs declaration.
• A bank asks why money arrives from one country and leaves for another.
• Deal margins in the books differ from what the owner sees.
• The tax treatment needs understanding before the model is scaled.

Document flow

Each deal needs its purchase and sale sides linked:

• Supplier contract and buyer contract with compatible delivery terms.
• Supplier invoice and the Turkish company's invoice to the buyer.
• Transport documents showing the route from supplier to buyer.
• Evidence of when title and risk pass under each contract.
• Incoming and outgoing payments with references that tie them to the deal.

Accounting tasks

The core work is reconciliation and consistency:

• Document the deal: who sells to whom, when title passes, who arranges carriage.
• Match purchase and sale per consignment and calculate margin.
• Reconcile payments with invoices and counterparties, including exchange differences.
• Assess tax treatment with the accountant on the facts; no blanket exemption is assumed.
• Prepare deal document packs for the bank.

Deliverables

Within the agreed scope:

• A purchase-to-sale deal register with documents and payments.
• Margin reporting by deal and counterparty.
• A written description of the model for the accountant and bank.
• A list of deals with missing records and what to request.

What we need to get started

For an initial assessment:

• Supplier and buyer countries, type of goods and route.
• Delivery terms in both contracts.
• One sample deal with its full documents and payments.
• Who keeps the books and any questions already raised by the bank.

Who is responsible for what

The SMMM accountant determines and signs the accounting and tax treatment. RelocationTR helps describe the deal, gather and reconcile records and align the position between accountant, bank and owner. Sanctions and export restrictions for specific goods and countries are checked separately.

Not included

Unless agreed separately:

• A legal opinion on applicable sanctions or export controls.
• Customs clearance in the supplier's or buyer's country.
• Any guarantee that a bank will process a payment.
• Tax-reduction structuring.

Pricing factors

The fee depends on volume and complexity:

• Deals and consignments per month.
• Number of countries, currencies and banks.
• How complete the records of past deals are.
• Whether regular bank packs are needed.