Dropshipping in Turkey: Which Rules Apply to Your Shop
Shop in Türkiye, parcel crossing its border or buyer living there? Registrations, invoices, customs and buyer rights, read from Turkish state pages.
Table of Contents
A dropshipping shop sells goods that its supplier posts straight to the buyer. Turkish state pages attach their rules to three things: who sells to the buyer, whether the parcel crosses Türkiye’s border, and where the buyer lives. The light table shows which rules light up for your set-up.
In short · checked 22 October 2026
Three things decide
which rules apply.
- Who sells: the rules follow the seller the buyer deals with, not who holds the stock. In Türkiye that means the tax office, an e-archive invoice and, for your own website, the Ministry of Trade’s e-commerce registry (ETBİS).
- Where the parcel crosses a border: a parcel leaving Türkiye by post or express carrier goes out on a simplified customs declaration. Since 6 February 2026 it may weigh up to 600 kg and be worth up to 30,000 euro.
- Since 1 February 2026: goods that foreign e-commerce platforms sell to individuals in Türkiye go through normal import whatever the value.
- Who buys: a supplier running out of stock is not a reason to cancel an order from a buyer in Türkiye.
- Not named: none of the state pages used here names dropshipping, so this page calls it neither legal nor banned.
- This page lists what Turkish state pages say; for your own case ask an accountant (mali müşavir) or the tax office.
Light table · checked 22 October 2026
Which Turkish rules light up for your shop?
Three colour gels lie on the table: the seller, the parcel and the buyer. A gel lights up when its condition is true for your set-up. Choose a set-up, or move the levers, and read the rules that light up, from offices such as the Ministry of Trade (its e-commerce registry is called ETBİS). Below them is a question to ask, written in Turkish.
Shop
Parcel
Buyer
You sell through
You run it as
Your rule sheet
Rules 13Agencies 3
Ministry of Trade
- Register in the Ministry of Trade’s e-commerce registry (ETBİS) before you start selling. It is free, runs online through e-Devlet, the state’s online portal, and needs no paper. S1 · 04.2023 S2 · 01.2024
- You need the trade-registry or ID number, the tax number, the web address or app, and a registered e-mail address that is valid for legal notices. Traders need a trade-registry record first, sole artisans a craftsmen-registry record. S1 · 04.2023 S2 · 01.2024
- The home page shows the registered e-mail address, e-mail, phone, the business or brand name, the trade chamber and, for traders, the trade name, trade-registry number and head-office address (sole artisans: name, tax number, address). An order guide explains the steps to an order, whether the contract is stored, how the buyer fixes input errors, the privacy rules and any way to settle disputes. S2 · 01.2024
- With no warehouse of your own, the registry has an “outsourced service” choice where you enter the business name of the warehouse you use. S2 · 01.2024
- Changes go in within 30 days. If you sell across borders, report last year’s cross-border sales by country and payment method by the end of March. A fine exists for not registering. S2 · 01.2024
- Sellers on marketplaces in Türkiye have no duty to register in ETBİS. Your details go in the seller space the marketplace gives you: a trade or business name, the registered e-mail address, the tax or registry number and the head-office address. S2 · 01.2024
- Sellers on social-media sites have no duty to register in ETBİS. S2 · 01.2024
- A person living in Türkiye who takes orders through a marketplace abroad, and does not sell inside Türkiye, registers in ETBİS before starting. S2 · 01.2024
Revenue Administration
- The Revenue Administration’s 2020 guide says a sole trader tells the tax office about the start of work within 10 days, online and without a visit, and about changes or closing within one month. For today’s practice, ask the tax office. S11 · 06.2020
- The Revenue Administration’s 2020 guide says limited and joint-stock companies get their tax record from the trade-registry entry, and tell the tax office about changes or closing within one month. For today’s practice, ask the tax office. S11 · 06.2020
- An online seller in the e-archive invoice system sends the invoice electronically. It shows the web address of the sale, the payment method and date, the carrier’s name and ID number, the date sent and a return section, and carries the sentence «Bu satış internet üzerinden yapılmıştır.», “This sale was made over the internet.” From 1 January 2026 a taxpayer outside the system issues e-archive invoices whatever the amount; for taxpayers on the simple method or the business account book the date is 1 January 2027. S10 · 12.2025
- The sole-trader exemption for home-made goods covers goods you make at home with your own hands. Goods bought for resale do not fit it. S12 · 2026
Customs General Directorate
- Paid, final sales that leave by post or express carrier go out on the e-commerce export declaration. The authorised post or express operator files it electronically for sender and recipient. No customs broker, power of attorney or exporters’ association approval is needed. S8 · 11.2023 S6 · 05.2025
- The simplified route covers parcels up to 600 kg gross weight and 30,000 euro in value since 6 February 2026. S5 · 02.2026
- For a first-time sender, the sender’s ID or tax number in the first declaration sets up the record automatically. S7 · 09.2024
- When the operator knows the marketplace where the sale was made, its name goes on the declaration. Data from completed micro-export declarations goes to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, which uses it for VAT refunds. S6 · 05.2025
- Returned goods come in duty-free within 3 years if they left as micro-export, with the same declared contents, any VAT refund repaid, through licensed operators only. S8 · 11.2023
- The state pages read here set no duty on a seller abroad; the export declaration names the sender, so ask your supplier or carrier who is named. S7 · 09.2024
- For a personal-use parcel to a person in Türkiye by post or express carrier, up to 30 kg gross and 1,500 euro, the express operator can file a detailed customs declaration in the buyer’s name. Import duties and taxes must be paid, and the operator may charge storage or broker fees after notifying the buyer. Above 1,500 euro the normal import rates apply. S3 · 03.2026
- Since 1 February 2026 goods that foreign e-commerce platforms sell to individuals go through normal import whatever the value. S4 · 01.2026
- Samples and models, books and printed matter, and medicines or supplements backed by a report or prescription still use the simplified route. S4 · 01.2026
Consumer Protection directorate
- The regulation defines the seller as whoever offers goods to a consumer for trade or business, or acts for someone who does. Holding stock is not part of the definition. S14 · 08.2022
- Before payment the buyer must receive the pre-information: the goods’ main features, the seller’s and the platform’s name, address, phone and tax or registry number, the total price with all taxes, the delivery cost and time, the withdrawal terms with the named return carrier, a notice address, and the consumer court and arbitration board. Key items appear again right before payment. S13 · 08.2026 S14 · 08.2022
- The seller and the platform must be able to prove this was done, and the platform is jointly responsible. Costs the buyer was not told about are not paid by the buyer. S13 · 08.2026 S14 · 08.2022
- Goods arrive in the promised time and never later than 30 days (made-to-order goods excepted). Otherwise the buyer can cancel and gets all payments back within 14 days with legal interest. S13 · 08.2026 S14 · 08.2022
- Out of stock is not an impossibility to deliver. If delivery truly is impossible, tell the buyer within 3 days and refund within 14 days. S13 · 08.2026 S14 · 08.2022
- The seller carries loss and damage until delivery, through the carrier named in the pre-information. S13 · 08.2026 S14 · 08.2022
- The buyer can withdraw within 14 days without a reason or a penalty, counted from receiving the goods. Handing the goods to a carrier is not delivery. If the buyer was never told about withdrawal, the 14 days do not bind; the right ends one year after the period would have ended. S13 · 08.2026 S14 · 08.2022
- The seller refunds all payments, delivery cost included, within 14 days of the goods being handed to the return carrier named in the pre-information, to the same payment method in one go. The buyer sends the goods back within 14 days. No return cost falls on the buyer when the named carrier is used or none was named. S13 · 08.2026 S14 · 08.2022
- No withdrawal for goods whose price moves with markets (gold), made-to-order goods, quickly spoiling goods, opened hygiene goods (underwear, earrings), periodicals, dated leisure and travel bookings, instant remote services and downloads, and, once opened, discs and other digital-content goods, software, computer supplies such as toner and cartridges, and books. Phones, smart watches, tablets and computers can be withdrawn; normal use does not remove the right. S13 · 08.2026 S14 · 08.2022
- A platform keeps a request and notice system open at all times, a withdrawal form with instant confirmation, and records for three years. It is jointly liable for the refund when it holds the money. S13 · 08.2026 S14 · 08.2022
None of the Turkish state pages used here puts a rule on this set-up.
The buyer’s own country sets its duties, VAT and consumer rules. These pages do not cover them.
The question to ask
To the tax office or an accountant
Merhaba, şahıs şirketi olarak çevrimiçi satış yapmayı planlıyorum. Satışları kendi web sitemden yapacağım. Ürünler tedarikçiden doğrudan alıcıya gönderilecek, stok tutmayacağım. Alıcılarım yurt dışında yaşıyor. Kargo Türkiye’den yurt dışına gidecek. Vergi dairesine işe başlama bildirimi ve e-Arşiv fatura için ne yapmam gerekiyor? Satıştan önce ETBİS kaydını nasıl yapacağım ve internet sitemde hangi bilgilerin yer alması gerekiyor? Mikro ihracat için e-ticaret gümrük beyanını (ETGB) kim yapacak ve KDV iadesi için nelere dikkat etmeliyim? Hangi belgeleri hangi sırayla hazırlamalıyım?
Hello, as a sole trader I plan to sell online. I will sell from my own website. The products will go from the supplier straight to the buyer; I will hold no stock. My buyers live abroad. The parcel will go from Türkiye to another country. What do I have to do for the start-of-work notice to the tax office and for the e-archive invoice? How do I register in ETBİS before the first sale, and what must my website show? Who files the e-commerce export declaration (ETGB) for micro-export, and what should I watch for with VAT refunds? Which documents should I prepare, and in what order?
Each tag shows the source and the month it is dated: S5 · 02.2026 is source 5 in the list below. Sources
If the parcel leaves Türkiye
Small parcels that leave Türkiye by post or express carrier as paid, final sales are called micro-export. They go out on the e-commerce export declaration (ETGB, short for Elektronik Ticaret Gümrük Beyanı). The authorised post or express operator files it electronically for sender and recipient; no customs broker, power of attorney or exporters’ association approval is needed, says the Ministry of Trade’s e-export course.
- Limits: up to 600 kg gross weight and 30,000 euro in value since 6 February 2026, in the Customs General Directorate’s circular of that date. Older Ministry pages show lower limits.
- First parcel and VAT: the sender’s ID or tax number in the first declaration sets up a first-time sender’s record. Data from completed micro-export declarations goes to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, which uses it for VAT refunds.
- Returns: goods that come back are duty-free within 3 years if they left as micro-export, with the same declared contents and any VAT refund repaid.
If your shop is abroad
The state pages read here set no duty on a seller abroad; the export declaration names the sender, so ask your supplier or carrier who is named. Duties and VAT in the buyer’s country are set there, and these pages do not cover them.
If the shop is in Türkiye
A shop in Türkiye deals with two offices before the first sale: the tax office and, for an own website or app, the Ministry of Trade’s registry.
- Tax office: the Revenue Administration’s 2020 guide says a sole trader tells the tax office within 10 days of starting work, online, and a company’s tax record comes from the trade-registry entry. It is a 2020 guide, so ask the tax office about today’s practice.
- Invoice: an online seller in the e-archive invoice system sends the invoice electronically, with the web address of the sale, the carrier’s name and ID number, a return section and the sentence «Bu satış internet üzerinden yapılmıştır.» (“This sale was made over the internet.”). From 1 January 2026 a taxpayer outside the system issues e-archive invoices whatever the amount (for some small taxpayers from 1 January 2027; the light table names them).
- Home-made goods: the sole-trader exemption for online sales covers goods you make at home with your own hands. Goods bought for resale do not fit it.
Whether you register in ETBİS depends on where you sell:
| Where you sell | ETBİS registration | What the Ministry says |
|---|---|---|
| Your own website or app | Yes, before you start selling | Free, online through e-Devlet. You need the trade-registry or ID number, the tax number, the web address or app, and a registered electronic mail (KEP) address that is valid for legal notices. |
| A marketplace in Türkiye | No | Sellers on marketplaces in Türkiye have no duty to register or report. |
| Social-media sites | No | Sellers on social-media sites have no duty to register or report. |
| A marketplace abroad | Yes, if you live in Türkiye and do not sell inside Türkiye | A person living in Türkiye who takes orders through a marketplace abroad registers before starting. |
For an own website, the Ministry’s answers also list what the home page and the order guide must show; the light table has the list. Changes go in within 30 days, and a fine exists for not registering.
If the parcel comes into Türkiye
For a parcel by post or express carrier to a person in Türkiye, the Ministry of Trade’s customs answers (5 March 2026) say the express operator can file a detailed customs declaration in the buyer’s name for personal-use goods up to 30 kg gross and 1,500 euro. Import duties and taxes must be paid, and storage or broker fees may follow a notice. Above 1,500 euro the normal import rates apply.
- Since 1 February 2026: goods sold through foreign e-commerce platforms to individuals go through normal import whatever the value, up to 30 euro included.
- Still on the simplified route: samples and models, books and printed matter, and medicines or supplements backed by a report or prescription.
The rules for small parcels changed several times, which is why older pages show other numbers:
| Date | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| End of 2016 | The 30-euro limit for post and express parcels takes effect. Before: 75 euro. | Ministry of Trade, 4 January 2017 |
| 20 October 2025 | Toys, shoes and leather goods leave the simplified declaration, whatever the value. | Ministry of Trade, 7 January 2026 |
| 7 January 2026 | The Ministry announces that from 1 February all goods sold through foreign e-commerce platforms to individuals go through normal import. | Ministry of Trade, 7 January 2026 |
| 1 February 2026 | The rule starts: normal import for those goods, whatever the value. | Ministry of Trade, 7 January 2026 |
| 6 February 2026 | The Customs General Directorate’s circular takes effect and raises the micro-export limits. Before: 300 kg, 15,000 euro. Now: 600 kg, 30,000 euro. | Customs General Directorate, circular in force 6 February 2026 |
If the buyer lives in Türkiye
The Distance Contracts Regulation and the Consumer Protection directorate’s guide of 17 August 2026 set what a buyer in Türkiye must be told, how fast the goods must arrive and when the buyer can send them back.
- Before payment: the seller and the platform give the pre-information: what the goods are, who sells and who runs the platform, the total price with all taxes, the delivery cost and time, the withdrawal terms with the named return carrier, and where to complain. They must be able to prove it, and the platform is jointly responsible. Costs the buyer was not told about are not paid by the buyer.
- Delivery: in the promised time and never later than 30 days (made-to-order goods excepted), or the buyer cancels and gets all payments back within 14 days with legal interest. Out of stock is not an impossibility: if delivery truly is impossible, tell the buyer within 3 days and refund within 14.
- Loss and damage: the seller carries them until delivery, through the carrier named in the pre-information.
Withdrawal and refund
The buyer can withdraw within 14 days without a reason or a penalty, counted from receiving the goods. The seller refunds all payments, delivery cost included, within 14 days of the goods being handed to the return carrier named in the pre-information. The buyer sends the goods back within 14 days, at no cost when the named carrier is used or none was named.
If the buyer was never told about withdrawal, the 14 days do not bind, and the right ends one year after the period would have ended.
Some goods cannot be withdrawn: made-to-order goods, quickly spoiling goods, opened hygiene goods (underwear, earrings), goods whose price moves with markets (gold), periodicals, dated leisure and travel bookings, instant services and downloads, and, once opened, discs and other digital-content goods, software, computer supplies such as toner and cartridges, and books. Phones, smart watches, tablets and computers can be withdrawn.
“My supplier ships the parcel, so my supplier is the seller.”
The regulation defines the seller as whoever offers goods to a consumer for trade or business, or acts for someone who does. Holding stock or posting the parcel is not part of the definition.
“If my supplier is out of stock, I can cancel the order.”
Out of stock is not an impossibility to deliver. If delivery truly is impossible, the buyer is told within 3 days and refunded within 14 days.
What this page does not cover
This page reads Turkish state pages and stops there. It does not cover what to sell, which supplier or marketplace to use, how to take payments, prices and fees, or the duties, VAT and consumer law of the buyer’s country. How to set up a company has its own page: starting a company in Türkiye.
Quick answers
Do Turkish rules mention dropshipping by name?
None of the state pages used here names it, and none calls it legal or banned. They set rules by seller, parcel and buyer, which is how this page sorts them.
Do I need to register in ETBİS if I sell on a marketplace?
On a marketplace in Türkiye, no: the Ministry of Trade says sellers have no duty to register or report. On your own website or app, yes, before you start selling.
Who is the seller if my supplier posts the parcel?
The regulation defines the seller by offering the goods to the consumer for trade or business, not by holding stock or posting the parcel.
How long does a buyer in Türkiye have to withdraw?
14 days from receiving the goods, with no reason and no penalty.
Sources and dates checked
The pages below were checked on 22 October 2026. Each fact on this page comes from one of them. The tags S1 to S14 in the light table are the numbers of this list.
- Elektronik Ticaret Bilgi Sistemi (ETBİS) — Ministry of Trade (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı), Domestic Trade: how an online business registers in the e-commerce information system, through e-Devlet, page dated 18 April 2023, checked 22 October 2026
- Elektronik Ticaret (sıkça sorulan sorular) — Ministry of Trade (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı), Domestic Trade: frequently asked questions on e-commerce (who registers, what the home page and the order guide show, changes and yearly reports). It applies Law no. 6563 and the regulation on e-commerce intermediary service providers and e-commerce service providers (29 December 2022), FAQ dated 22 January 2024, checked 22 October 2026
- Posta ve Hızlı Kargo Muafiyeti — Ministry of Trade (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı), Customs: frequently asked questions on parcels by post and express carrier to a person in Türkiye, FAQ dated 5 March 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- E-ithalatta Basitleştirilmiş Gümrük Beyannamesi kapsamının değiştirilmesine ilişkin yeni düzenleme hakkında basın açıklaması — Ministry of Trade (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı), press office: statement on goods sold through foreign e-commerce platforms (the circular of 20 October 2025 and the change from 1 February 2026), statement dated 7 January 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- 2022/9 Sayılı Genelgede Değişiklik (Genelge) — Customs General Directorate (Gümrükler Genel Müdürlüğü), circular amending circular 2022/9 on post and express carrier customs procedures: the micro-export limits and the import wording, in force 6 February 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- Basitleştirilmiş Gümrük Beyannamesi Yükümlü Beyan Kılavuzu — Customs General Directorate: guide for those who declare on the simplified customs declaration (how the operator declares, the marketplace name, VAT-refund data). Its numbers are older than source 5 and are not used, guide announced 26 May 2025, checked 22 October 2026
- Ticaret Bakanlığından Mikro İhracat Yapmak İsteyenlere Kolaylaştırıcı Adım — Ministry of Trade (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı): news on first-time micro-exporters (the sender’s ID or tax number in the first declaration sets up the record), news dated 16 September 2024, checked 22 October 2026
- Modül 16: İade Süreçleri ve Müşteri Hizmetleri — Ministry of Trade (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı), e-export course, module 16: what micro-export is, who files the declaration, no broker or power of attorney, returned goods. Its limits are older than source 5 and are not used, course of 10 November 2023, checked 22 October 2026
- 2009/15481 sayılı Bakanlar Kurulu Kararının 45. maddesinde … 75 Avro’luk muafiyet sınırının 30 Avro olarak değiştirilmesi — Ministry of Trade (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı), press office: the 30-euro limit for post and express parcels, in force since the end of December 2016 (before: 75 euro), announcement dated 4 January 2017, checked 22 October 2026
- Vergi Usul Kanunu Genel Tebliği (Sıra No: 509), güncel hali — Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı), consolidated tax procedure communiqué no. 509, amended up to no. 589: the e-archive invoice for online sales, its contents and sentence, the 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2027 dates, consolidated text, in force 31 December 2025, checked 22 October 2026
- İşe başlayan ve işi terk eden mükellefler için temel bilgiler — Revenue Administration, taxpayer services: guide for people who start or stop work (start notice within 10 days, companies’ tax record from the trade registry, changes and closing within one month). Today’s practice is for the tax office to say, guide of June 2020, checked 22 October 2026
- Evlerde üretilen ürünlerin satışında esnaf muaflığı — Revenue Administration infographic: the sole-trader exemption for goods made at home and sold online, infographic with 2026 values, checked 22 October 2026
- Mesafeli sözleşmeler hakkında bilgilendirme — Ministry of Trade (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı), Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance directorate general: the consumer guide to distance contracts, page dated 17 August 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- Mesafeli Sözleşmeler Yönetmeliği — Distance Contracts Regulation, as the Consumer Protection directorate general hosts it (published 27 November 2014, amended 23 August 2022; the amendments in force since 1 January 2024 are in its footnotes): articles 4 (seller), 5 (pre-information), 9–10 (withdrawal), 12 (refund), 15 (exceptions), 16 (delivery), 17 (loss and damage), amended 23 August 2022, checked 22 October 2026
