Sending Prescription Medicines and Supplements to Turkey by Courier in 2026: €1,500 Limit, Prescription Rules and 30%/60% Tax
1. Exact legal basis for medicines sent to Türkiye by post or express cargo
The special personal-medicine route is not a general online-shopping exemption. Its specific customs foundation is Article 62 of Decision No. 2009/15481 on the implementation of certain provisions of Customs Law No. 4458. The Ministry of Trade’s 2026 postal and express-cargo guidance expressly identifies Article 62 for medicine-type goods and dietary supplements whose value does not exceed €1,500.
Article 126 of the same Decision governs the postal and express-cargo declaration framework. Circular No. 2022/9 of the General Directorate of Customs regulates the declaration procedure. The Ministry amended that Circular on 30 January 2026 so that the simplified import declaration expressly refers to medicine-type goods and dietary supplements within Article 62 and with a value not exceeding €1,500.
The customs route therefore has two separate legal layers. Article 62 defines the relevant personal-goods treatment. Article 126 and the postal/express circular determine how an authorized postal administration or express cargo operator can make the declaration.
The recipient must also comply with the substantive health and product rules. Customs clearance does not convert an unlawful or falsely described product into a lawful medicine or supplement. The product’s nature must match the documents submitted to customs.
2. Core conditions that must all be satisfied
The shipment must be addressed to a real person in Türkiye. It must be for that person’s personal use and must not have a commercial quantity or character. The customs value must not exceed €1,500 for the shipment under the simplified medicine/supplement route.
Medicine-type goods require the legally relevant medical evidence. For supplements and sports foods, the Ministry’s current guidance requires the specified health report, prescription or—in the national-athlete route—the athlete documents described below.
The goods must arrive through post or an authorized express cargo operator and the shipment must be declared correctly. A seller’s description such as “health product” or “gift” is not enough. The actual product name, quantity and value should be identifiable from the invoice and supporting documents.
Commercial quantities are outside this personal route. A person cannot import stock for sale simply by obtaining a prescription for one of the products. Customs examines quantity, repetition, packaging and the total circumstances.
3. Medical report or prescription requirements
The Ministry’s 2026 FAQ states that a person who uses a qualifying supplement or sports food on a doctor’s recommendation must submit either a report issued by a healthcare institution concerning the medical condition or a prescription showing the doctor’s recommendation.
The same evidence principle governs personal medicine shipments. The medical document must establish a real personal-treatment relationship. The recipient’s identity and the product identified in the shipment must be consistent with the report or prescription.
The Ministry states that a report or prescription issued within the last one year as of the date on which the goods are delivered to the recipient is sufficient for the supplement/sports-food route. A new report or prescription is not required for every shipment while the document remains within that rule and continues to support the product used by the person.
A prescription is therefore not a decorative attachment. Customs uses it to establish why the product is being imported under the personal health route. A document for an unrelated medicine does not support a different supplement or drug.
If the quantity is inconsistent with personal treatment, customs can reject the personal characterization even though a prescription exists. The non-commercial condition remains independent from the medical-document condition.
4. Prescriptions and medical reports issued abroad are accepted
The Ministry expressly states that a report, doctor’s report or prescription issued by a healthcare institution abroad can be accepted as a valid document. This is important for foreign nationals living in Türkiye and Turkish citizens receiving treatment in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, the United States or another country.
The document must still be intelligible and verifiable. The recipient should provide a clear copy showing the patient, issuing doctor or healthcare institution, date and product or medical recommendation. Where customs needs a Turkish explanation or translation to verify the document, producing it promptly avoids delay.
A foreign prescription does not create permission to import a prohibited narcotic or other specially controlled substance outside the applicable controlled-drug rules. The postal medicine route and controlled-substance legislation operate separately.
The recipient should keep both the prescription and the original purchase evidence. A prescription proves medical need; it does not by itself prove the customs value paid for the product.
5. Dietary supplements and sports foods: Article 62 plus product definitions
The Ministry’s current FAQ refers to “takviye edici gıdalar” as defined in Article 3(1)(65) of Law No. 5996 on Veterinary Services, Plant Health, Food and Feed. It also refers to sports foods defined under the Turkish Food Codex Communiqué No. 2003/42.
A qualifying person using these products on medical advice must present the health report or prescription. The product must remain within the €1,500 shipment limit and must be non-commercial in quantity and nature.
The Ministry provides an additional route for national athletes. A national athlete must present the National Athlete Certificate and the license document bearing the current season’s federation visa, which proves active-athlete status under the Ministry’s published conditions.
The Ministry also addresses the situation in which a supplement or sports food intended for the person named in the medical report arrives in the name of a close relative. Entry can be permitted on the basis of written declarations from both persons when the published conditions are met.
This rule should not be expanded to ordinary online supplement purchases without medical documentation. The 2026 customs system specifically ties this route to the required medical or athlete evidence.
6. Current 2026 tax rates: 30% from the EU and 60% from other countries
For qualifying medicine-type goods and supplements within the €1,500 limit, the Ministry applies a single and fixed tax according to the country from which the goods arrive directly.
The rate is 30% when the goods arrive directly from a Member State of the European Union. The rate is 60% when the goods arrive from another country. If the goods are included in List IV attached to Special Consumption Tax Law No. 4760, an additional 20% is added to the applicable fixed rate.
The test concerns the direct country of dispatch under the customs rule, not the recipient’s citizenship. A Turkish citizen receiving a qualifying medicine directly from Germany falls within the EU-direct rate. A German citizen receiving a product directly from the United States does not obtain the EU rate merely because of nationality.
Older online articles showing previous postal rates should not be used for 2026 calculations. The Ministry’s FAQ dated 5 March 2026 states the current 30% and 60% rates.
7. Customs value includes freight to the Turkish entry point
The Ministry’s 2026 postal guidance expressly explains how shipping costs affect value. Transport costs up to the port or place of entry in Türkiye are added to the value of postal or express-cargo goods.
If the invoice or payment document separately identifies the actual price of the goods and the freight charge, customs can use those documented components under the applicable valuation rules. If freight is included in the delivery term but is not shown separately in the documents, the Ministry states that an equivalent freight amount of €3 is added to the price actually paid or payable.
This matters when a shipment is close to €1,500. A recipient should not calculate only the website product price and ignore legally relevant transport costs.
Keep the seller invoice, order confirmation and bank/card record. If customs rejects the declared value, request the valuation basis in writing. An incorrect valuation can affect whether the simplified route applies and can affect the tax amount.
8. Gross 30 kg and five shipments per calendar month
The Ministry’s current postal/express framework states that, excluding diplomatic goods and passenger goods, qualifying postal or express shipments under the exemption framework must not exceed 30 kilograms gross.
The Ministry also states that use of the exemption is limited to five shipments per person in a calendar month. The limit is applied to the recipient and is designed to prevent repeated commercial imports from being presented as personal parcels.
A recipient should therefore monitor the number of qualifying parcels arriving in the same month, especially where different sellers or family members send separate packages. Using different couriers does not create a separate personal quota for each carrier.
Where the quantity, weight or frequency falls outside the simplified personal framework, the goods must be processed under the appropriate ordinary customs procedure.
9. How the courier clears the shipment and what fees can be charged
Where the conditions for indirect representation are met, PTT or an authorized express cargo operator can make the customs declaration for the recipient. The operator informs the recipient of the single and fixed tax and, once payment is accepted, can collect the tax in connection with delivery.
The Ministry’s FAQ also places limits on certain carrier charges in simplified declaration transactions. It states that operators acting under indirect representation within the simplified customs declaration cannot demand fees under labels such as customs-brokerage service, delivery order or terminal fee for those transactions. The Ministry also states that no storage fee may be charged for the first three days beginning from the notification that the shipment has arrived.
Other lawful charges can depend on the service and procedure actually provided. If a courier issues an invoice, the recipient should identify precisely which amount is public customs tax and which amount is a private logistics/service charge.
A dispute with a private courier about a contractual fee is not automatically the same as an objection against a customs assessment. The legal route depends on who imposed the charge.
10. What Article 62 does not authorize
The medicine/supplement route does not authorize every product sold online as a “health product.” Customs examines the real product and the legal category. Products requiring separate health authorization, controlled-drug permission or another regulatory approval remain subject to those rules.
The route does not authorize tobacco or alcoholic products by post. It does not authorize a mobile telephone by post merely because the recipient offers to pay customs tax. It does not create a general cosmetics exemption. Those categories have separate restrictions in the Ministry’s postal rules.
A prescription also does not legalize commercial quantities. A package containing wholesale quantities or repeated identical packages can be treated under ordinary commercial import rules even where the recipient has a medical document.
False invoices, intentionally understated values or inaccurate product descriptions create separate customs-penalty risks. The recipient should insist that the seller describe the product and value accurately.
11. Customs refusal, wrong tax rate and Article 242 objection
If customs or the operator refuses delivery, first identify the formal reason: missing prescription, value above €1,500, commercial quantity, product restriction, shipment-count limit, weight limit or another customs issue.
If the problem can lawfully be cured with a missing document, submit the document through the operator/customs channel without allowing formal deadlines to expire. A foreign prescription or medical report should be supplied in a verifiable form.
Where customs issues a formal duty, penalty or administrative decision, Customs Law No. 4458 Article 242 provides the administrative objection route. The ordinary statutory objection period is 15 days from notification.
A rate dispute should prove the direct dispatch country. A valuation dispute should include the invoice, payment evidence and freight document. A personal-use dispute should include the prescription/report and evidence showing the quantity is consistent with personal treatment.
If the dispute concerns the operator’s private fee rather than a customs assessment, Article 242 is not the correct route merely because the shipment passed through customs. The invoice and service agreement must be examined separately.
12. Practical checklist for international patients and families
Before ordering, confirm that the product is legally a medicine, supplement or sports food that can use this route. Obtain the medical report or prescription before shipment. Make sure the recipient name matches the supporting evidence, or prepare the written declarations required by the Ministry where a qualifying close relative receives the goods.
Keep the total customs value within €1,500 and verify the gross weight. Track how many qualifying shipments have arrived in the same calendar month. Ask the seller for a detailed invoice showing product, quantity, price and freight.
When the courier requests documents, provide them promptly. When tax is calculated, verify whether the goods arrived directly from an EU Member State or another country and whether the applied 30% or 60% rate is correct.
For the broader postal regime, see our guide to books sent to Türkiye by post or express cargo and our Turkey Customs Rules 2026 guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can prescription medicines be sent to Türkiye by DHL, FedEx, UPS or PTT?
Yes, when the product and shipment satisfy Article 62 of Decision No. 2009/15481, the personal/non-commercial conditions, the €1,500 limit and the required medical-document rules.
What is the customs tax in 2026?
The current fixed rate is 30% for qualifying goods arriving directly from an EU Member State and 60% for goods arriving from other countries, with an additional 20% for goods in List IV of Special Consumption Tax Law No. 4760.
Is a foreign prescription valid?
Yes. The Ministry states that reports and prescriptions issued by healthcare institutions abroad can be accepted as valid documents.
Do I need a new prescription for every supplement shipment?
The Ministry states that a report or prescription issued within the preceding one year as of delivery is sufficient under the qualifying supplement/sports-food route; a new document is not required for each shipment during that period where it continues to support the product.
Can my relative receive the supplement for me?
Under the Ministry’s published rule, where the supplement or sports food is for the person named in the report/prescription but arrives in a close relative’s name, entry can be allowed on written declarations from both persons when the other conditions are met.
Is there a 30 kg limit?
Yes. The current postal/express framework applies a 30 kg gross limit to the relevant simplified shipments, excluding the stated exceptions such as diplomatic and passenger goods.
How many shipments can one person receive under the exemption?
The Ministry’s current FAQ limits use of the exemption to five shipments per person in a calendar month.
Does the €430 passenger allowance apply to courier shipments?
No. The Ministry expressly states that the €430 passenger gift allowance is not a postal/express-cargo exemption.
Can a courier charge storage from the first day?
The Ministry states that, in the specified simplified-declaration context, no storage fee may be charged for the first three days beginning from notification to the recipient that the shipment has arrived.
What is the objection period against a formal customs decision?
Customs Law Article 242 provides an ordinary 15-day administrative objection period from notification.
Official legal framework used in this guide
- Customs Law No. 4458, including Article 242 on administrative objections.
- Decision No. 2009/15481, especially Articles 62 and 126 for the personal medicine/supplement and postal/express declaration framework.
- General Directorate of Customs Circular No. 2022/9, as amended on 30 January 2026.
- Law No. 5996, Article 3(1)(65), for the statutory definition referenced by the Ministry for dietary supplements.
- Special Consumption Tax Law No. 4760, List IV, where applicable.
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