FLAT SCREEN TV'S IN KALKAN, TURKEY

[Mister Barnacle]

Oh Blow!!

We were hoping to bring out a mini hi-fi for our apartment next time across in April. We searched Kalkan & Kas when we were out recently - very little choice and when we found something it was about three times the price of something similar in the UK.

Anybody got any ideas?

[DRBD]

Take a chance - if its small enough it can go hand luggage, if you have room in the suit case all well and good - keep your fingers x''d, breathe in &  have a slug of Bombay Saffhire   

[jayne]

Have been reading with interest this thread about electronic equipment not being allowed into Turkey from UK. Does anyone know why? and what constitutes electronic? and where are you supposed to declare it?

Sorry if these questions seem dumb but we take all number or electrical bits and bobs with us to Kalkan, i.e hair straightners, hair dryer, speaker for iPod and so on. I''m now scared I''m breaking the law! Are these electronic or is it just computery stuff, TVs and DVDs?

[alantj]

If it included computers, I would expect the queues to be about 10 deep at Dalaman - judging by friends the other people we let our villa to the average family now seems to travel with at least 1 laptop and a couple of games consules.

[Charlie]

Coming home from Kalkan last July my daughter was stopped after having her hand luggage x rayed on arrival at Dalaman.  She had ipod speakers in her bag and when questioned about them explained that she had brought them into the country with her and was taking them home.  The guard detailed the info on a form and asked her to sign this.  I suppose legally we should have declared them on arrival into the country.  I know now I shouldn''t have but I have carried several pieces of electrical goods into Turkey and fortunately for me I have never been stopped.  Having said that I did believe if they were for my own use (even if this meant leaving them in our place there) that there wasn''t a problem.  Would probably be more worried about it now that I know the rules!

[vicksen]

Jayne & Alan - you should declare electronic devices at customs at Dalaman, after you have collected your baggage from baggage reclaim, and before you leave the airport.

Electronic equipment is any electrical device which amplifies and processes electrical signals. Things such as amplifiers, radios, tape players, and digital circuitry are electronic devices. A computer is an electronic device.

These can only be legally brought into Turkey if they are declared at the port of entry, if they are for your own use, and if they are taken out of the country again on your departure. Otherwise, they are not permitted.
When you declare any electronic item, it may be entered into your passport, and when you leave with it, it will be crossed off your passport.


In practice, 9 times out of 10, they''ll probably just wave you through, but you can''t count on it - and if you''re stopped, you could be in trouble.


Electrical equipment is not thus controlled; electrical items are things like hair dryers, electric drills, speakers, shavers, electric saws etc etc.
These can be brought in, but only if they are either for your own use, or as gifts, and either way only up to a limit. The TOTAL value of gifts allowed to be brought in used to be 500 DM, I believe it''s something like 300 euros now.

Again, much of the time, they don''t check very thoroughly, but you are taking a chance, if caught you can have the items confiscated AND be fined into the bargain.



Turkey is no different to any other country in having customs controls and allowances - and Turkey''s are a lot more generous than those of the UK (see my previous post for details of UK allowances). The allowance for souvenirs and gifts into the UK, for instance, is a measly £145.

The reasons are quite simply that each country wishes to protect its own trade and industry, and maintain its own tax collection.



Customs officers in Turkey, the same as their counterparts in the UK, aren''t daft -  a customs officer in Britain can guess that the two new carpets in your suitcase, the brand new leather jacket you''re wearing and the shiny new gold necklace round your wife''s neck have just been purchased in Turkey, and no, you didn''t take them with you on holiday, nor did you pay twenty quid each for them.
He knows you are telling him porkies, and attempting to smuggle in more than your due allowances, whilst trying to deprive HM Revenue & Customs of its rightful dues.

And in Turkey, he similarly knows that the brand new flatscreen TV and DVD player you have hidden under your smalls is not going to be used on holiday and taken home!

And I repeat, ignorance is NO defense - all this stuff is clearly written up in each country at the airports!
Ignore it at your peril!

[clooneyrooney]

So my hair straighteners are OK not to declare then.
I was starting to get worried that if I had forgotten to declare them I could have received 14 bad hair days as punishment. LOL. 

What about my mobile phone with built in camera, MP3 and radio? Would I declare that?

[vicksen]

Theoretically yes, clooneyrooney, you should.

But it''s as I said, customs officers aren''t stupid. They are most unlikely to cause you any difficulties if they don''t think you''re trying to circumvent the laws and evade the taxes and duties.
They''re not likely to target a bona fide holidaymaker bringing in his mobile phone with him, because the chances are it is his own, he''s not bringing it in to sell it, and that he''s going to be taking it with him when he leaves.

But they are going to be just a bit sceptical that the dvd player, the TV and the music set all stashed under your M&S scanties are just to use on the beach during your week''s holiday, to be then taken home!

[Blue Lizard]

blimey!!..they aren''t very scantie if your stashing all that lot under them!!

[vicksen]

  ho ho blue lizard!
(I was being kind; didn''t want to be suggesting EK readers have BIIIG knickers!)

[turkeyfan]

If they are like me their knickers are huuuggge after eating all the lovely Kalkan food!!