Türkiye's new Machinery Safety Regulation
Resmî Gazete 33402 replaces the 2009 machinery rules; importer duties apply from 20 January 2027, and machines placed on the market before then may stay.
Short answer: Türkiye's new Machinery Safety Regulation (Resmî Gazete No. 33402, 16 October 2026) follows EU Regulation 2023/1230. From 20 January 2027, an importer of machines from China must put its name on each machine and supply Turkish instructions. It must also keep a translated declaration of conformity for 10 years. Machines placed on the market before then may stay.
This guide is for distributors and dealers in Türkiye who buy implements, sprayers, harvesters or packaging machines from manufacturers in China. It explains the dates, the machines covered and what to put in your next purchase contract.
The regulation is in Turkish. The article summaries below are our translation of the official text.
Why it matters when you buy machines from China
The new rules give the importer its own duties for every machine it brings in. If a machine from China reaches the market without the importer's details, Turkish instructions or a declaration of conformity, the importer answers for it. Breaches fall under the administrative sanctions of Law 7223 on product safety (Art. 49).
Most of these points are settled at the factory, long before the machine reaches Mersin. They include the plate, the marking, the manuals in the box and the documents. That is why they belong in the purchase contract. It is also why a pre-shipment report that records the plate, the marking and the packed documents before loading is useful for these orders.
A photo shows what can be seen on the machine; it does not prove that the machine complies. Keep the visual record next to the manufacturer's technical documents, not instead of them.
How the regulation works
Two dates
16 October 2026. The regulation was published. A short list of articles applied at once, mainly the scope, the notified-body rules and the transition rule (Art. 52).
20 January 2027. Everything else applies, including the importer duties in Art. 14. This is the same date as the EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 (Art. 52).
Machinery placed on the market under the old rules before 20 January 2027 may stay on the market. EC type-examination certificates issued under the old rules stay valid until they expire (Provisional Article 1). The new text repeals the 2009 regulation based on Directive 2006/42/EC (Art. 51).
Which machines are covered
Machine | Covered by the new regulation? | Article |
|---|---|---|
Implements fitted to a tractor, such as plows, harrows and seeders | Yes, as interchangeable equipment | Art. 2 and 4 |
Machinery mounted on a tractor, such as a tractor-mounted sprayer | Yes | Art. 2 |
Removable PTO shafts | Yes, as a related product | Art. 2 and 4 |
Self-propelled machines, such as combine harvesters and self-propelled sprayers | Yes, as machinery | Art. 2 |
Packaging machines, such as fillers, sealers and labelers | Yes, as machinery | Art. 2 |
Tractors themselves | No. They follow the type-approval rules of AB/167/2013 | Art. 2 |
Source: Resmî Gazete No. 33402, 16 October 2026, Art. 2 and 4. The annexes (Ek-1 to Ek-11) were not part of the text we read, so this table does not say which conformity route a machine needs.
What the importer must do from 20 January 2027
Place only compliant machines. Check that the manufacturer carried out the conformity assessment, drew up the technical file, affixed the CE marking and supplied the documents (Art. 14).
Put your name on the machine. Your name or trademark, postal address and a digital contact go on the machine. If that is not possible, they go on the packaging or an accompanying document (Art. 14).
Supply Turkish instructions. Instructions and safety information must be in Turkish. Digital instructions are allowed if they stay online for at least 10 years. A buyer who asks at the time of purchase gets a free paper copy within one month. When non-professional users may use the machine, the safety information must also be on paper (Art. 11 and 14).
Keep the declaration of conformity. The manufacturer's declaration needs a Turkish translation. Keep a copy for at least 10 years, and give the technical file to the authority when it asks (Art. 14 and 21).
Follow up after sale. Keep a register of complaints and recalls, test samples where the risk calls for it, and act at once if a machine is unsafe (Art. 14).
How conformity is assessed
Before a machine is placed on the market, the manufacturer must show that it meets the safety requirements. How it does that depends on the machine's risk group (Art. 7 and 26). The letters in brackets are the names of the assessment routes, called modules:
Higher-risk machines (Ek-1, Part A) need a notified body, an outside body named to assess machines. Its routes are a type check plus production to type (B and C), an assessed quality system (H) or a check of each unit (G).
Machines in Ek-1, Part B may use the manufacturer's own check (module A) only when harmonized standards or common specifications cover all the safety requirements. Otherwise they need a notified body too.
All other machines use the manufacturer's own check (module A, internal production control).
We have not read the Ek-1 lists, so we do not say which group your machine is in. Ask the manufacturer which module it used (A, B and C, H or G), and check the answer with your customs broker.
When you become the manufacturer
If you sell a machine under your own name or trademark, you are treated as the manufacturer and take on the manufacturer's duties (Art. 18). The same applies if you change a machine in a way that can affect its compliance, or modify it substantially (Art. 18 and 19). For private-label buyers this is the biggest change: the technical file and the declaration become your responsibility.
Dates and duties at a glance
Item | What the regulation says | Article | What to agree or check |
|---|---|---|---|
Importer duties | Apply from 20 January 2027 | Art. 52 | When each machine will be placed on the Turkish market |
Machines already on the market | May stay if placed under the old rules before 20 January 2027 | Provisional Art. 1 | Which units you place on the market before that date |
Importer name and contact | On the machine; if not possible, on the packaging or a document | Art. 14(3) | A label draft and where it sits, before production |
Instructions | In Turkish; digital allowed if online for at least 10 years | Art. 11 and 14(4) | How buyers will reach the instructions |
Paper copy of the instructions | Free, within one month, if the buyer asks at the time of purchase | Art. 11(7) | Who sends paper copies in Türkiye |
Paper safety information | Needed when non-professional users may use the machine | Art. 11(7) and 11(8) | Whether your buyers include non-professional users |
Declaration of conformity | The manufacturer's declaration plus a Turkish translation | Art. 21(2) | That model and serial numbers match your order |
Copy of the declaration | Kept by the importer for at least 10 years | Art. 14(8) | Where you store it and who can find it |
Selling under your own brand | You are treated as the manufacturer | Art. 18(1) | Who prepares the technical file and the declaration |
Source: Resmî Gazete No. 33402, 16 October 2026. Last checked 22 October 2026.
Example: harrows and sprayers for the 2027 spring season
An illustrative example, not a Zelenberg order or visit record.
A dealer in Türkiye orders disc harrows and tractor-mounted boom sprayers from a manufacturer in China. The machines will be placed on the Turkish market in February 2027. This is how the new rules apply:
The date. The machines are placed on the market after 20 January 2027, so the new rules apply. The date of the order does not change that.
The scope. Both are covered: the harrows as interchangeable equipment, the sprayers as machinery mounted on a tractor (Art. 2).
The brand. The dealer wants its own brand on the sprayers, which makes it their manufacturer (Art. 18). The harrows keep the Chinese manufacturer's brand, so the dealer is their importer.
The contract. The dealer adds four clauses. They cover its name and contact on each machine, Turkish instructions, a translated declaration of conformity and the technical file on request.
Before production. The dealer asks for a draft of its importer label and where it will sit on each machine. It checks that the language and the model numbers in the manuals and the declaration match the order.
Before loading. The dealer has the plates, the marking and the packed documents recorded at the factory. It confirms the GTİP code and the TAREKS import check with its customs broker.
Common mistakes
Reading the order date as the deadline. What counts is when the machine is placed on the Turkish market. A machine ordered in December 2026 and placed on the market in February 2027 follows the new rules.
Treating tractors and implements alike. Tractors stay under their own type-approval rules. The implements you sell with them, and their PTO shafts, fall under the new regulation. Send your customs broker separate specifications for the tractor and for each implement.
Accepting manuals only in English or Chinese. Instructions and safety information must be in Turkish, and the declaration of conformity needs a Turkish translation.
Adding your brand without a plan. Your brand on the machine makes you its manufacturer. Agree with the factory who prepares the technical file and the declaration before you order.
Reading the TAREKS number as proof of compliance. The reference number from the import check does not prove that a machine complies, and the importer stays liable (Makinaların İthalat Denetimi Tebliği 2026/32, Art. 13).
Related terms
Declaration of conformity (DoC): the manufacturer's signed statement that the machine meets the rules that apply to it.
Technical file: the design and test documents behind the declaration.
Interchangeable equipment: a device fitted to a tractor to change its function, such as a plow or a harrow.
TAREKS: the Trade Ministry's risk-based import check for products such as machinery.
Next step
Use the buyer checklist in the download box with your next order of machines or implements from China. For more import rules for buyers in Türkiye, see Türkiye.
This is information, not legal advice. Confirm with your customs broker. Last checked 22 October 2026.
Questions and answers
When do the new machinery rules apply in Türkiye?
The regulation was published on 16 October 2026. Importer and manufacturer duties apply from 20 January 2027 (Art. 52). Machines placed on the market under the old rules before that date may stay on the market.
Are tractors covered by Türkiye's Machinery Safety Regulation?
No. Tractors follow the type-approval rules of AB/167/2013. Machinery mounted on a tractor, implements such as plows and harrows, and removable PTO shafts are covered (Art. 2).
Can machine instructions be digital only?
Yes, if they are in Turkish and stay online for at least 10 years. A buyer who asks at the time of purchase gets a free paper copy within one month. When non-professional users may use the machine, the safety information must also be on paper (Art. 11).
Do machines from China need a notified body?
Only some do. Machines in the high-risk annex (Ek-1) may need one; other machines use the manufacturer's internal check. We have not read the Ek-1 lists, so confirm the route for your machine with your customs broker.
Sources
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