Importing medicines into Türkiye

The regulator

The Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK), part of the Ministry of Health, licenses medicines in Türkiye, also known as Turkey, and controls their import. Medicines that are not licensed in Türkiye, or are licensed but not on the market, reach patients through the supply-from-abroad system, known in Turkish as yurt dışından ilaç temini. Its rules are the Regulation on Supply of Medicines from Abroad, published in the Official Gazette on 3 February 2023, and TİTCK's guideline on supply of medicines from abroad, revision 12 of February 2024.

Legal routes for unregistered medicines

Only authorised suppliers may import under this system. The regulation names the Social Security Institution (SGK), the Turkish Pharmacists' Association (TEB) and public bodies approved by the Ministry of Health. In practice TEB and the SGK pharmaceutical warehouse at the İbn-i Sina centre do the importing, and only they can ask TİTCK to approve a product or supply source. Hospitals can apply directly only for bulk emergency supply.

Patient-based supply on prescription

The treating physician applies to TİTCK through the e-prescription system with a health board or medicine use report, a signed patient consent form, scientific literature, an epicrisis and current imaging or laboratory results. TİTCK checks whether use in that indication is scientifically appropriate and tells the physician the result. Permission is personal to the patient. TİTCK also publishes a list of foreign active ingredients that can be used without additional approval when its listed conditions are met. For a medicine never supplied before, the first application must come from a tertiary care provider with a reasoned decision from a council of at least three specialists, and it is also reviewed by the foreign medicines evaluation board before sourcing starts.

Approved products and supply sources

Under article 9 of the regulation, products approved and marketed by ICH founding or standing member regulators, the MHRA or the TGA qualify most easily. Other products need a valid GMP certificate from TİTCK or one of those regulators and must be marketed in the supplying country, and a last group is allowed case by case on medical necessity. Each foreign supply source is reviewed by the evaluation board and must appoint a representative established in Türkiye. India's regulator is not one of the listed authorities, and a source based outside those regulators' countries that is not the manufacturer or licence holder needs an exclusive authorisation from the manufacturer or licence holder.

Emergencies, trials and reimbursement

Only hospitals can apply for bulk supply from abroad for medical emergencies. Reference medicines for clinical studies run in Türkiye can be sourced by the authorised suppliers after TİTCK grants the study permit. Every import, controlled or not, needs a TİTCK control document applied for by TEB or SGK. In March 2026 the SGK published procedures for alternative reimbursement applications for medicines supplied from abroad for personal treatment, and prices under such agreements can be confidential, according to Gün + Partners.

Documents a buyer usually needs

• Prescription and the physician's e-prescription system application, with a health board or medicine use report
• Signed informed patient consent form, literature, epicrisis and confirming test results
• Specialist council decision for a first application
• Certificate of pharmaceutical product and short product information
• GMP certificate, officially certified, apostilled or consular legalised where applicable
• Authorisations linking the manufacturer, the foreign supply source and its representative in Türkiye
• TİTCK control document for each import
• Certificate of origin, certificate of analysis for each batch, invoice, packing list and air waybill

Timeline: a worked example

An oncologist at a university hospital in Ankara wants a medicine for one patient that is not licensed in Türkiye. TEB already supplies the active ingredient from an approved source.

Total: roughly 3 to 8 weeks from request to delivery, longer for a first application or a new supply source. These are planning estimates, not published service times.

Shipping lanes from India

Istanbul (IST) is a major cargo hub. Turkish Airlines and IndiGo serve it from Delhi and Mumbai, although IndiGo added a technical stop at Ras al Khaimah from March 2026. Express courier service is usually 2 to 5 days door to door and air cargo 4 to 8 days including clearance, but under this system the goods move to TEB or SGK, not to a patient or hospital directly.

CIP and DAP to TEB or SGK are the usual terms, and FCA suits importers with their own forwarder. TEB and SGK are responsible for good distribution practice from supply to the patient, so agree cold-chain packaging and data loggers with them.

Practical tips for buyers

• Check whether the active ingredient is already supplied by TEB or SGK, or on TİTCK's list usable without additional approval. Either one shortens the process.
• Confirm that the source and product are already defined in TİTCK's system with a representative. A new source goes through the evaluation board, which adds time.
• Do not start treatment before approval. TİTCK does not consider retrospective applications except in medical emergencies.
• Duty on HS 3004 medicines is 0 percent according to World Bank WITS data, and medicines carry VAT at 10 percent, raised from 8 percent in July 2023.
• Customs lets travellers bring a reasonable quantity of medicine for personal treatment with a prescription or medical report. That allowance does not replace the supply-from-abroad system for a supplier.