Importing porcelain tiles into Turkey can be a practical option for distributors, contractors, developers and tile buyers looking for specific sizes, finishes, designs or large-volume supply. Although Turkey has a strong domestic ceramic industry, international sourcing can help buyers access products and formats that match specific project or commercial requirements.
If you are planning to import porcelain tiles into Turkey for the first time, understanding the complete process is important. This includes HS classification, landed costs, container planning, shipping documentation, customs requirements and supplier evaluation.
In this 2026 buyer’s guide, we explain the key steps involved in importing porcelain tiles into Turkey and the factors you should check before placing an order.
For background on our own operation, see our page on porcelain tiles manufacturing and export to Turkey.
Why Turkish Buyers Import Porcelain Tiles
Three reasons come up repeatedly in conversations with buyers in the region.
Format availability. Large-format slabs — 120 x 240 cm, 120 x 280 cm, 120 x 320 cm — require specific press and kiln capacity. Buyers sourcing these formats in volume often widen their supplier search beyond the domestic market simply to secure consistent availability across a project timeline.
Design breadth. A distributor stocking a showroom needs range: marble-look, stone-look, terrazzo, concrete, wood-look, in matt, glossy, carving and book-match finishes. Sourcing that breadth from one manufacturer reduces the number of relationships, invoices and shipments you manage.
Landed cost on volume. For full-container quantities, unit price plus freight from an efficient production cluster can compare favourably against smaller domestic lots — particularly on standard repeating sizes like 60 x 120 cm and 80 x 160 cm.
None of this makes importing automatically the right answer. It makes it worth calculating properly, which is what the rest of this guide is for.
Step 1: Get the HS Classification Right
Everything downstream — duty rate, documentation, clearance speed — follows from the tariff classification. Porcelain tiles fall under HS heading 6907: ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles.
Within that heading, the subheadings split by water absorption:
| Subheading | Water absorption | Typical product |
| 6907.21 | ≤ 0.5% by weight | Porcelain / vitrified tiles and slabs |
| 6907.22 | > 0.5% but ≤ 10% | Mid-absorption ceramic |
| 6907.23 | > 10% | Standard wall ceramic |
True porcelain sits in 6907.21 — the low-absorption group. This is not a formality. The declared subheading should match the technical data on your supplier’s test reports, and a mismatch between declared classification and the accompanying documents is one of the more common causes of clearance delay.
Legato’s published technical specifications state water absorption below 0.50% against ISO 13006 / EN 14411 Group BIa, which is the classification band that corresponds to 6907.21.
Tip: Confirm your exact classification and the applicable rates through the Turkish Ministry of Trade’s tariff system or your customs broker before you contract. Duty schedules and any additional or trade-defence measures change, and rates should always be checked against the current schedule rather than a figure quoted in an article.
Step 2: Understand What Makes Up Your Landed Cost
Your unit price from the supplier is rarely more than half the story. A realistic landed-cost model for tiles arriving in Turkey includes:
- FOB or CIF product price, usually quoted per square metre
- Ocean freight, which moves with route, season and container type
- Customs duty at the rate applicable to your classification and origin — including any additional duties or trade-defence measures in force at the time of import
- VAT (KDV) at import — Turkey’s standard rate is 20%, applied on the customs value plus duty
- Port charges, terminal handling and inland transport to your warehouse
- Customs brokerage and documentation fees
- Breakage allowance — realistic for any ceramic shipment, and lower with correct packing
Two practical notes. First, ask for quotes per square metre rather than per box; box coverage varies by size and comparing per-box prices across formats is misleading. Second, build your cost model on the full container, not on a sample price — freight divided across 3,000 boxes looks very different from freight divided across 300.
Step 3: Plan the Container Before You Order
Container planning is where importers lose or gain margin, and it is worth doing before the order rather than after.
Standard tiles
Smaller and mid-size formats ship boxed and palletised, typically in 20 ft containers where weight rather than volume is the limiting factor. Depending on size, boxes hold between 2 and 16 pieces and cover between 0.54 and 2.88 m². Pallet configuration varies — normal, horizontal, or vertical-and-horizontal — according to format and weight distribution.
Large-format slabs
Slabs are a different exercise. They ship in 40 ft containers on U-frame or A-frame iron pallets that hold panels upright and braced. Boxes typically contain one or two pieces. Frame systems cost more than standard pallets, but they are what keeps large panels intact through multiple handling points between the factory and your warehouse.
Mixed loads
If you are testing a new range or covering several product types on one project, a mixed container combining sizes, series and finishes is usually more efficient than several partial shipments. Work out the mix against published loading data before you finalise quantities — Legato’s packing details page lists box quantities, coverage and container capacity for every size.
A note on ordering quantity
Order a contingency above your calculated requirement. Cuts, wastage, breakage and future repairs all consume material, and matching a shade lot on a later top-up order is considerably harder than including the extra square metres in the first shipment.
Step 4: Prepare Your Documentation
A typical import file for porcelain tiles arriving in Turkey includes:
- Commercial invoice — with correct HS code, origin, Incoterms and values
- Packing list — sizes, designs, box counts, square metres, gross and net weight
- Bill of lading
- Certificate of origin
- Test reports / technical data sheet — supporting the declared classification and any performance requirements
- Declaration of performance or conformity documentation, where the construction-product route applies to your goods and intended use
Your customs broker will confirm the exact file for your consignment and intended use. The supplier’s job is to get the commercial documents accurate and consistent — invoice, packing list and bill of lading should agree on every figure. Legato’s export team prepares this documentation as part of the order, and the export process page sets out how it works.
Incoterms matter
Agree the Incoterm at quotation stage, not after. FOB puts freight and insurance on you and gives you control of the routing; CIF hands that to the supplier and simplifies your side. Neither is inherently better — but a quote compared without checking the Incoterm is not a comparison at all.
Step 5: Assess the Supplier Before You Commit
For a first shipment, the supplier assessment is worth more attention than the price negotiation.
Is it a manufacturer or a trader? A manufacturer controls body composition, grading and shade matching directly. A trader is assembling your order from whatever stock is available, which usually shows up as shade variation across a consignment.
Can they produce your sizes in-house? Ask which formats run on their own lines. Legato produces 12 sizes from 20 x 120 cm up to 120 x 320 cm, plus 15 mm countertop slabs.
Is technical data published? Water absorption, modulus of rupture, breaking strength, density and dimensional tolerance should be available before you order, stated against a recognised standard — ISO 13006 / EN 14411 for European practice.
How is shade lot handled? Tiles from one order should be graded and shipped as matched lots, with shade and calibre printed on the carton. Ask how this is managed.
What is the packing specification? Ask for the actual loading table, not a reassurance that packing is good.
Do they already ship to the region? A supplier with existing traffic into Turkey and neighbouring markets has documentation practice that already fits. Legato exports to 30-plus countries, with Turkey, Cyprus, Iraq, Israel and Kuwait among the regional destinations.
Samples first. Always. Physical samples of the specific design and finish, ideally from current production, before a container is booked.
Common Mistakes First-Time Importers Make
- Comparing prices per box instead of per square metre. Different formats, different coverage, meaningless comparison.
- Ignoring the Incoterm. A cheap FOB quote and a CIF quote are not the same number.
- Under-ordering. No contingency, then a top-up order that will not shade-match.
- Skipping test reports. They support your classification and your specification — get them upfront.
- Booking slabs without confirming frame packing. Large panels on standard pallets are a claim waiting to happen.
- Leaving the broker out until the container sails. Bring them in at the quotation stage; they will catch classification and documentation issues while they are still cheap to fix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heading 6907, with porcelain and vitrified tiles at water absorption of 0.5% or less falling under subheading 6907.21. Confirm the exact classification for your goods with your customs broker.
Turkey’s standard VAT (KDV) rate is 20%, applied at import on the customs value plus duty. Confirm the rate applicable to your goods at the time of import.
It depends on format, volume and freight at the time of shipment. Imports tend to make most sense on full-container quantities and on large formats where availability is the constraint. Build a full landed-cost model before deciding.
Transit time depends on the routing, the shipping line and the port of discharge, and sits on top of production lead time. Ask your supplier to confirm a production and shipping window at the time of order rather than working from a general figure.
Transit time depends on the routing, the shipping line and the port of discharge, and sits on top of production lead time. Ask your supplier to confirm a production and shipping window at the time of order rather than working from a general figure.
Sourcing Porcelain Tiles for the Turkish Market
Importing tiles well is mostly a matter of doing the unglamorous work early: classify the goods correctly, model the landed cost on a full container, plan the loading before you order, and check the supplier’s technical data rather than their adjectives.
Legato Porcelano manufactures porcelain tiles, vitrified tiles and large-format slabs in Morbi, Gujarat, and exports to more than 30 countries, Turkey included. If you are planning a shipment, we can work through sizes, finishes, container loading and documentation with you before anything is committed.
