Executive of Durmuşoglu Transport, Serdar Durmuş, ''We Pay the Highest Tax to Our Government as Shipers''

“I BUY DIESEL FROM 13.95 LIRA, THE ONE WHO HAS A YACHT BUYS FROM 6 LIRA”

Durmuş said that; “We pay 18 percent tax for each liter of fuel we buy and each load we carry. As carriers, we are victims. While I buy diesel from 13.95 liras, the one who has a yacht buys from 6 liras. What the transporter earns is diesel, fuel… The less the transporter consumes, the more he earns. When the carrier wins, this country wins.”

Stating that their company is a family company consisting of father, uncle and brothers and they established the company in 2008, Durmuş stated that their headquarters is in Hopa district of Artvin. Durmuş said that; “We are constantly working abroad, to Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia. Apart from shipping, we export construction material. We transport the goods we export ourselves. After the pandemic, our business has increased a little more. There were limited times during the pandemic period, but the shipping industry was not affected much. In fact, we are among the least affected sectors.”

“We Target to Grow”

Durmuş stated that they have grown by 20 percent during the pandemic period and that they have invested in different sectors. He stated that they opened a station in Murgul district of Artvin in January 2020, but because the pandemic affected all sectors, they could not achieve much growth in the new location they opened. Durmuş continued his words as follows: “We have a structure that continues to grow. We are a family company and we consider ourselves lucky in this respect. İlyas Durmuş, one of our partners, lives in Georgia. We follow our work there and receive great support. My brother and I organize the incoming works. Of course, we target to grow. We want to make new investments, but there is no suitable place for warehouses and warehouses in Hopa. We may have investments in different places for the future.”

“Vehicles Pass Through Our Turkey-Georgia Border Gate in One Week”

Stating that their biggest problem is the crossings at the border gates, Durmuş states that their vehicles wait at the border gate for 5-6 days. Durmuş said that; “The more our vehicles transport, the more we earn. At our Turkey-Georgia border gate, vehicles pass only in a week. We wait in line for four or five days. Employees of our sector are in a difficult situation because of this issue. Let alone showering in the parking areas, there is no toilet, our infrastructure is insufficient. Our parking areas need to be built, unfortunately they are limited in number. In Turkey, the time that a vehicle can travel in 24 hours is nine hours. Necessary parking spaces are available in Europe in this regard. A driver who travels for nine hours will of course rest in the remaining time. It is said, 'You will drive for four and a half hours, rest for an hour, and then drive for another four and a half hours'. So where will this driver rest? There are also small motels or hostels in Europe. Since there is not a short time, the driver may also want to rest.”

“Georgia Is Half The Size Of The Sarp Border Gate, But The System Is Progressing Very Well On That Side”

Mentioning that as Durmuşoğlu Transport, they make 70% of their shipments to Georgia, Durmuş states that their exports to Georgia are intense and that they have been selected first in the Artvin region by the Eastern Black Sea Exporters' Association in the last four years. Durmuş said that; “The important thing for us is to pass the border gates as soon as possible and deliver the goods to their owners. We say that we will deliver the goods by giving the date and time. The disruption happens for a day, but when it's two or three days, we can't tell the other party about the victimization. Sarp Border Gate was restored four and a half years ago. The order in Turkish customs is very bad. When a vehicle falls into X-ray, it passes in front of other normal vehicles and goes back to X-ray again. It takes one and a half or two hours for a vehicle to get in and out of the X-ray machine. We agree that it should be X-rayed, but this also affects the vehicles that will enter the border gate. Our UND President Çetin Nuhoğlu also made evaluations about the Sarp Border Gate when the election was held last summer. Georgia is half the size of the Sarp Border Gate, but the system is progressing well on that side. Vehicles are having a lot of trouble passing through the Turkish gate.”

“There Is A Communication Problem Between The Two Countries”

Stating that Azerbaijan is causing a lot of trouble to the Turkish transportation sector, Durmuş said that; “Our vehicle has been loaded and passed through Georgia. There is a law change, it is said, 'you will bring these documents'. The customs clearance of the vehicle is done, it will go to Georgia or Azerbaijan, it is said to "complete this document". This is also the same for Georgia. They must notify us of this in advance; but there is a communication problem between the two countries. For example, recently there was the Karabakh conflict in Armenia and there was a war with Azerbaijan. Before the war, our friends went to Armenia. They are more sincere than Azerbaijan. Of course, we had some difficulties after Turkey's support to Azerbaijan, but there are some negotiations."

“Life Stops Where Transport Stops”

Stating that they could expand their business by 50 percent if they were not experiencing difficulties, Durmuş states that they had great difficulties especially during the pandemic process, and underlines that transportation did not stop during this period. Durmuş said that; “Where transportation stops, life also stops. One of our vehicles was shipping abroad three or four times in a month, this number fell by half. Tests were requested every time they crossed into Georgia, and they were testing in mobile tents set up at the gates. The driver with a negative result passed, and the driver with a positive result was sent back. It took two hours for a driver's test result to come out. That's why our passes have been cut in half. Compared to Europe, since Azerbaijan, Georgia or Armenia are regions close to Turkey, transportation is done like domestic. However, the long waiting times at the border gates cause our flight numbers to decrease. The number of our expeditions is also decreasing. When our earnings are low, our purchasing power decreases at the end of the year and vehicle purchases decrease.”

“Since Special Consumption Tax Is Taken From Us, We Can Buy Two Vehicles Instead of Buying Five”

Durmuş drew attention to the fact that they currently have 30 vehicles, that they buy these vehicles to do business, but that they pay Special Consumption Tax to the state and said that; “To do this, you need a truck, ship, plane. However, since Special Consumption Tax is taken from us, we can buy two vehicles instead of buying five. The transporter in Georgia buys a vehicle for 15-20 thousand euros and competes with us. We are currently buying a vehicle here for 120 thousand euros. For this reason, we cannot increase our vehicle fleet. As transporters, we pay the most taxes to our state. We pay 18 percent tax for every liter of fuel we buy and every load we carry. The carrier pays the excise duty. As carriers, we are victims. While I buy the diesel at 13.95 liras, he buys the yacht from 6 liras. What the transporter earns is diesel, fuel… The less the transporter burns, the more he earns. Even if the carrier wins, this country wins.”

“IVECO and SCANIA Share Leadership at Euro 6”

Stating that they are considering buying a vehicle and that they have orders, Durmuş states that they currently prefer the IVECO brand for vehicle purchases and talks about the brand details for their fleet as follows: “Currently, IVECO and SCANIA share the leadership in Euro 6. Our transition to Iveco was at the end of 2016. We have IVECO and SCANIA vehicles, but I have been buying IVECO vehicles for the last three years. IVECO Sales Manager visited our office. They declared that they will support as necessary. He explained the vehicle and the engine. He showed us the car from scratch and convinced us. We bought the vehicle after the trial period. The IVECO service network is also very good, we haven't had any problems so far. Hopa district is small but its population is 15 thousand; There are almost as many trucks as its population. There were many companies that started using IVECO by consulting us, and we received a thank you from IVECO on this matter.”

 “Aggravated Conditions Have Been Removed”

Lastly, Durmuş stated that they have completed the obligations that must be fulfilled for the TIO certificate and that they have received their certificates with the new regulation, and said that; “The aggravated conditions have been removed. We paid around 42 thousand TL this year for the TIO Certificate, which was 180, 190 thousand TL last year.”