TBCCI ANNUAL BALL, FRIDAY 18 MAY 2007

We are pleased to announce that the TBCCI Annual Ball will be held on Friday, 18 May 2007. The venue is the Palace Suite, Royal Garden Hotel, adjacent to Kensington Palace, London. Please save this date for a very memorable evening. For details of the programme, booking and advertisement, please click here.

TBCCI SERVICES FEEDBACK QUESTIONNAIRE

A short questionnaire has been prepared for feedback from members and non-members to identify the Chamber services that require improvement or extension, and to determine any additional Chamber services or products that can assist our users in their businesses. By answering a few questions and making comments, you can help the Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry improve its services it offers. Click here for the Questionnaire.

INFORMATION COMPULSORY ON WEBSITES AND IN E-MAIL FOOTERS
RISK OF FINE IN BREACH OF THE COMPANIES ACT

The new Companies Act 2006 legislation came into force on January 1 2007. A Statutory Instrument implementing a European law, the First Company Law Amendment Directive in UK Law, requires all companies in the UK to include certain regulatory information on their websites and in their e-mail footers to avoid being in breach of the Act. The requirements are as follows:

Every business should list:

Company registration number (If the business is a registered company) and
Place of registration and registered office address (If the business is a company)
VAT Number (If the business has a VAT number, it should be listed even if the website and email are not being used for e-commerce transactions)

- On its website
- In its emails (in the footer of every email)
- On order forms

Such information is already required on 'business letters' but the duty is being extended to websites, order forms and electronic documents.

EU IMPOSE EMERGENCY HEALTH REQUIREMENTS ON HAZELNUTS

One of our members encountered a problem last month when importing items that included 5% of Hazelnut in the product whereby requiring Aflatoxin & Health Certificates specifically for the item being imported. This resulted in delays in importation and ultimately the goods being seized, and destroyed.

Query to the FSA

Dear Dr Jones
Good Afternoon,
I have been advised via my colleagues at the Turkish British Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that the requirement to supply Aflatoxin and Health Certificates for agricultural products of Turkish origin that exceed 5% of an ingredients mixture in cakes and biscuits had been revised, this being decided after a meeting held between Turkish and EU Authorities on the 10th Jan 2007 in Istanbul. We are advised that products that are entered under headings 1806/1704/1905 will no longer require the above additional Aflatoxin & Health Certificates. Are the Food Standards Agency in a position to confirm the above agreement has been reached with the EU Regulators, and that changes have been advised to The Port Health Authorities?
Regards and Thanks.
Denis J Gibson
DG Associates / Director for the TBCCI


FSA’s reply:

Dear Mr Gibson
With reference to your e-mail below, I am afraid that we have no knowledge of the meeting in Istanbul to which you refer. A draft Commission Decision amending Decision 2006/504/EC was discussed at a meeting of the Working Group on Agricultural Contaminants on the 15 January. However, no decision was made as to the maximum percentage of an ingredient of a foodstuff, covered by the Decision, permitted in a compound product before it required a health certificate etc.

As an interim measure, until such time as agreement is reached on this issue, the Commission has requested flexibility from Member States and asked them to consider that only processed foods derived from foodstuffs covered by the Commission Decision or compound foodstuffs containing amounts equal to or greater than 5% of a foodstuff are covered by the Decision and must be accompanied by a Health Certificate and the results of Aflatoxin testing. The draft Commission Decision will next be discussed at a meeting of the Working Group on Agricultural Contaminants on the 5/6 February.
Yours sincerely
Bryan Jones

UK-TURKEY TRADE

In December 2006, the overall UK-Turkey trade increased by 17.0%. In the 12 months January-December period, the trade between the two countries achieved an increased of 12.1%.

UK VISITORS TO TURKEY
Number of visitors from the UK to Turkey:

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

01.03.2007 - Istanbul - 6th Subcontracting Exhibition
08.03.2007 - Istanbul - 21st International Textiles Fair
15.03.2007 - Istanbul - 6th Private Label Products Exh.
18.03.2007 - London - The Intl.Food & Drink Exhibition
21.03.2007 - Istanbul - Istanbul Jewellery Show
27.03.2007 - San Francisco - Turkish American Business Conf.
29.03.2007 - Antalya - Fresh Antalya 2007 Exhibition.
19.04.2007 - Istanbul - Automechanika Istanbul 2007
19.04.2007 - Istanbul - 2nd Furniture Side Industry Fair
06.06.2007 - Istanbul - International Mining Congress
04.07.2007 - Istanbul - World Chambers Congress

Click on an Event Link to view the full details, or contact the TBCCI office.

NEW TBCCI MEMBERS

Portner & Jaskel Solicitors
Sarplast Plastic Inc.
Palm Palace Properties Ltd

Click on a Member Link to view contacts and business profile.

NEWS ABOUT OUR MEMBERS

Sweetworld Confectionery Ltd.
Sweetworld Confectionery Ltd. will be exibiting in the IFE Food & Drink Exibition between 18th - 21st March 2007. For further information, please click on 18.03.2007 - London - The Intl.Food & Drink Exhibition

Kazmaz Law Office
Kazmaz Law Office relocated their main office from the centre of Bodrum, Turkey to larger premises in Bitez, in the vicinity of the new court house.