Ottoman 1928 Customs Cash Receipt for Import Duty Payment

Ottoman Customs Cash Receipt for Import Duty Payment (1928)

Description:

This Ottoman Turkish document, titled "Gümrük Veznesine Mahsus Nakid Makbuz Senedidir" ("Cash Receipt for the Customs Treasury"), is an official customs receipt dated 1928. It records the payment of customs duties collected by the customs administration during the early years of the Republic of Turkey. Although issued under the Republic, the document is written entirely in Ottoman Turkish using the Arabic script, reflecting the period immediately preceding the implementation of the Turkish Alphabet Reform.

According to the receipt, Mehmed Sadık Efendi paid a total of 77 lira and 99 kuruş as customs duty (resm-i gümrüğü). The payment related to the importation of a brass inkwell set (pirinç hokka takımı), indicating that the goods had been brought into the country from abroad and were subject to customs taxation before being released. The document serves as an official acknowledgment that the required customs duties had been paid in full.

Beyond its fiscal purpose, the receipt provides valuable insight into the operation of the Turkish customs administration during the transitional years following the establishment of the Republic. It illustrates the continued use of Ottoman administrative forms, terminology, and script even after the political transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey. Documents such as this demonstrate that the adoption of the new Latin-based Turkish alphabet required a period of adjustment and that Ottoman Turkish remained in official administrative use until the Alphabet Reform was fully implemented.

The document is also of interest for the history of international trade, recording the importation of a brass writing set—an object associated with administration, education, and office culture during the late Ottoman and early Republican periods. Such receipts provide tangible evidence of imported commercial goods and the customs procedures governing their entry into Turkey.

Bearing its original revenue stamp and official signatures, this receipt is an excellent example of early Republican customs administration while preserving the language and bureaucratic traditions inherited from the Ottoman Empire. It documents both commercial activity and one of the most significant administrative transitions in modern Turkish history.

For collectors and researchers, this is an outstanding historical document connecting Ottoman bureaucratic practice, early Republican customs administration, international trade, and the transition to the modern Turkish alphabet.

Key Features:

• Type: Official customs cash receipt

• Title: Gümrük Veznesine Mahsus Nakid Makbuz Senedidir

• Date: 1928

• Language: Ottoman Turkish

• Payer: Mehmed Sadık Efendi

• Amount Paid: 77 lira 99 kuruş

• Subject: Customs duty (resm-i gümrüğü) paid for the importation of a brass inkwell set (pirinç hokka takımı)

• Historical Context: Documents customs administration during the early Republic of Turkey while illustrating the continued use of Ottoman Turkish immediately before the full implementation of the Turkish Alphabet Reform

• Commercial Significance: Provides evidence of imported luxury and office goods together with the customs procedures regulating international trade

• Physical Features: Original revenue stamp and official signatures

• Collectible Significance: Highly desirable for collectors of Ottoman Turkish documents, customs and trade history, early Republican administration, Alphabet Reform material, and Ottoman administrative ephemera.