Turkish refrigerant supplier duped by illegal trader

TURKEY: The Turkish supplier of the refrigerant shipment recently seized by Romanian customs has congratulated the authorities for their diligence and denied any knowledge of the trade being illegal.

Last week, Romanian customs blocked a shipment of 1,140 cylinders of HFC refrigerants by an unregistered importing company with no quota. The cargo, which included R134a, R410A and R407C from Turkish company Ice Group, was destined for a company from Brasov county in the Transylvania region of Romania.

The Ice Group has since confirmed that the delivery of the goods was conducted in accordance with ex-works terms, with the shipment being dispatched via the Turkish Port of Constanta.

The company has told the Cooling Post that the order was placed two months ago by a company based in Brasov, Romania. It insists that documentation was provided by the company confirming their possession of a valid F-gas license, and they were assured that the company possessed sufficient quota to import the F-gases.

“Ice Group is committed to conducting sales in compliance with the law. Our cylinders are refillable and labeled in strict accordance with Article 12 of EU Reg 517/2014. We also ensured that the shipment adhered to the EXW terms, and all necessary documentation was meticulously prepared and attached,” the company said.

The company emphasised that its actions “were in no way intended to engage in illegal trade”, but added: “It is important to note that Ice Group does not possess the authority to independently verify the validity of licenses held by other companies. We lack the necessary tools to perform such verifications.”

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Romania blocks illegal F-gas shipment – 30 August 2023
ROMANIA: Authorities in Romania have blocked a shipment of 1,140 cylinders of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants from Turkey by an unregistered importing company. Read more…