Advertisements Containing Price Information And Discount Sales Advertisements

Advertising Regulation was amended in a way to include new measures and rules to regulate advertisements containing misleading price information and to protect consumers against unfair commercial practices. The amendments entered into force in March 2022. In addition, the Guideline on Advertisements Containing Price Information, Discount Sales Advertisements and Commercial Practices” (“Guideline”) was prepared by the Advertisement Board and took effect as of April 2022.

According to new rules enacted in the Regulation, additional measures were implemented to protect consumers against advertisements containing misleading price information and discount sales promotions. Some of the prominent regulations are as follows:

• The lowest price applied within the last thirty days prior to the application of the discount should be taken as a basis for determining the sales price of any good or service before the discount.
• Terms such as “all”, “everything” cannot be used unless a price or discount advertisement applies to all goods or services in the store or in a specific category.
• In advertisements related to discount sales campaigns, the words "up to", "from", "to" must be included in legible sizes.
• In order not to enable the consumer to make a sudden decision and deprive him of the necessary opportunity or time to make an informed choice, it cannot be stated that a good or service will be offered in a very limited period of time, contrary to the truth.
• Additional care is required in sales advertisements and commercial practices aimed at sensitive consumer groups such as children, elders or disabled people.
• The price presented to consumers in advertisements must be the total selling price of the good or service, including all taxes.
• Sales prices should be stated as “Turkish Lira”, “TL” or “₺”.
• If there are expenses arising from the delivery of the goods or services and to be paid by the consumer such amounts should be informed to the consumers. If the amount is not certain, consumers should be informed about the calculation method.
• In advertisements where instalment amounts are given, the total price of the advertised good or service and the number of instalments should be displayed together with the instalment amount in a readable size or should be indicated audibly.
• If there is a time or stock limit regarding the validity of the price, this period and stock amount should be clearly stated in the advertisements.

The Guideline contains practice tips in addition to the fundamental principles mentioned above. In discount sales advertisements the price before the discount, the start and end dates of the discounted sale should be stated. If the quantity of the goods or services offered for sale at a discount is limited, this amount must further be clearly and intelligibly announced in the advertisement.

In discount sales advertisements, expressions or images that may mislead consumers by causing confusion about which goods or services will be subject to discounted sale or how much discount will be applied, or that may create the impression that more discounts are applied than in reality, cannot be included. It is against the law that a product is offered for sale on the same e-commerce platform and by the same seller with different discount rates over different extensions.

The Advertisement Board closely monitors the advertisements containing price information and discount sales promotions. For instance, in December 2022 the Board issued an administrative monetary fine of TRY 15,566 and a cease order against the advertisements in which the price of the products offered for sale was indicated in Euro without including the total purchase price with tax.

As a result, we are of the opinion that both amendments made in the Regulation and the Guideline, which aim to protect the rights of consumers by preventing advertisements that are not clear enough or that may be misleading for consumers, are important developments in Turkish advertisement law.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.