In recent weeks, i) the Law No. 7529 Amending the Consumer Protection Law and Certain Laws ii) the Decree on Approval of the Annual Presidential Program for 2025, iii) the Regulation on Market Surveillance and Inspection of Products Supplied on the Market via Remote Communication Tools and iv) the Regulation on the Type Approval of Motor Vehicles Regarding the Autonomous Driving System of Fully Autonomous Vehicles (EU/2022/1426) were published.
Additionally, i) the Decree on the Implementation of Certain Articles of the Customs Law No. 4458, ii) the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Production and Trade of Tobacco Products, and iii) the Regulation on the Principles and Rules of Retail Trade were amended.
In addition, the monetary limits for consumer courts applications and the fines for consumer law violations have been increased.
Law No. 7529 Amending the Consumer Protection Law and Certain Laws
On 30 October 2024, the Ministry of Trade published the Law No. 7529 Amending the Consumer Protection Law and Certain Laws. Provisions regarding the direct selling system and administrative fines to be imposed for violations of this system will enter into force on 30 July 2025, while other provisions entered into force as of 30 October 2024.
The Law is available here (in Turkish), and our legal alert on the Law is available here for details.
The main amendments introduced by the Law are as follows:
- Direct selling companies must be established as a stock corporations and must meet the other conditions set forth in the Regulation on the Agreements Concluded Outside the Workplace. If the direct selling system is built on bringing new direct sellers into the system and distributing the benefits arising from it, and is not based on the sale of goods or services to consumers, an administrative fine of TRY 5,000,000 will be imposed for each violation.
- The purchase of goods or services in the amount or value specified by the direct selling company will not determine the ‘level of the direct seller within the system.
- Consumers who purchase goods or services under the direct sales system will be able to exercise their right to withdraw from the agreement within 30 days without any justification and without penalty.
- The direct selling company must establish a system that enables consumers to be informed and to submit their requests and notifications.
- To calculate the e-commerce license fee required by e-commerce
intermediary service providers (ECISP), 2 times the following
amounts realized in the following calendar year will be deducted
from the net transaction volume for that calendar year provided
that the net transaction volume of ECISP does not exceed than 20%
of the sum of the net transaction volumes of ECISP and
e-commerce service providers calculated using e-commerce
information system (tr. Elektronik Ticaret Bilgi Sistemi,
ETBİS) data:
- The amount of sales made abroad through the e-commerce marketplaces by ECISP and ECISP in which ECISP has economic integrity
- The amount of investment expenditure realized by obtaining investment incentive certificate from the Ministry of Industry and Technology
- Exceedances below 15% will not be considered while determining whether the above-mentioned limit has been exceeded.
- While calculating the license fee for the year 2024, the abovementioned 20% requirement will not be sought and 4 times the amounts mentioned above will be deducted from the net transaction volume of ECISP.
- For the year 2025, 3 times the above mentioned amounts will be deducted from the net transaction volume of ECISP.
Decree on the Approval of the Annual Presidential Program for 2025
On 30 October 2024, the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye published the Decree on the Approval of the Annual Presidential Program for 2025. The Decree sets forth macroeconomic, fiscal and sectoral policies, along with the steps to implement these policies.
The Decree is available here (in Turkish).
The main objectives stipulated in the Decree closely related to the trade industry are as follows:
- The Retail Information System (tr. Perakende Ticaret Bilgi Sistemi, PERBIS) will be introduced to centralize the processing and finalization of applications and other transactions required to establish, operate and close retail businesses.
- E-Commerce legislation will be updated in order to adapt to new business models.
- Consumer protection legislation will be reviewed, current developments will be identified and steps will be taken to update the legislation, considering its dynamic structure. Actions will be taken to amend legislation and raise consumer awareness against deceptive and misleading practices, particularly digital media advertisements, focusing on the “Protection of the Digital Consumer” approach.
- Customs practices will be expanded by adopting innovative technologies such as blockchain and optical character recognition in foreign trade transactions.
- Duplicate data entries will be prevented by ensuring data sharing among institutions responsible for foreign trade transactions.
- Customs and foreign trade legislation will be revised in line with the twin transformation. Up-to-date information on profitable country customs practices will be made available to exporters on the Ministry of Trade's website.
- Efforts will be made to implement the Export Chain Project, which will enable all stakeholders to carry out customs and logistics processes related to export transactions electronically using blockchain infrastructure.
- Efforts will be made to extend on-site customs clearance permissions for exports by providing additional facilities to companies with Authorized Economic Operator Status.
Regulation on Market Surveillance and Inspection of Products Supplied on the Market via Remote Communication Tools
On 30 October 2024, the Ministry of Trade published the Regulation on Market Surveillance and Inspection of Products Supplied on the Market via Remote Communication Tools. The regulation sets forth the procedures and principles for market supply conditions and sales advertisements of products supplied or made available on the market through remote communication tools such as the internet, telephone and email. It also details the obligations of those supplying these products and the procedures and principles for market surveillance and inspection.
The Regulation is available here (in Turkish), and our legal alert regarding the Regulation is available here for details.
The main amendments introduced by the Regulation are as follows:
- If the products offered for sale via remote communication tools, including promotional offers, are targeted at end users in Türkiye, the product will be deemed available on the market.
- Economic operators will be deemed to target end users in Türkiye in sales made via distance communication tools if they meet at least one of the following conditions: i) providing a Turkish language option; ii) displaying prices in Turkish lira; iii) accepting payment in Turkish lira; iv) offering delivery to addresses in Türkiye; v) physically delivering to end users in Türkiye; and vi) registering the domain name in areas where shipment to Türkiye is possible.
To make a product under a legislation within the scope of the List published by the Ministry of Trade available on the market via remote communication tools, there must be i) a manufacturer, ii) an importer, iii) an authorized representative appointed by the manufacturer, or iv) if none of these, a performance service provider located in Türkiye.
- The economic operator must include the following information in
the sales advertisement for products supplied via remote
communication tools and ensure that end users are informed about
these issues before purchasing:
- Name and registered trade name, postal and email address
- Name, registered trade name or trademark, postal address and email address of the manufacturer of the product resident in Türkiye
- If the manufacturer is not resident in Türkiye, the importer's name, registered trade name or trademark, postal and email address
- If there is no manufacturer or importer resident in Türkiye and for products covered by the legislation included in the List, the name and registered trade name, postal and email address of (i) the authorized representative appointed by the manufacturer and residing in Türkiye; and, in the absence of such a representative, (ii) the performance service provider resident in Türkiye
- Warning and safety information and signs of conformity in Turkish, which are required by technical regulations to be attached to the product or product packaging or accompanying documents
- All other information describing the product, including a photograph of the product, the type of product and other information to identify it
- If there is no manufacturer or importer resident in Türkiye for product groups within the scope of the legislation included in the List published by the Ministry of Trade, the authorized representative must indicate its name, registered trade name or trademark, and contact details, including its full address, on the product. If this is not possible, this information should be on the packaging or in a document accompanying the product, in a way that is clear and not misleading to the end user.
- The performance service provider must comply with the following
obligations:
- Clearly specify its name, registered trade name or trademark, and full address on the product packaging or accompanying document
- Provide documents proving the conformity of the product at the request of the competent authority
- Inform the competent authority after becoming aware that the product poses a risk or in cases where it should have been known that the product poses a risk
- Take corrective action immediately or cooperate with the competent authority to eliminate the risk in the event of any nonconformity
- The intermediary service provider must comply with the
following obligations:
- Organize its online interface to enable economic operators to provide the aforementioned information for each product supplied or made available on the market, and ensure that end users can view this information in the product advertisement or access it easily by other means
- Execute content removal and other requests from competent authorities within 24 hours and inform the requestor immediately
- Take immediate action to remove or block access to the content of a nonconforming product in the e-commerce environment and inform the competent authority
- Designate a product safety contact point to handle requests from competent authorities, including content removal, and enable end users to contact it directly and promptly on product safety matters
- Keep and maintain systematic records of all information and documents that facilitate product tracing, and make them available to authorized institutions upon request
- Sanctions for violating the provisions of the regulation include blocking access and suspending advertisements in the case of promoting and selling noncompliant products; prohibiting or restricting product supply for violating information rules; and administrative fines ranging from TRY 48,474 to TRY 3,462,473 pursuant to Article 20 of the Regulations Law No. 7223 on Product Safety and Technical Regulations.
Decree No. 4458 Amending the Decree on the Implementation of Certain Articles of the Customs Law No. 4458 (Decree No. 9168)
On 27 November 2024, the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye published the Decree No. 4458 Amending the Decree on the Implementation of Certain Articles of the Customs Law No. 4458 (Decree No. 9168). The value of i) goods delivered to a natural person through postal or fast cargo transportation, not of commercial nature and not exceeding EUR 30, ii) medicines not exceeding EUR 1,500, iii) books or similar printed publications for personal use not exceeding EUR 1,500, and iv) goods delivered to a legal person through postal or fast cargo transportation, not of commercial nature and not exceeding EUR 22, will include transportation expenses incurred until the port or place of entry in Türkiye.
The Decree is available here (in Turkish).
Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Production and Trade of Tobacco Products
On 27 November 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Foresty published the Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Production and Trade of Tobacco Products.
The Regulation is available here (in Turkish).
The main amendments introduced by the Regulation are as follows:
- To establish a tobacco production facility in Türkiye, the Certificate of Conformity for Facility Establishments issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry must be obtained.
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will finalize applications for the Certificate of Conformity for Facility Establishments within 30 days.
- To obtain a Certificate of Conformity for Facility Establishments, applicants must submit a document certifying a guarantee of up to TRY 50 million in accordance with Law No. 4733 on the Regulation of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and the Alcohol Market, along with documents certifying no unpaid administrative fines or outstanding debts.
- The Certificate of Conformity for Facility Establishments will be valid for 18 months from the date of issuance.
- To produce tobacco products, a Production and Operation Conformity Certificate must be obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The procedures and principles for obtaining this certificate are similar to those for the Certificate of Conformity for Facility Establishments.
- Tobacco imports must be limited to production needs and carried out by companies producing tobacco products, provided that they are brought directly to the production facility or raw material warehouse without further processing in the country. Oriental type tobacco and tobacco powder cannot be imported.
- Tobacco and tobacco-derived raw materials, cigarette paper and filter rods acquired from domestic or foreign markets for tobacco product production cannot be sold, except for return to the originator. Tobacco powder and debris can be sold to tobacco processing facilities, destroyed or exported. Filter rods produced in the facility can be sold to the company's domestic cigarette and macaron production facilities or exported.
- Tobacco products supplied on the market must comply with the technical regulation communiqués prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Foresty. Products under the same brand can only be supplied by one manufacturer or importer in the same category.
- If insufficiencies detected during the application for the Market Supply Conformity Certificate issued to the companies that have received the Production and Operation Conformity Certificate are not resolved within 90 days, the application will be deemed canceled. The Market Supply Conformity Certificate cannot be transferred, except for document transfers within the scope of facility transfer.
- The production date and coding information of tobacco products for the domestic market must be printed on the unit package during production, and the production date must match the banderole activation date
- Coding information must be included in unit packages and groups of tobacco products produced for export, and label information must be included in parcels. The label must be white with black text and include the brand, distinctive sign or product code, manufacturer company information, place of production, quantity, export regime and export country information.
- If the provisions of the Regulation are violated, an administrative fine ranging from TRY 48,474 to TRY 3,462,473 may be imposed in accordance with Article 20 of Law No. 7223 on Product Safety and Technical Regulations.
Regulation on the Type Approval of Motor Vehicles for the Autonomous Driving System of Fully Autonomous Vehicles (AB/2022/1426)
On 1 December 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Technology published the Regulation on the Type Approval of Motor Vehicles for the Autonomous Driving System of Fully Autonomous Vehicles (EU/2022/1426). The Regulation sets forth the specific procedures and technical requirements for type-approval of autonomous driving systems (ADS) for motor vehicles in categories M and N, including passenger and commercial cars with at least 4 wheels. Fully autonomous vehicles in categories M and N, which are within the scope of the Regulation, are vehicles used for the transportation of people or goods on a fixed or flexible route, or for the parking of vehicles in certain parking facilities. The type approval of autonomous driving systems of fully autonomous vehicles will be subject to certain technical specifications, such as Emergency Response and Cyber Security Resilience, as set forth in the annex to the Regulation, and the assessment will be carried out by institutions in the European Union member state or by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. The annexes to the Regulation also include calculations and technical details for various traffic scenarios in which a fully autonomous driving system can operate.
The Regulation is available here (in Turkish).
Communiqué on Raising the Monetary Limits Set Forth in Article 68 of the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 and Article 6 of the Consumer Arbitral Tribunals Regulation
On 20 December 2024, the Ministry of Trade published the Communiqué on Raising the Monetary Limits Set Forth in Article 68 of Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 and Article 6 of the Consumer Arbitral Tribunals Regulation. Within the scope of the revaluation rate determined as 43.93% for 2025, consumer arbitral tribunals will be competent for disputes with a value below TRY 149,000, while disputes above this value will be heard by consumer courts.
The Communiqué is available here (in Turkish), and our legal alert regarding the Communiqué is available here for details.
Communiqué on Administrative Fines To be Imposed in 2025 According to Article 77 of the Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers
On 20 December 2024, Ministry of Trade published the Communiqué on Administrative Fines To be Imposed in 2025 According to Article 77 of the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502.
The Communiqué is available here, and our legal alert regarding the Communiqué is available here for details.
In particular, companies that:
- Used unfair terms or failed to use 12-point bold type with clear language in consumer agreements; failed to provide a guarantee certificate; or failed to provide explicit and legible safety information to consumers for goods deemed potentially harmful to consumers or the environment will be subject to a fine of TRY 3,166 per violation.
- Failed to comply with the obligations on consumer loan and housing finance agreements and agreements concluded outside the workplace will be subject to a fine of TRY 15,800 per agreement or transaction.
- Made deceptive or misleading representation through mass media advertising will be subject to a fine ranging from TRY 79,161 to 31,808,530.
Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Principles and Rules on Retail Trade
On 21 December 2024, the Ministry of Trade published the Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Principles and Rules on Retail Trade.
The Regulation is available here.
The main amendments introduced by the Regulation are as follows
- The installment period will be 3 months for the sales of mobile phones that are refurbished products made by refurbishment centers or authorized dealers and whose price is over TRY 25,000; and for the sales of mobile phones that are not of this nature and whose price is over TRY 20,000.
- The installment period cannot exceed 48 months for vehicle sales with a final invoice value of TRY 400,000 and below, 36 months for vehicle sales over TRY 400000 and not over TRY 800,000, 34 months for vehicle sales over TRY 800,000 and not over TRY 1,200,000, and 12 months for vehicle sales over TRY 1,200,000 and not over TRY 2,000,000. Installments cannot be made for vehicle sales with a final invoice value over TRY 2,000,000.
Conclusion
Significant legislative developments continue to be made in the commercial and trade sector. All stakeholders in the sector should carefully review the legislative developments and ensure compliance with the regulations.
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.
