Turkey e-Commerce Regulation 2025

New Era for E-commerce: Turkey's Enhanced Product Safety Regulations for Online Sales

The landscape of e-commerce in Turkey is undergoing a significant transformation with the introduction of the Regulation on Market Surveillance and Inspection of Products Placed on the Market Through Remote Communication Tools ("the Regulation"), published in the Official Gazette on October 30, 2024, and set to take effect on April 1, 2025. This new regulation aims to enhance consumer safety, ensure product quality and conformity, and guarantee transparency and accountability in remote sales.

With online sales, particularly via the internet, becoming an increasingly dominant part of daily life, the Regulation addresses the need for robust oversight of products offered through these channels. It covers all products placed or made available on the market via remote communication tools, except where specific legislation already exists.

What Does "Placing on the Market" Mean in the Digital Age?

The Regulation clarifies that a product is considered "placed on the market" if it is provided for distribution, consumption, or use through commercial activity, whether paid or free. Crucially, for remote sales, products are considered "placed on the market" in Turkey if they target end-users residing in Turkey.

This broad definition is particularly relevant for international e-commerce sites. An economic operator will be deemed to be targeting Turkish end-users if they meet at least one of the following conditions:

• Offering a Turkish language option.

• Displaying prices in Turkish Lira (TRY).

• Accepting payments in Turkish Lira.

• Providing shipping options to addresses in Turkey.

• Physically shipping products to end-users in Turkey.

• Having a domain registered in geographical areas that allow shipping to Turkey.

For certain regulated products listed on the Ministry of Trade's website, an additional requirement is imposed: a local economic operator must be present in Turkey to place such products on the market via remote communication tools. This economic operator could be a manufacturer, importer, authorized representative, or a fulfillment service provider if the others are absent.

Key Obligations Under the New Regulation

The Regulation introduces specific duties for various stakeholders involved in online sales, building upon existing product safety laws.

1. Information Disclosure in Sales Advertisements

Economic operators (manufacturers, authorized representatives, importers, distributors, or other entities responsible for products) are now obligated to provide comprehensive product information in sales advertisements through remote communication tools. This information must be easily visible and clearly readable.

The mandatory information includes:

• Name, registered trade name, or brand of the Turkish manufacturer, along with a postal and electronic mail address for contact.

• If no Turkish manufacturer, name and registered trade name of the importer, with contact details.

• If neither a Turkish manufacturer nor an importer, name and registered trade name of the Turkish authorized representative or fulfillment service provider, with contact details, for products on the Ministry of Trade's list.

• Turkish warning and safety information and conformity markings as required by technical regulations on the product, its packaging, or accompanying documents.

• All information enabling product description, including a photograph, type, and other identifying details.

This aims to allow consumers to thoroughly examine products online, just as they would in a physical store, ensuring they are informed about product markings and the responsible economic operator before purchase.

2. Obligations of Authorized Representatives

Authorized representatives, who are Turkish residents appointed by manufacturers to fulfill certain obligations, must, in addition to existing duties, clearly state their name, registered trade name or brand, and contact information (including address) on the product, its packaging, or accompanying documents if there is no Turkish manufacturer or importer for products listed on the Ministry of Trade's website.

3. Obligations of Fulfillment Service Providers

A new concept introduced by the Regulation, a fulfillment service provider is defined as a real or legal person offering at least two services (storage, packaging, addressing, and shipping) during commercial activities without taking ownership of the product. They are typically considered distributors and are subject to their obligations, unless their activities impact product safety or they affix their own brand, in which case they are deemed manufacturers.

Their obligations include:

• Stating their name, trade name/brand, and contact details on the product, packaging, or accompanying documents if no Turkish manufacturer, importer, or authorized representative exists.

• Confirming the preparation of conformity/performance declarations and technical files, retaining them, and providing them to authorities upon request.

• Providing all necessary information and documents demonstrating product conformity to authorities in Turkish or another accepted language.

• Informing authorities if they learn or should know that a product poses a risk.

• Cooperating with authorities to take corrective measures for non-conformities or eliminate product risks.

4. Obligations of Intermediary Service Providers (Online Platforms)

The Regulation imposes significant duties on intermediary service providers (e-commerce platforms) to ensure product safety and regulatory compliance.

Key obligations for these platforms include:

• Designing and arranging online interfaces to enable economic operators to present product information (as detailed in section 1) to end-users in an easily accessible, readable, and visible manner.

• Removing content or blocking access within 24 hours upon receiving content removal or other requests from authorized institutions.

• Taking immediate action to remove content or block access to a non-conforming product if they become aware of its non-conformity, and informing the authorized institution without delay.

• Preventing the recurrence of infringing content on their interfaces in the future, upon request from authorized institutions.

• Establishing a "product safety contact point" – an electronic communication address to quickly respond to requests from authorized institutions and the General Directorate, and to allow end-users to contact them directly and swiftly on product safety matters.

• Immediately transmitting recall announcements from economic operators to all end-users who purchased the recalled product through their platform via email. This information must also be made easily accessible on the online interface itself. The platform's role is limited to conveying the information, not the recall process itself.

• Maintaining records of previous and subsequent economic operators in the supply chain (name, trade name/brand, contact info) and other tracing information for at least ten years from the date the product was placed on the market via their platform, and presenting these records upon request.

• If an intermediary service provider also acts as a manufacturer, importer, authorized representative, distributor, or fulfillment service provider, they will be considered an economic operator and will be subject to the corresponding direct responsibilities for product safety and conformity.

The Role of Authorized Institutions

Authorized institutions are public bodies responsible for preparing, implementing, or inspecting technical regulations related to products. Their powers under the Regulation are extensive:

• Inspecting the safety and conformity of products sold via remote communication tools.

• Ensuring corrective measures are taken for non-conformities.

• Ordering content removal from intermediary service providers and, if not complied with within 24 hours or if the content reappears, blocking access to the content via the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK).

• Requesting media service providers to stop promotion/sale of non-conforming products on TV/radio.

• Investigating international product safety information in the Turkish market.

• Issuing warnings, imposing market bans or restrictions, and ordering recalls for non-conforming or risky products.

• Demanding open warnings for end-users on online platforms until risks are eliminated.

Conclusion

The new Regulation represents a significant step towards strengthening consumer protection, enhancing product safety, and bolstering oversight mechanisms in remote commerce. It places clear and comprehensive obligations on economic operators and intermediary service providers to ensure that products reaching Turkish consumers through online channels are safe and compliant with national standards. Non-compliance will result in administrative sanctions in addition to actions taken by authorized institutions.

This means a more transparent and secure online shopping experience for consumers, and a more accountable environment for businesses operating in the Turkish e-commerce market.

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