The new penalty for opportunists has been announced.

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The administrative fines applied in the inspections of the Ministry of Commerce have been increased by 43.93% as of January 1, 2025. In a statement from the Ministry, it was noted that the administrative fines within the scope of the regulations of the General Directorate of Internal Trade and the General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance; the lower and upper limits of these fines were published in the Official Gazette dated November 27, 2024, and numbered 32735, stating that the revaluation rate for 2024 has been determined as 43.93%, and it will be applied with an increased revaluation rate starting from January 1, 2025.

PENALTIES FOR EXCESSIVE PRICE INCREASES

According to the statement from the Ministry; if a producer, supplier, or retail business makes an excessive increase in the sales price of a good or service within the scope of the revaluation rates, an administrative fine ranging from 100,000 TL to 1 million TL will be applied in 2024, while the lower limit of the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 has been set at 143,930 TL and the upper limit at 1 million 439,300 TL.

PENALTIES FOR RETAIL AND PRODUCER BUSINESSES

If retail businesses such as shopping centers and chain stores, as well as producers and suppliers, do not comply with the measures taken by the Ministry of Commerce and the secondary regulations, and if they act contrary to the professional conduct rules and the regulations made in this regard, in cases where a separate administrative fine is not foreseen in Article 18 of the Law No. 6585 on the Regulation of Retail Trade, an administrative fine ranging from 15,856 TL to 475,380 TL will be applied for each violation in 2024, while the lower limit of the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 has been set at 22,807 TL and the upper limit at 684,214 TL. For those who do not provide the requested books, documents, and other records, or provide them incompletely, or obstruct the inspectors from performing their duties, the lower limit of the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 will be 114,035 TL, and the upper limit will be 570,178 TL.

PENALTIES UP TO 17 MILLION FOR ACTIVITIES DISTURBING MARKET BALANCE

In addition, if producers, suppliers, and retail businesses engage in activities that create scarcity in the market, disrupt market balance and free competition, and hinder consumers' access to goods, an administrative fine ranging from 1 million TL to 12 million TL will be applied in 2024, while the lower limit of the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 has been set at 1 million 439,300 TL and the upper limit at 17 million 271,600 TL.

PENALTIES OF 177 THOUSAND TL FOR THOSE DUMPING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

In the trade of fruits and vegetables, if professionals make commercial agreements among themselves or with producers, engage in coordinated actions, and abuse their dominant position to hinder free competition, create scarcity in the market, cause prices to rise, or prevent prices from falling, and if goods are collected in certain hands, avoided from sale, stocked, destroyed, propaganda is made for this purpose, or similar actions are taken, an administrative fine of 123,213 TL will be applied in 2024, while the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 will be 177,340 TL. For shopping centers, large stores, chain stores, and other businesses engaged in retail trade, in cases of unfair commercial practices that arise in the supply chain, store-branded products, shelf allocation in large stores and chain stores, promotional sales, continuous discounted sales, working hours, common areas in shopping centers, and various issues regarding common expenses and revenues, fines will be applied in various amounts ranging from 14,335 TL to 718,987 TL for 2025, based on the revaluation rates.

PENALTIES FROM THE ADVERTISING BOARD

To prevent consumer grievances caused by misleading and deceptive advertisements and unfair commercial practices, as well as unfair competition that disrupts fair competition conditions, the administrative fine applied in 2024, taking into account the type of medium where the violation occurred, the affected consumer group, the size of the unfairly obtained benefit or the damage caused, the fault of the violator, and their economic situation, will range from 55,000 TL to 22 million 100 thousand TL, while in 2025, it will range from 79,161 TL to 31 million 808 thousand 530 TL.

PENALTIES OF ONE AND A HALF MILLION FOR FIRMS ENTERING INTO CONTRACTS WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION

For sellers who do not obtain an authorization certificate from the Provincial Directorate of Commerce to enter into contracts with consumers outside the workplace, the administrative fine applied in 2024 will be 1 million 100 thousand 122 TL, while in 2025 it will be 1 million 583 thousand 405 TL.

For violations of the provisions regarding contracts and notifications that are required to be prepared in writing according to the Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers, such as not being prepared in twelve-point font size, not providing a copy of the prepared contracts to consumers, changing the terms of the contracts to the detriment of consumers during the contract period, not providing information regarding any fees and expenses to be requested from consumers as an annex to the contract, sending or offering goods or services that were not ordered to consumers, an administrative fine of 2,200 TL will be applied for each transaction or contract in 2024, while in 2025 it will be 3,166 TL. In cases where a displayed good or service is avoided from sale without a valid reason, an administrative fine will be applied for each transaction or contract where the violation is detected, amounting to at least 10% of the total sales price of the good or service avoided from sale, including all taxes, which will be set at no less than 3,166 TL in 2025.

In retail businesses, if the legal obligations regarding the price tags and price lists of the goods offered for sale are not complied with, an administrative fine of 2,200 TL will be applied for each violation in 2024, while in 2025 it will be 3,166 TL.

POST-SALE SERVICE OBLIGATIONS

The administrative fine applied to producers and importers who do not obtain the post-sale service adequacy certificate required to be obtained from the Ministry of Commerce will be 1 million 115 thousand TL in 2024, while it will be set at 1 million 604 thousand 819 TL in 2025.

During the validity period of the post-sale service competency certificate, for manufacturers and importers who do not provide the minimum number of service stations, an administrative fine of 124,000 TL in 2024 will be applied for each missing service station, which will increase to 178,473 TL in 2025. For manufacturers or importers who do not register or update the information regarding authorized service stations in the system created by the Ministry of Commerce, an administrative fine of 18,000 TL will be applied for each service station in 2024, increasing to 25,907 TL in 2025.

MAXIMUM REPAIR PROCESS AS A SANCTION ISSUE

If the maximum repair period is exceeded or if maintenance and repair services are not provided in accordance with the regulations, an administrative fine of 2,200 TL will be applied for each detected violation in 2024, which will increase to 3,166 TL in 2025. In cases where the warranty certificate and the Turkish introduction and user manual are not prepared or are inadequately prepared, illegal practices, or where the warranty certificate and the Turkish introduction and user manual are not delivered to the consumer at all or in accordance with the regulations, an administrative fine of 2,172 TL will be applied to the seller in 2024, increasing to 3,126 TL in 2025.

If service stations operating independently of any manufacturer or importer do not use the term "special service" in a visible and readable manner in all their media and activities, an administrative fine of 18,000 TL will be applied to special service stations in 2024, which will increase to 25,907 TL in 2025.

RENEWED PRODUCT SALES AND ACTIVITIES

In addition, regarding goods requiring a renewal authorization certificate, if renewal activities are carried out without a certificate, an administrative fine of 1,766,274 TL will be applied in 2024, increasing to 2,542,198 TL in 2025. For violations and deficiencies detected in the sale of renewed products, an administrative fine of 1,765 TL will be applied for each transaction in 2024, which will increase to 2,540 TL in 2025.

CREDIT AND SUBSCRIPTION VIOLATIONS

If credit cards without membership fees are not offered to consumers, an administrative fine of 55,006,905 TL will be applied to the relevant institutions in 2024, increasing to 79,171,438 TL in 2025. In consumer credit and housing finance contracts, for violations of the Law regarding the right of withdrawal, interest rates, early payment, and default, as well as for lenders who demand unfair and unjustified insurance, fees, and expenses in return for consumers using credit, an administrative fine of 10,978 TL will be applied for each violating contract or transaction in 2024, which will increase to 15,800 TL in 2025.

ARBITRARY CANCELLATION OF ORDERS IN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

In electronic commerce, regarding distance contracts involving consumers, in cases of violations related to the right of withdrawal and the seller's arbitrary and unjustified order cancellation rights, an administrative fine of 2,200 TL will be applied for each violating transaction or contract in 2024, which will increase to 3,166 TL in 2025. For intermediary service providers, an administrative fine of 3,532,548 TL will be applied in 2024 for violations of the obligation to establish and maintain a system that allows consumers to communicate and follow up on their requests and notifications, which will increase to 5,084,396 TL in 2025. Regarding subscription contracts for essential goods or services such as electricity, water, and electronic communication, which are increasingly expanding in application, for violations of information and approval obligations, failure to automatically extend expired subscription contracts, changes to the terms of commitment to the detriment of the consumer, and failure to fulfill requests for contract termination within seven days, an administrative fine of 2,200 TL will be applied for each contract or transaction in 2024, which will increase to 3,166 TL in 2025. For violations detected in installment sales contracts and package tour contracts with consumers, an administrative fine of 2,200 TL will be applied for each violating transaction or contract in 2024, which will increase to 3,166 TL in 2025. For violations of the provisions related to timeshare contracts, an administrative fine of 12,363 TL will be applied for each contract or transaction in 2024, which will increase to 17,794 TL in 2025.

PENALTIES FOR PREPAID HOUSING SALES

For each contract or transaction that violates the provisions related to prepaid housing sales contracts, an administrative fine of 10,978 TL will be applied in 2024, which will increase to 15,800 TL in 2025. For each undelivered housing, an administrative fine of 247,278 TL will be applied in 2024, which will increase to 355,907 TL in 2025. For those who sell housing to consumers on a prepaid basis without obtaining a construction permit, an administrative fine of 1,100,122 TL will be applied in 2024, which will increase to 1,583,405 TL in 2025. For sellers who do not fulfill the obligation to provide collateral, an administrative fine of 5,500,667 TL will be applied in 2024, which will increase to 7,917,110 TL in 2025.

SCOPE OF REGULATIONS IS EXPANDING

On the other hand, under the Temporary Article 3 added to the Law No. 6502 by Article 17 of Law No. 7392 published in the Official Gazette dated 01.04.2022 and numbered 31796, the administrative fines to be applied in cases where administrative fines should be imposed according to the regulations of the Law No. 6502 prior to the mentioned amendment have also been increased in accordance with the revaluation rate.