Recent developments in Turkish e-commerce law

Following the entry into force of Law No. 7416 Amending Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce, the Turkish Ministry of Trade started to issue secondary legislation relating to e-commerce. Recently, the Ministry has published two significant regulatory amendments that impact e-commerce players.

First, the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Electronic Commerce Intermediary Service Providers and Electronic Commerce Service Providers, published and entered into force on 8 March 2025, clarifies key obligations of e-commerce intermediary service providers (ECISP) and e-commerce service providers (ECSP).

Second, the Regulation Amending the Distance Contracts Regulation, published on 24 May 2025 and to enter into force on 1 January 2026, introduces new consumer-friendly provisions into the Distance Contracts Regulation.

The 2025 amendments reflect an approach aimed at strengthening the oversight of e-commerce activities and more effectively protecting consumer rights. Compliance with these requirements, which provide legal certainty for platforms and sellers, will reduce the risk of regulatory sanctions and enhance consumer confidence and commercial sustainability.

Below is a summary of the key amendments brought by these regulations.

Amendments to the ECISP and ECSP Regulation

• Obligation to provide registered email address. The ECSPs’ obligation to provide a registered email address (KEP) in the marketplace area allocated to them by ECISPs, has been removed.
• ECISP’s obligation to provide and verify information. ECISPs are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the identifying information of each ECSP it serves. Before the regulatory amendments, ECISPs were expected to verify the accuracy of this information within the first three months of each calendar year. ECISPs are now required to verify such information at least once a year. The ECISP will not be required to perform any verification for calendar years in which the ECSP has not listed any products.
• Unfair commercial practices in e-commerce. The amendments clarify that determining withdrawal periods longer than those specified in Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers in the intermediary contract will not be considered an unfair commercial practice. On the other hand, unless justified by the intermediary contract, any contractual penalty imposed by the ECISP without requesting an explanation from the ECSP through the internal communication system will be considered an unfair commercial practice.
• Data access and portability. Medium, large, and very large-scale ECISPs must now explicitly undertake in the intermediary contracts that they will provide technical means to:

• • • enable the free and effective transfer of the sales and return data, features, descriptions, and images of the products offered for sale by ECSPs, the questions, answers, and evaluations related to these products, and if obtained by the ECISP, the evaluation score regarding the ECSP’s performance during the term of the intermediary contract and for one year after its termination;
    • provide free access to data, if obtained by the ECISP, regarding the ECSPs’ own orders including the most preferred products based on period, special day, category, and product, as well as demographic purchase data such as buyer gender, age group, province and district distribution, and time of purchase, during the term of the intermediary contract.
• Amendment of intermediary contracts by the ECISPs. According to the Regulation on Electronic Commerce Intermediary Service Providers and Electronic Commerce Service Providers, unless a longer period is specified by the ECISP, amendments to intermediary contracts will become effective fifteen days after their notification to the ECSP. However, in cases requiring technical developments by the ECSP, or circumstances resulting in the increase of commission rates and service fees, restriction, suspension or termination of the intermediary services, imposition of a new contractual penalty on the ECSP, or an imbalance in rights and interests or similar consequences, this period will be thirty days. Under the new regulation, amendments made in favour of the ECSP may enter into force without applying the fifteen-day period, provided that the ECSP is notified. Furthermore, mandatory amendments made by regulatory and supervisory authorities will not be subject to notification periods.
• Obligation to provide technical capability for internal communication system. ECISPs will be obliged to provide technical means for ECSPs to view, save, and copy, without modification, the information in the internal communication system during the term of the intermediary contract and for one year after its termination.
• Advertising and search engine keywords. ECISPs and ECSPs were prohibited to use keywords consisting of registered trademarks that exclusively form the main element of domain names registered in the E-Commerce Information System (ETBİS) of third parties which are not within the same economic unity, without obtaining their prior consent, as part of marketing and promotion activities. The new regulation specifies that administrative sanctions will be applied if the Ministry detects a violation of this prohibition. Additionally, ECISPs and ECSPs must remedy the violation within 24 hours following the Ministry’s notification and add the keyword subject to the complaint to negative keywords with exact match in all advertising models and campaign types that enable text advertising in online search engines, and promptly submit proof and documents to the Ministry.
• Independent audit reports. The deadline for submission of independent audit reports by medium, large, and very large-scale ECISPs and ECSPs was moved from April to August. It is clarified that these reports must include information regarding the registered trademarks of both the ECISPs and ECSPs and those within the same economic unity.
• Compliance reports. Similar to independent audit reports, compliance reports of medium, large, and very large-scale ECISPs must also be submitted to the Ministry in August instead of April.
• Advertising budgets. The limit for sponsorship expenses not to be included in the advertising budgets of large and very large-scale ECISPs and ECSPs has been increased from 25% to 50%. Additionally, advertising expenses up to 5% of the advertising budget for the purchase of used goods and sale of refurbished products under the Regulation on the Sale of Refurbished Products will not be included in the advertising budget of large and very large-scale ECISPs. Finally, if an ECISP exceeds its advertising budget by having ECSPs or third parties advertise in a way that benefits the ECISP and fails to report the cost incurred to the Ministry, the ECISP will be considered to have engaged in misleading advertising practices.
• Discount budgets. If buyers are offered deferral options in instalment sales and such costs are borne by the ECISP, the cost of such deferral will be included in the ECISP’s discount budget. On the other hand, benefits and discounts provided to buyers and ECSPs with the prior approval of the Ministry in cases requiring solidarity and assistance such as earthquakes, fires, and floods, or for the purposes of ensuring active participation of disadvantaged segments in the society to economic and social life, will not be included in the ECISP’s discount budget. Discounts up to 5% of the discount budget for the purchase of used goods and the sale of refurbished products under the Regulation on the Sale of Refurbished Products will not be included in the discount budgets of large and very large-scale ECISPs.
• Calculation of e-commerce licence fee. The new regulations details the amounts that may be deducted from the net transaction volume taken into account when calculating e-commerce licence fees, as well as the circumstances that will be excluded from the licence fee calculation on the grounds that they constitute foreign sales. Additionally, it is clearly stated that the Ministry has the authority to determine foreign sales types other than those specified. The burden of proof for transactions claimed to be foreign sales lies with the declaring ECISP. Accordingly, ECISPs are obliged to provide all information and documentation to substantiate such declarations, take the necessary measures to ensure effective and efficient audits, and establish the required technical infrastructure.
• Management of stock information. The obligation to provide the technical infrastructure for the simultaneous transmission of order information to ECSPs and updating stock information by the ECSPs will not be applicable to ECISPs that are intermediating ECSPs providing services in the food and beverage sector.

Amendments to the Distance Contracts Regulation

• Return costs when exercising the right of withdrawal. The Distance Contracts Regulation previously permitted the seller to impose return costs on the consumer if the goods were returned using the carrier designated by the seller in case of exercise of the right of withdrawal. The new regulation now clearly provides that the consumer cannot be held responsible for any return-related costs if the goods are returned using the carrier specified by the seller. Similarly, if the seller has not designated any carrier for returns in the pre-information, no return cost can be demanded from the consumer. In parallel, the consumer’s obligation to bear the return costs in case the goods are returned by the carrier designated by the seller has been completely removed.
• Changes in preliminary information obligations. Due to the changes regarding the non-reflection of return costs to the consumer when exercising the right of withdrawal, the pre-information text will no longer include the return costs and which party will bear them in the event of withdrawal. On the other hand, it is mandatory to include the requirement to apply to a mediator before filing a lawsuit in consumer court in case of a dispute.
• Right of withdrawal for certain electronic products. The provision under which consumers could not exercise the right of withdrawal for contracts related to mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, and computers delivered to the consumer has been removed.