Ministry of Trade issued a flood of fines in 2023

The Ministry of Trade announced that in 2023, it conducted 18,780 inspections within the scope of the automotive, real estate, and food sectors, as well as audits regarding exorbitant pricing and hoarding, resulting in 602 million 225 thousand 881 TL in administrative fines.

In the statement made by the Ministry, it was emphasized that while the Ministry of Trade continues its efforts to ensure the orderly, healthy, and fair functioning of the markets, it also continues inspections to protect the economic rights and interests of 86 million citizens in the contracts they are parties to almost every day, and to prevent consumer grievances.

The statement from the Ministry provided the following information regarding the inspections:

"Our General Directorate of Internal Trade inspected 18,780 natural and legal persons in 2023 within the scope of the automotive, real estate, and food sectors, as well as the fight against exorbitant prices and hoarding, and imposed a total of 602 million 225 thousand 881 TL in administrative fines on 2,528 natural and legal persons who acted in violation of the regulations. In order to regulate internal markets, prevent exorbitant prices, regulate commercial activities between producers, suppliers, and retail businesses, and ensure that our consumers are not affected by any negativity while meeting their needs from the market, our inspections continued in detail throughout 2023. Regarding the inspection activities, 2,144 natural and legal persons were inspected for automotive trade and automotive hoarding practices, and 375 million 417 thousand 64 TL in administrative fines were imposed on 656 natural and legal persons found to be in violation; in real estate sector inspections, 91 million 207 thousand 655 TL was imposed on 1,201 natural and legal persons found to be in violation out of 1,899 inspected; and in food sector exorbitant price inspections, 15,080 natural and legal persons were inspected, and 135 million 601 thousand 162 TL in administrative fines were applied.

Our General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance imposed 842 million 402 thousand 406 TL in administrative fines throughout 2023 for inspections regarding contracts to which consumers are parties, unfair commercial practices, price tag violations, and unsafe products. As of 31.12.2023, a total of 842 million 402 thousand 406 TL in administrative fines was imposed by our General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance during the inspections conducted throughout 2023. In the inspections, 670 million 596 thousand 661 TL was imposed under many headings such as subscription contracts, primarily distance contracts, prepaid housing sales, banking services, and after-sales services; 114 million 139 thousand 768 TL for advertising and unfair commercial practice inspections; 15 million 332 thousand 80 TL within the scope of product safety inspections; and 42 million 333 thousand 969 TL within the scope of price tag inspections.

The Competition Board imposed 2 billion 664 million 688 thousand 744 TL in administrative fines in 2023 for acts contrary to competition law. The Competition Board imposed 2 billion 664 million 688 thousand 744 TL in administrative fines throughout 2023 for practices arising from violations of competition law. In these investigations, many sectors were inspected, primarily information technologies and platform services, as well as health services, logistics, culture-arts, entertainment, and infrastructure services. As the Ministry of Trade, we will continue to take steps in 2024 to ensure the formation of a fair and competitive internal market without compromising on unfair commercial acts that may occur within sectors. Furthermore, prioritizing our principle of zero tolerance for unsafe products and ensuring our consumers do not suffer grievances, we will continue to implement all our tools to protect their rights and interests in 2024."

News Source: İHA