Ministry of Trade steps in: Price inspections to intensify

The Ministry of Trade has announced the new rates for administrative fines applied during inspections. According to the statement made via social media, the fines have been increased by 43.93% to make them more deterrent.

HEAVY SANCTIONS COMING FOR EXORBITANT PRICE HIKES

Businesses engaging in exorbitant price hikes will face fines ranging from a minimum of 143,930 TL to a maximum of 1,439,300 TL in the new year. For activities that disrupt market balance or hinder free competition, fines will start at 1,439,300 TL and can go up to 17,271,600 TL.

MILLION-LIRA FINES FOR MISLEADING ADVERTISING

Criminal proceedings involving fines between 79,161 TL and 31,808,530 TL will be applied for deceptive and misleading advertisements and unfair commercial practices.

FINES ALSO COMING FOR LABEL VIOLATIONS

Businesses acting contrary to price tag and price list regulations will be fined 3,166 TL for each violation.

To prevent post-sales grievances for consumers, manufacturers and importers who do not obtain a service qualification certificate will face a fine of 1,604,819 TL.

MINISTRY OF TRADE ANNOUNCES INCREASED FINES

The full text of the Ministry's statement is as follows:

Administrative fines and the lower and upper limits for these fines within the scope of the legislation of the Ministry of Trade's General Directorate of Internal Trade and the General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance; with the Tax Procedure Law General Communiqué (Serial No: 574) published in the Official Gazette dated 27/11/2024 and numbered 32735, the revaluation rate for 2024 has been determined as 43.93%, and it will be applied by increasing it at the revaluation rate starting from January 1, 2025.

Within the scope of the revaluation rates;

Administrative fines of up to a lower limit of 143,930 TL and an upper limit of 1,439,300 TL may be applied to businesses engaging in exorbitant price hikes in 2025.

In the event of an exorbitant increase in the sales price of a good or service by manufacturers, suppliers, and retail businesses, while an administrative fine of 100,000 TL to 1,000,000 TL was applied in 2024, the lower limit of the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 has been determined as 143,930 TL and the upper limit as 1,439,300 TL.

In case of failure to comply with the measures taken and secondary regulations made by the Ministry of Trade, for retail businesses such as shopping malls and chain stores, as well as manufacturers and suppliers; and for those acting contrary to professional codes of conduct and regulations made in this regard, aimed at those carrying out commercial activities such as real estate, second-hand motor vehicle, and jewelry trading, in cases where a separate administrative fine is not stipulated in Article 18 of the Law on the Regulation of Retail Trade No. 6585, while an administrative fine of 15,856 TL to 475,380 TL was applied for each violation in 2024, the lower limit of the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 is 22,807 TL and the upper limit is 684,214 TL.

For those who do not provide the books, documents, and other records requested by those authorized to inspect, or who provide them incompletely, or who prevent inspection officers from performing their duties, the lower limit of the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 will be 114,035 Turkish Liras, and the upper limit will be 570,178 Turkish Liras.

In 2025, a fine with a lower limit of 1,439,300 TL and an upper limit of 17,271,600 TL will be applied for activities that disrupt market balance and free competition and activities that prevent consumers from accessing goods.

In addition, in the event that manufacturers, suppliers, and retail businesses engage in activities that create scarcity in the market, disrupt market balance and free competition, and prevent consumers from accessing goods, while an administrative fine of 1,000,000 TL to 12,000,000 TL was applied in 2024, the lower limit of the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 has been determined as 1,439,300 TL and the upper limit as 17,271,600 TL.

In the vegetable and fruit trade, in order to prevent free competition, if professional members make commercial agreements among themselves or with producers, act in concert, and abuse a dominant position to create scarcity in the market, cause prices to rise, or prevent prices from falling, by gathering goods in certain hands, avoiding their sale, stocking, destroying, or engaging in propaganda for this purpose or similar behaviors, while an administrative fine of 123,213 Turkish Liras was applied in 2024, the administrative fine to be applied in 2025 will be 177,340 TL.

For shopping malls, large stores, chain stores, and other businesses engaged in retail trade, as well as manufacturers and suppliers; regarding various issues such as unfair commercial practices in the supply chain, private label products, shelf allocation in large stores and chain stores, promotional sales, continuous discounted sales, working hours, common areas in shopping malls, and common expenses and revenues, in case of violation of Law No. 6585, fines will be applied with revaluation rates for 2025, ranging from 14,335 Turkish Liras to 718,987 Turkish Liras, in various amounts.

The Advertising Board will be able to apply criminal proceedings between 79,161 TL and 31,808,530 TL for deceptive and misleading advertisements and unfair commercial practices in 2025.

In order to prevent consumer grievances caused by deceptive and misleading advertisements and unfair commercial practices, and unfair competition situations that disrupt fair competition conditions, the Advertising Board, taking into account the consumer audience affected by the medium where the violation occurred, the magnitude of the unfairly obtained benefit or the damage caused, and the fault and economic situation of the person committing the violation, will be able to apply criminal proceedings between 79,161 TL and 31,808,530 TL in 2025, whereas an administrative fine of 55,000 TL to 22,100,000 TL was applied in 2024.

The administrative fine applied as 1,100,122 TL in 2024 to sellers who do not obtain an authorization certificate from the Provincial Directorate of Trade to make contracts with consumers outside the workplace will be applied as 1,583,405 TL in 2025.

An administrative fine of 3,166 TL will be applied in 2025 for each violation regarding price tags and price lists within the scope of consumer protection.

For those who violate the provisions regarding the failure to arrange contracts and information required to be arranged in writing in the Law on the Protection of Consumers No. 6502 in twelve-point size, failure to provide a copy of the arranged contracts to consumers, changing the conditions stipulated in the contracts against consumers during the contract period, failure to provide information regarding all kinds of fees and expenses to be requested from consumers as an annex to the contract, and sending or offering unsolicited goods or services to consumers, the administrative fine applied as 2,200 TL per transaction or contract in 2024 will be 3,166 TL in 2025.

In the event that a displayed good or service is avoided from being sold without a justifiable reason, the administrative fine applied as 10% of the total sales price of the good or service avoided from being sold, including all taxes, and not less than 2,200 TL for each transaction or contract where the violation is detected in 2024, has been determined as 10% of the total sales price of the good or service avoided from being sold, including all taxes, and not less than 3,166 TL in 2025.

In the event that the legal obligations determined for the full and accurate information of consumers regarding the price tags and price lists of goods offered for sale in retail businesses are not complied with, the administrative fine applied as 2,200 TL for each violation in 2024 will be applied as 3,166 TL in 2025.

An administrative fine of 1,604,819 TL will be applied in the new year to manufacturers and importers who do not obtain the after-sales service qualification certificate applied to prevent post-sales grievances of consumers.

The administrative fine applied as 1,115,000 TL in 2024 to manufacturers and importers who do not obtain the after-sales service qualification certificate that must be obtained from the Ministry of Trade has been determined as 1,604,819 TL in 2025.

The administrative fine, which was 124,000 TL in 2024 for each missing service station for manufacturers and importers who do not provide the minimum number of service stations during the validity period of the after-sales service qualification certificate, has been determined as 178,473 TL in 2025; and the administrative fine, which was 18,000 TL in 2024 for each service station for manufacturers or importers who do not record the information regarding authorized service stations in the system created by the Ministry of Trade in an up-to-date manner or do not update these records, has been determined as 25,907 TL in 2025.

In cases where the maximum repair period is exceeded and maintenance and repair services are not provided in accordance with the legislation, the administrative fine applied as 2,200 TL for each transaction where the violation is detected in 2024 will be 3,166 TL in 2025.

In cases such as the failure to arrange or incomplete arrangement of the warranty certificate and the Turkish introductory and user manual, practices contrary to legal regulations, and the failure to deliver the warranty certificate and the Turkish introductory and user manual to the consumer at all or in accordance with the legislation, the administrative fine applied to the seller as 2,172 TL in 2024 has been determined as 3,126 TL in 2025.

In the event that service stations operating independently of any manufacturer or importer do not use the phrase "special service" in a way that can be easily seen and read in all kinds of media and activities, the administrative fine applied to special service stations as 18,000 TL in 2024 will be applied as 25,907 TL in 2025.

In addition, regarding goods requiring a renewal authorization certificate, the administrative fine applied as 1,766,274 TL in 2024 in case of engaging in renewal activities without a certificate will be applied as 2,542,198 TL in 2025, and regarding violations and deficiencies detected in the sale of renewed products, the administrative fine applied as 1,765 TL for each transaction in 2024 will be applied as 2,540 TL in 2025.

In the event that a credit card without an annual fee is not offered to consumers, the administrative fine applied to the relevant institutions as 55,006,905 TL in 2024 will be 79,171,438 TL in 2025; and in consumer loan and housing finance contracts, for lenders who violate the provisions of the Law regarding the right of withdrawal, interest rate, early payment, and default, and who also demand unfair and unjustified insurance, fees, and expenses from consumers in return for using credit, the administrative fine applied as 10,978 TL for each violating contract or transaction in 2024 will be applied as 15,800 TL in 2025.

In cases of violation regarding the information and exercise of rights granted to our consumers, especially the right of withdrawal in distance contracts where consumers are a party in electronic commerce and rights that prevent arbitrary and unjustified order cancellation by the seller, the administrative fine applied as 2,200 TL for each such transaction or contract in 2024 will be 3,166 TL in 2025, and the administrative fine applied as 3,532,548 TL in 2024 for violation of the obligation of intermediary service providers to establish a system suitable for consumers to transmit and track their requests and notifications and to keep it open uninterruptedly will be 5,084,396 TL in 2025.

Within the scope of regulations regarding subscription contracts, which have an increasing area of application regarding the supply of goods or services that are among the basic needs of our consumers such as electricity, water, and electronic communication and which are continuous, for practices that constitute a violation of the legislation such as failure to comply with information and approval obligations, failure to comply with the prohibition of automatic renewal of expired subscription contracts, making changes to commitment conditions against the consumer, and failure to fulfill requests for termination of the contract within seven days, the administrative fine applied as 2,200 TL per contract or transaction in 2024 will be 3,166 TL in 2025.

Within the scope of violations detected in installment sales contracts and package tour contracts concluded with consumers, the administrative fine applied as 2,200 TL for each violating transaction or contract in 2024 will be 3,166 TL in 2025, and in case of violation of the provisions regarding timeshare contracts, the administrative fine applied as 12,363 TL per contract or transaction in 2024 will be applied as 17,794 TL in 2025.

The administrative fine applied as 5,500,667 TL in 2024 to sellers who do not fulfill the obligation to provide collateral in prepaid housing sales contracts will be applied as 7,917,310 TL in 2025.

The administrative fine applied as 10,978 TL for each contract or transaction contrary to the provisions regarding prepaid housing sales contracts in 2024 will be 15,800 TL in 2025; the administrative fine applied as 247,278 TL per undelivered residence in 2024 will be 355,907 TL in 2025; the administrative fine applied as 1,100,122 TL in 2024 to those who sell housing to consumers on a prepaid basis without obtaining a building permit will be 1,583,405 TL in 2025; and the administrative fine applied as 5,500,667 TL in 2024 to sellers who do not fulfill the obligation to provide collateral will be applied as 7,917,110 TL in 2025.

On the other hand, within the scope of Provisional Article 3 added to Law No. 6502 with 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 an administrative fine should be applied according to the regulations of Law No. 6502 before the said amendment have also been increased at the revaluation rate.

Respectfully announced to the public.