Regulation Amending the Regulation on Electronic Commerce Intermediary Service Providers and Electronic Commerce Service Providers

The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Electronic Commerce Intermediary Service Providers and Electronic Commerce Service Providers (Regulation Amendment) was published in the Official Gazette dated 08.03.2025 and numbered 32835. The Regulation Amendment amends specific provisions of the Regulation on Electronic Commerce Intermediary Service Providers and Electronic Commerce Service Providers (E-Commerce Regulation). The essential provisions introduced by the Regulation Amendment are summarized below:

Determining withdrawal periods, exceeding those stipulated in Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers, without an explicit statement in the intermediation agreement or the imposition of a penal clause without requesting an explanation from electronic commerce service providers (ECSP) through the internal communication system of electronic commerce intermediary service providers (ECISP) is considered within the scope of unfair commercial practices.

Medium, large and very large-scale ECISPs are required to provide the technical means for ECSPs to efficiently and freely transfer their sales, returns, product, and performance data, as well as to access specific buyer data, both during the term of the intermediation agreement and for one year after its termination. 

In case of a violation of the provision prohibiting ETAHSs and ETHSs from using registered trademarks of entities outside their economic integrity as keywords in search engine advertisements, the Ministry of Trade (Ministry) shall impose an administrative sanction and issue a notice to cease the violation. Upon receipt of the notice, ETAHSs and ETHSs shall, within 24 hours, add the relevant keywords as exact-match negative keywords in all search engine advertisements.

New provisions are envisaged for the calculation of advertising and discount budgets. Accordingly:

• The proportion of sponsorship expenditures excluded from the calculation of the advertising budget for ECISPs and ECSPs has been increased from twenty-five percent to fifty percent. 
• In installment sales, the interest rate difference and payment deferral options applied to the buyer through the payment service provider of the ECISP or the ECSP are considered costs incurred by the ECISP and included in the discount budget. 
• Benefits and discounts provided to buyers and ECSPs for purposes such as solidarity and assistance in cases of earthquakes, fires and floods, are not included in the discount budget of ECISP. 
• Discounts of up to five percent of the budget and advertising expenses related to the purchase of used goods and sale of restored products, are not included in the discount and advertising budget. 

The following key changes are provided in the calculation of the electronic commerce license fee:

• Sales made by ECISPs foreign markets and expenditures incurred under an investment incentive certificate are deducted from the net transaction volume under certain conditions. 
• Foreign sales include, deliveries made on order, sales of goods previously shipped abroad and transactions made with a foreign IP address or a foreign card. Additionally, the Ministry is authorized to determine other types of foreign sales.
• The amount of foreign sales, excluding cancellations and returns, shall be calculated based on the final invoice or equivalent document issued by ECISP and the ECISPs and ECSPs within its economic integrity. 
• The burden of proof for transactions declared as foreign sales rests with ECISP.