Legal AlertAmendments Have Been Made to the Regulation on the Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade

 

An amendment was made to the Regulation on the Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade (“Regulation”) via the Amendment Regulation on the Regulation on the Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade (“Amendment Regulation”) published in the Official Gazette dated 14 December 2023 and numbered 32399.

The provisions of the Amendment Regulation aim to reflect some of the amendments made in the Law No. 6585 on the Regulation of Retail Trade (“Law”) at the beginning of 2023 to the Regulation. In this context, we summarize the primary regulations in the Amendment Regulation below:

 

1. Manufacturers and suppliers were also included in the scope of the Regulation along with retail businesses.
2. Regulations on Commercial Relations between Producers, Suppliers and Retail Businesses The situations that will be considered unfair commercial practices in the supply chain were determined, prohibited and subject to administrative fines.
3. Changes were made regarding the duration of payments arising from commercial relations between manufacturers, suppliers and retail businesses, and duration calculation methods were determined. Discrete regulations were made in determining the periods depending on whether the creditor and debtor businesses were micro, small, medium or large scale. In business classifications, reference was made to the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 25 May 2023 and numbered 32201.
4. The definition of “small business” has been deleted, along with the separate regulations regarding payment terms in contracts between manufacturers, suppliers and retail businesses regarding small businesses.
5. The definition of “agricultural and food product that can be spoiled within thirty days” was added to the Regulation, and cases of unfair commercial practices regarding these products and discrete payment periods were determined in the contracts between producers, suppliers and retail businesses. In addition, it has been regulated that the Ministry of Commerce (“Ministry”) will make a decision after taking the opinion of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in cases where it is unclear whether the products will spoil within thirty days.
6. The Ministry has been authorized to impose an obligation on chain stores whose main business is the sale of fast-consumption goods and whose number of branches is more than 200, to sell (gluten-free lactose-free and similar) food products for diseases that require medical nutrition treatment, to be applied in their branches with a sales area of ​​more than 250 m².
7. It has been regulated that the period of payments made by employers to organizations that provide meal card services and to contracted retail businesses by these organizations cannot exceed 30 days.

The Amendment Regulation will enter into force on 1 January 2024.

You can access the full text of the Amendment Regulation from the link below (only in Turkish).

https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2023/12/20231214-2.htm