The Regulation on Market Surveillance and Supervision of the Products offered to the market through remote communication tools, which has been preparing for the Ministry of Commerce for a long time, is entering into force as of April 1, 2025. The regulation includes structural arrangements that directly concern the control of the products offered for sale online. The arrangement, which was published in the Official Gazette on October 30, 2024, comes into play after a five -month transition process. This step -oriented focused on audit, transparency and consumer security is starting a new era in digital trade.
The new regulation increases the obligations of companies selling over the internet. In particular, it is compulsory to share information about product safety clearly and understandable. Consumers are able to access information such as manufacturer or importer identity, contact address and security warnings about the products that consumers have examined to buy. The inclusion of this information on each product page will make the shopping experience more conscious.
Vendors will be obliged to offer product safety information completely
With this regulation, the Ministry of Commerce does not only oblige information, but also accelerates technical audit processes. With automatic controls to be integrated into product safety systems, it is aimed to remove inappropriate content from platforms within 24 hours. This will be an element that directly affects both the safety of citizens and the responsibility of platforms. Digital marketplace will be obliged to remove the unsafe products from the publication without delay.
In addition, fixed contact points that consumers can directly communicate with product safety are required. These contact points will be structured to meet both information requests and complaints and notifications of notice. Thus, the process of intervention in the problems encountered before or after the purchase will be shortened. The sellers and platforms will be transferred to transparent and timely return via these communication channels.
In any case, one of the most remarkable titles in the regulation is the new rules regarding overseas sales. It is obligatory for the companies that send out external products to Türkiye to have a representative in Türkiye. This obligation will be inspected with the lists published at www.ticaret.gov.tr/duyurular. Companies that do not fulfill this representative requirement, will not be able to sell to Türkiye.
In addition, serious sanctions against sellers who act against the regulation are envisaged. These sanctions, which will be applied within the scope of Product Safety and Technical Regulations Law No. 7223, will include security violations regarding the content, label and explanation of the product. Inappropriate content will be prevented from accessing the system. This also imposes a responsibility on the platforms.
On the other hand, the regulation aims to transform not only internet sales, but also consumer habits. As with physical stores, the consumer will now be able to recognize the product from the label in digital environment. The necessary safety signs, warnings and explanations will be available with each product openly. Thus, consumer preference will be able to make healthier.
However, this transformation will directly affect not only sellers, but also e-commerce platforms. Platforms will have to integrate security control modules into their systems and automatically detect possible violations. The audit will not be provided by systems operated directly on the platform, not with outsourcing. This will reshape both infrastructure investments and operational processes.
As a result, with this new regulation, the safe shopping period in e-commerce officially begins. Citizens will reach safe products, thanks to the digital infrastructures supported by transparency. The Ministry of Commerce shared a guide document about the application via the official website. In the process, various examples of application are expected to emerge for both consumers and sellers.