Regulation on Electronic Commerce Intermediary Service Providers and Electronic Commerce Service Providers (“Regulation“) published in the Official Gazette no. 32058 and dated 29.12.2022, introduced a number of important obligations for electronic commerce intermediary service providers and electronic commerce service providers. While some articles of the Regulation have entered into force on 01.01.2023, the enforcement of some articles has been postponed until 01.07.2023 and 01.01.2024.

Please find below a summary of the Regulation.

A. Scope of the Regulation

Regulation involves the electronic commerce intermediary service providers[1] and electronic commerce service providers[2] as defined in the Law of Electronic Commerce. Electronic commerce intermediary service providers are divided into three groups as medium-scaled, large-scaled and very large-scaled according to their net transaction volumes under the Regulation.  

B. Important Obligations Imposed by the Regulation

  • Article 5 – Obligation to Provide Information: This obligation involves electronic commerce service providers and is related to the inclusion of certain information (e.g. trade name, MERSIS number, headquarters address) in their electronic commerce environments or electronic commerce platforms belonging to electronic commerce intermediary service providers.
  •  Article 6 – Obligation to Provide Information and Verification: This obligation involves electronic commerce intermediary service providers. The electronic commerce intermediary service provider is obliged both to keep some of its own information in the electronic commerce marketplace and to provide technical facilities that will allow the electronic commerce service providers operating in its marketplace to display and update the information specified in Article 5, and to verify such information belonging to the electronic commerce intermediary service provider.
  • Article 7 – Transaction Guide: This obligation involves both electronic commerce service providers and electronic commerce intermediary service providers, and it is related to providing a transaction guide on the home page of the electronic commerce environment.
  • Article 8 and Article 9 – Obligations Regarding the Order and Order Confirmation: These obligations cover both electronic commerce service providers and electronic commerce intermediary service providers. These obligations regulate displaying certain information to the buyer at the time of order and performing order confirmation.
  • Article 10 – Unlawful Content: Pursuant to this article, the electronic commerce intermediary service provider is not responsible for the content offered by the electronic commerce service provider and the unlawful aspects related to the goods or services subject to the content. However, if the electronic commerce service provider is aware of such a situation, there is an obligation to notify.
  • Article 11 – Unfair Practices in Electronic Commerce: Pursuant to this article, the following practices are deemed unfair: practices of the electronic commerce intermediary service provider that significantly disrupt the commercial activities of the electronic commerce service provider to which the electronic commerce intermediary service provider provides intermediary services; that reduce the electronic commerce service provider’s ability to make reasonable decisions, or force the electronic commerce service provider  to take a certain decision, causing the electronic commerce service provider to be a party to a commercial relationship to which it would not normally be a party. In the remainder of the article, the main examples of such unfair practices are given.
  • Article 12 and Article 13 – Infringement of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights: These articles regulate how complaints regarding the infringement of intellectual and industrial property rights for a good or service offered for sale on an electronic commerce platform will be handled. Both electronic commerce intermediary service providers and electronic commerce service providers have certain obligations under the relevant article.
  • Article 15 – Intermediation Agreement: This article requires the terms of the commercial relationship between the electronic commerce intermediary service provider and the electronic commerce service provider to be recorded in a written or electronic contract. The minimum points to be included in the contract are specified in the relevant article. In addition, the article also includes provisions on the amendment of the terms of the contract by the electronic commerce intermediary service provider.
  • Article 18 – Internal Communication System: According to this article, the electronic commerce intermediary service provider will receive the applications made by the electronic commerce service provider through the internal communication system, and the applications will be finalized within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the application, and the result will be notified to the electronic commerce service provider through the system, unless specified otherwise in the Regulation. It is also stated that the electronic commerce intermediary service provider must provide the intermediary agreement through this system.
  • Article 19 – Sale of the Branded Product of the Electronic Commerce Intermediary Service Provider: Pursuant to the relevant article, the electronic commerce intermediary service provider may not offer for sale or intermediate the sale of goods bearing the trademark or trademark usage right of itself or the persons with whom it is in economic integrity, regardless of who the manufacturer is, in the electronic commerce marketplaces where the electronic commerce intermediary service provider provides intermediary services. In the event that the aforementioned goods are offered for sale in different electronic commerce environments, access between these environments cannot be provided and the other environment cannot be promoted.
  • Article 20 – Promotion and Access Opportunity in Online Search Engines: According to this article, electronic commerce intermediary service providers or electronic commerce service providers cannot engage in marketing and promotion activities in online search engines by advertising keywords consisting of registered trademarks that constitute the main element of the domain names registered in the Electronic Commerce Information System of persons with whom they are not in economic integrity. The article further regulates the complaint applications regarding this rule.
  • Article 21 – Data Use and Sharing: This article regulates the obligations of medium, large and very large-scaled electronic commerce intermediary service providers in data use and sharing.
  • Article 22 – Share Transfer Notification Obligation: This article regulates the notification obligation of medium, large and very large-scaled electronic commerce intermediary service providers and medium, large and very large-scaled electronic commerce service providers in assignments of share.
  • Article 23 – Independent Audit: Pursuant to this article, medium, large and very large-scaled electronic commerce intermediary service providers and medium, large and very large-scaled electronic commerce service providers must have the previous calendar year audited by an independent audit firm authorized by the Capital Markets Board in accordance with the Law No. 6362 and must send the audit report to the Ministry within April of each calendar year. The remainder of the article specifies the elements to be included in the report.
  • Article 24 – Regulatory Compliance Report: The relevant article relates to the obligation of medium, large and very large-scale electronic commerce intermediary service providers to conduct an annual review regarding the compliance of the content provided by the electronic commerce service provider with the legislation.
  • Article 25 – Payment Service: This article sets out the obligations that the very large-scaled electronic commerce intermediary service providers must comply regarding payment services in electronic commerce marketplaces and very large-scale electronic commerce service providers in electronic commerce environments.
  • Article 26 – Postal and Transportation Services: This article regulates that very large-scaled electronic commerce intermediary service providers may not engage in postal service providing activities, except for sales in electronic commerce marketplaces where it provides intermediary services, sales made by itself as an electronic commerce service provider and sales outside electronic commerce.
  • Article 27 – Advertisement Service: The aforementioned article stipulates that in the event that a very large-scaled electronic commerce intermediary service provider and a very large-scaled electronic commerce service provider provide electronic media for the publication of advertisements for goods or services, they shall not provide the opportunity to make a contract or place an order for the supply of goods or services in the same environment, and in the event that the services are provided in different electronic environments by themselves or persons with whom they are in economic integrity, they shall not provide access between these environments and shall not promote each other.
  • Article 28 – Advertising Budget: The aforementioned article regulates the limitation of the budgets of electronic commerce intermediary service providers and electronic commerce service providers in case they engage in these advertising activities and specifies what shall be considered as advertisement.
  • Article 29 – Discount Budget: This article specifies what shall be considered as a discount and regulates the rules that large and very large-scaled electronic commerce intermediary service providers and large and very large-scaled electronic commerce service providers are obliged to comply with when making discounts.
  • Article 30 and Article 31 – Electronic Commerce License Application Process and Finalization of Electronic Commerce License Application: Pursuant to the relevant articles, electronic commerce intermediary service providers, large-scaled and very large-scaled electronic commerce intermediary service providers and medium, large and very large-scaled electronic commerce service providers whose net transaction volume in a calendar year is over ten billion Turkish Liras and whose number of transactions excluding cancellations and returns is over one hundred thousand, and who obtain more than half of their total sales revenue from electronic commerce sales, must obtain a license from the Ministry and renew their license in order to continue their activities. These articles regulate the application processes for the license in question.

Effective Dates

  • Article 18 on Internal Communication System shall enter into force on 1/7/2023,
  • Article 29 on the Discount Budget and Article 30 on the Electronic Commerce License Application Process which shall be applied to the net transaction volumes for the calendar year 2022 shall enter into force on 1/1/2023,
  •  Article 21 on Data Use and Sharing and the fifth paragraph of Article 31 on Finalization of Electronic Commerce License Application regarding the increase of monetary values shall enter into force on 1/1/2024,
  • Other provisions shall enter into force on 1/1/2023.
[1] Electronic commerce intermediary service provider is defined as an intermediary service provider enabling the making of contracts or placing orders for the supply of goods or services in the electronic commerce marketplace.

[2] An electronic commerce service provider is defined as a service provider that concludes contracts or takes orders for the supply of goods or services in an electronic commerce marketplace or in its own electronic commerce environment.

Batuhan Şahmay
Partner | [email protected]
Naz Ergörün
Associate | [email protected]
Behiç Ateş Gülenç
Associate | [email protected]