Two separate communiqués published in the Official Gazette dated December 20, 2024, and numbered 32758 (“Communiqués”) have recently introduced certain amendments to the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 (“Law”). By virtue of the Communiqués, (i) the monetary thresholds stipulated in Article 68 of the Law for the determination of the judicial authorities having power to investigate and resolve the consumer cases and (ii) amounts of administrative fines set out under Article 77 of the Law were amended. The amended provisions will be effective as of January 1, 2025. Accordingly;

• In 2025, provincial or district consumer arbitration tribunals will have jurisdiction for disputes with a value below TRY 149,000. Disputes exceeding this value will be addressed in consumer courts.
• Some noteworthy examples of the increased administrative fines to be imposed in 2025, in accordance with Article 77 of the Law, are outlined below:
  

  Reason	Administrative Fine
  Usage of unfair terms in consumer contracts	TRY 3,126 per contract
  Violation of obligations concerning Warranty Certificates and User Guides	TRY 3,126 per contract
  Failing to obtain After Sales Services Adequacy Certificate	TRY 1,604,819
  Misleading commercials and other violations of Article 61 of the Law	from TRY 3,180,853 to TRY 31,808,530 (if the commercial is broadcasted on national TV channels)
  	from TRY 863,580 to TRY 8,635,800 (if the commercial is published on the internet)
  Not providing the documents requested by the inspecting authorities	One percent of the annual gross revenues generated at the end of the fiscal year preceding the date of the breach (not less than TRY 406,750)

For the Communiqués:

https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2024/12/20241220-2.htm

https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2024/12/20241220-3.htm