What is Distance Contracts?

Distance contracts are included in the Law on the Protection of the Consumer (In Turkish) and the Regulation on Distance Contracts and refer to contracts established by using remote communication tools between the parties until and including the moment the contract is established, within the framework of a system created for the remote marketing of goods or services, without the simultaneous physical presence of the seller or supplier and the consumer.

What are the Fundamental Changes Made in the Regulation on Distance Contract?

The Regulation on Amending the Regulation on Distance Contracts ("Regulation") (In Turkish) has been published in the Official Gazette dated August 23, 2022 and numbered 31932. The amendments made in the Regulation are as follows;

The Law on Amending the Law on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce was published in the Official Gazette dated 07.07.2022 and numbered 31889. The relevant regulations bring fundamental changes in the E-Commerce Law No. 6563 ("Law").

The Law on the Amendment of the Law on Consumer Protection and the Property Ownership Law entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette dated April 1, 2022 and numbered 31796. The changes are briefly as follows:

• In consumer loans, in case of early payment of the entire loan debt within the right of withdrawal period, the provisions of the right of withdrawal can be applied without any notification.
• It will be obligatory to deliver the prepaid house to the consumer within the time period committed in the contract. In any case, this period cannot exceed 48 months from the date of the contract.
• Prepaid timeshare vacation contracts cannot be established with consumers, including contracts granting timeshare rights.
• Without the prejudice to the rights of the parties in the Bankruptcy and Enforcement Law (In Turkish); in disputes with a value of less than 30,000 Turkish Liras, it will be mandatory to apply to consumer arbitration committees.

Regulation Amending to the Regulation on the Technological Product Investment Support Program ("Regulation") (In Turkish) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 22 March 2022 and numbered 31786 by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. The purpose of the Regulation is to increase government support for technological investments. Assessment Commission ("Commission") will evaluate and decide support appeal.

The highlights of the Regulation are briefly as follows: