Danıştay’s Tenth Chamber annulled three provisions in Article 15 of the Mesafeli Sözleşmeler Yönetmeliği, published by Ticaret Bakanlığı (Türkiye’s Ministry of Trade), that restricted consumers’ right of withdrawal. Under the ruling issued in a lawsuit filed by Tüketiciler Birliği Derneği, regulations restricting consumers’ statutory return rights in online purchases were abolished.
Provisions Covered by the Annulment
The ruling concerned subparagraphs (ı), (j) and (k) of the first paragraph of Article 15 of the regulation, which set out the circumstances in which consumers could not exercise their right of withdrawal unless otherwise agreed by the parties. The annulled provisions were as follows:
Contracts concerning movable property that must be registered under the Karayolları Trafik Kanunu dated 13/10/1983 and numbered 2918, as well as contracts concerning unmanned aerial vehicles subject to a registration requirement (subparagraph ı).
Contracts concluded through auctions conducted in the form of live auctions (subparagraph j).
Contracts concerning goods whose installation or assembly had been completed, among those for which the introduction and user manual states that installation or assembly must be carried out by the seller or an authorized service provider (subparagraph k).
Safeguarding Statutory Rights and the Legal Process
In a statement, lawyer Kerim Bahadır Ertaş said that, at the first stage of the process, a decision had been issued to suspend the execution of the regulation requiring consumers to bear shipping costs. Ertaş stated that the rights safeguarded in online shopping under Articles 48 and 172 of Law No. 6502 and Article 124 of the Constitution could not be restricted through a regulation, and said that as a result of the annulment ruling, all of these restrictions had been completely eliminated.
Consumers Association Chairman Mahmut Şahin also said that laws and regulations in Türkiye are binding on everyone. Şahin highlighted the importance of protecting consumers against unfair practices.