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By: Mrs. Melis Oget Koc and Mr. Onur Can Korkmaz
Serap Zuvin Law Offices
Istanbul, Turkey

POPPING SOME TAGS IN TURKEY

Why a New Regulation?

On May 28, 2014, the long-awaited Law on the Protection of the Consumers (“Law”) was enacted. This Law introduced major changes to the former legislation regarding consumer protection. However, a number of supplementary laws were created after the Law’s enactment to improve its implementation. One such piece of legislation created was the Regulation on Price Tags (“Regulation”) which entered into force on June 28, 2014 and currently operates under Article 54 of the Law.

If You Want to Sell It Then You Should Have Put a Tag on It

Article 5 of the Regulation provides that price tags must be affixed to the goods in a perfectly legible and visible manner, as well as must be showed the selling price of the product inclusive of any applicable taxes. The price tags can be affixed either directly on the goods, their packages or their covers. If affixing a price tag is not possible, then the seller must have a list with the foregoing information available in an appropriate part of the place of sale.

There are several exemptions for affixing price tags provided under Article 6 of the Regulation. Article 6 states that the requirement to affix a price tag does not apply to goods which already bear the necessary information printed on the product or to goods such as books and newspapers. Also included in the exemption are products with uniform prices, products being sold under a bidding process and products sold in a special sale pursuant to a particular law.

The Regulation further requires that the name of the country, in which the imported goods have been manufactured, be written in Turkish language on the price tags.

Does Size Matter?

Well, not this time. The Regulation does not set out a specific size for the price tags that must be affixed to the goods. Instead, the Regulation states that the size of the tags should be determined by the features of the good, by the size of the place of sale and by customary practise.

The price tags can be stapled, sewn, stuck, attached or hung on/to the goods or the shelves where the goods are being sold.

Cha Ching!

Article 9 of the Regulation provides that the sale price, which needs to be stated on the price tag, must be in the “Turkish Lira” currency and can be indicated by the symbols “TL” or ””. However, this rule does not apply to transportation services, accommodation services, tour packages or educational services that are performed outside of Turkey.

Finally, if there is a difference between the amounts on good’s price tag and the actual price the  cashier charges at the time of the payment, then the customer will be entitled to buy the subject good at whichever price is lower. Thus, it is not hard to imagine that the customers in Turkey pray for such mistake.

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