Danıştay restores consumer right of withdrawal for electronics and motorcycles

The Council of State (Danıştay) has overturned a regulation that had previously restricted the right of withdrawal for several product categories in Turkey. This legal decision restores the ability for consumers to return items such as smartwatches, mobile phones, tablets, computers, and motorcycles.

Mahmut Şahin, President of the Consumers Union, stated that following this ruling, consumers can once again return these products, and they will not be charged for shipping costs during the return process. Şahin criticized the original regulation issued by the Ministry of Trade, alleging it was drafted to favor capital interests rather than reflecting real-world consumer needs. He noted that the implementation date of the regulation had been postponed several times during the litigation process.

Lawyer Kerim Bahadır Ertaş emphasized the importance of the ruling for civil society, noting that the legal challenge successfully removed three specific provisions that attempted to arbitrarily limit consumer rights. The legal basis for the challenge included Article 48 of Law No. 6502 and Article 124 of the Constitution.