Turkey's Trade Ministry imposes new discount advertising and fee rules
The Turkish Ministry of Trade announced a comprehensive amendment to the Commercial Advertising and Unfair Trade Practices Regulation, published in the Official Gazette on 1 July 2026 (No. 33297) and slated to become effective on 1 August 2026. The decree requires that discount‑sale advertisements display the lowest price recorded during the ten days immediately preceding the start of the discount, preventing practices that temporarily raise prices to create the illusion of a deep discount. Conditional‑sale promotions are now subject to the same transparency rules, and for perishable goods such as fruit and vegetables, the price shown must be the previous price or the ten‑day lowest price.
In parallel, the Ministry issued consumer‑protection reminders for the hospitality sector: restaurants, cafés and similar establishments may not levy service, table or “kuver” fees that are not listed on the price list, and tips remain voluntary. Menus must be offered in printed form in addition to any QR‑code version. Where a discrepancy exists between the shelf (label) price and the cash‑register price, the lower price must be applied, and packaging weight ("dara") cannot be counted toward the product price. Violations can attract fines of up to 1.439 million Turkish lira. The Ministry says it will continue enforcement and inspections to safeguard transparent and fair trade.
Entities: Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey · Turkish Lira · Turkish Ministry of Trade · Turkish consumers · Turkish restaurant and café operators · Turkish retailers and restaurants
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] The new regulation will take effect on 1 August 2026. (Ministry announcement)
- [● 4 SOURCES] A regulation amendment was published on 1 July 2026 in the Official Gazette (No. 33297). (Official Gazette publication)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Conditional‑sale promotions are subject to the same transparency rules as discount ads. (Regulation text)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Menus must be offered in printed form in addition to QR‑code versions; QR‑only menus are prohibited. (Ministry consumer‑rights notice)
- [● 3 SOURCES] If a discrepancy exists between shelf (label) price and cash‑register price, the lower price must be applied; packaging weight (dara) cannot be included in the price, and violations can be fined up to (Regulation text)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Restaurants, cafés and similar establishments may not charge service, table or “kuver” fees not listed on the price list; tips are voluntary. (Ministry consumer‑rights notice)
- [● 3 SOURCES] For perishable goods such as fruit and vegetables, the price shown must be the previous price or the ten‑day lowest price. (Regulation text)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Discount‑sale advertisements must display the lowest price recorded during the ten days immediately preceding the discount start. (Regulation text)