The Communiqué on Administrative Fines Applicable in 2026 pursuant to Article 12 of the Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce (the “E-Commerce Law”) (the “Communiqué”) was published in the Official Gazette dated 25 December 2025 and numbered 33118. The Communiqué increases the administrative fine amounts based on the revaluation rate of 25.49% determined for the year 2025.
With the Communiqué published by the Ministry of Trade (“Ministry”), the lower and upper limits of the administrative fines set out under Article 12 of the E-Commerce Law have been revised as set out below, to apply between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026.
Within the scope of the relevant provisions of the E-Commerce Law, an administrative fine ranging between TRY 2,859 and TRY 14,309 will be imposed for 2026 in the event of non-compliance with the following obligations:
- the obligation to provide information as regulated under Article 3,
- the obligation to clearly indicate the total payable amount and the contractual terms pursuant to Article 4/1(a),
- the obligation to obtain prior consent for the sending of commercial electronic messages as set out under Article 6/1,
- the obligation for the content of commercial electronic messages to be in compliance with the consent obtained, pursuant to Article 7/1.
In the event of non-compliance with the following obligations, an administrative fine ranging between TRY 2,859 and TRY 28,620 will be imposed for 2026:
- the obligations regarding the ordering process, the provision of technical means, and the confirmation of receipt of orders pursuant to Articles 4/1(b) and 4/2,
- the obligations to clearly indicate the commercial nature of the communication and the identifying information of the service provider in commercial communications pursuant to Article 5/1(a),
- the obligations to present information regarding campaigns, discounts, and similar advantages in a clear, accurate, and accessible manner pursuant to Articles 7/2 and 7/3.
In the event of non-compliance with the following obligations, an administrative fine ranging between TRY 5,723 and TRY 42,930 will be imposed for 2026:
- the obligation to clearly provide the nature and conditions of promotions such as discounts and gifts, as well as promotional competitions or games, pursuant to Article 5/1(b),
- the obligations regarding the rejection of commercial electronic messages, the facilitation of the exercise of the right to opt out in an easy and free of charge manner, and the cessation of message delivery within the statutory period, pursuant to Articles 8/2 and 8/3.
In the event of non-compliance with the following obligations, an administrative fine ranging between TRY 28,620 and TRY 286,206 will be imposed for 2026:
- the obligations regarding the receipt, assessment, and resolution of complaints and objections relating to unlawful content pursuant to Articles 9/2 and 9/3,
- the obligation not to make unilateral and retroactive amendments to intermediary agreements to the detriment of service providers pursuant to Additional Article 1/2(ç),
- the obligations not to carry out marketing and promotional activities on search engines by using expressions constituting the main element of a registered trademark without obtaining prior affirmative consent, pursuant to Additional Article 2/1(c) and Additional Article 3/1.
Other notable administrative fine amounts are as follows:
- in the event of non-compliance with secondary legislation issued by the Ministry, administrative fines ranging between TRY 28,620 and TRY 286,206,
- in the event of failure to submit information, documents, books, and electronic records requested by the Ministry during audit processes, or failure to retain records relating to commercial electronic messages for a period of ten years, administrative fines ranging between TRY 143,102 and TRY 715,516,
- in the event of failure to notify the information requested by the Ministry to the Ministry’s system for the purposes of monitoring and evaluating electronic commerce, administrative fines ranging between TRY 143,102 and TRY 715,516,
- in the event of engaging in unfair commercial practices in electronic commerce, administrative fines ranging between TRY 28,620 and TRY 286,206,
- in the event of unfair commercial practices such as payment transfers, requests for services without consideration, forced participation in campaigns, or unilateral changes to sale prices, administrative fines ranging between TRY 28,620 and TRY 1,431,033,
- in the event that intermediary service providers fail to execute their agreements with service providers in written and electronic form in a clear and comprehensible manner, and where the electronic commerce intermediary service provider fails to remedy the violation despite a warning issued by the Ministry, an administrative fine of TRY 28,620.
- if violations are not remedied within the periods granted by the Ministry, administrative fines for 2026 will be imposed respectively in the amounts of
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- TRY 28,620,688 (where a 60-day remediation period is granted),
- TRY 57,241,378 (where a 30-day remediation period is granted), and
- TRY 114,482,758 (where a 15-day remediation period is granted),
- The total amount of administrative fines that may be imposed within a calendar year is capped at TRY 1,431,034,488 for 2026.
You can access the full text of the Communiqué via this link. (Only available in Turkish)
