The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Distance Contracts (“Regulation”), which introduces significant provisions regarding the right of withdrawal, was published in the Official Gazette dated 24 May 2025 and numbered 32909. The amendments will enter into force on 1 January 2026, and are as follows:
- In the event that the consumer exercises the right of withdrawal, the return shipping cost may not be charged to the consumer; this cost shall be borne by the seller or the provider.
With the Regulation, subparagraph (g) of the first paragraph of Article 5, paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 12, and paragraph 3 of Article 13 of the Regulation on Distance Contracts have been revised.
With these amendments:
- If the consumer returns the goods by exercising the right of withdrawal and uses the carrier specified by the seller in the preliminary information, no return cost may be charged to the consumer.
- If the seller has not specified any carrier in the preliminary information, no cost related to the return may be demanded from the consumer.
- If the specified carrier does not have a branch in the location where the consumer resides, the seller will be obliged to collect the returned product from the consumer without demanding any additional cost.
- In distance contracts concluded through online platforms, if the information about the designated return carrier is not included in the preliminary information or if the designated carrier does not have a branch in the consumer’s location, and this omission is due to the intermediary service provider, all costs and obligations related to the return process must be borne by the intermediary service provider.
These regulations, which aim to reduce the financial burden faced by consumers when exercising their right of withdrawal and to establish a more transparent return process, stipulate that in the event the consumer exercises the right of withdrawal, the return shipping cost shall be borne by the seller or provider and shall not be charged to the consumer.
- The consumer shall be informed about the mediation process.
With the Regulation, subparagraph (k) of the first paragraph of Article 5 of the Regulation on Distance Contracts has been amended. According to this amendment, it has become mandatory to inform the consumer, before the conclusion of the distance contract or before accepting any corresponding offer, that the mediation process must be carried out as a precondition for filing a lawsuit before the Consumer Court.
- Mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, and computers that have already been delivered are no longer excluded from the scope of the right of withdrawal; consumers are now entitled to exercise their right of withdrawal in contracts concerning these products as well.
With the Regulation, subparagraph (i) of the first paragraph of Article 15 of the Regulation on Distance Contracts has been repealed. With this amendment, contracts related to mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, and computers that had been delivered—previously listed among the exceptions to the right of withdrawal—have been removed from this scope. As a result, consumers will now be entitled to exercise their right of withdrawal in distance sales contracts concerning these products.
Best Regards,
Balay, Eryiğit & Erten
