THE REGULATION ON THE PRINCIPLES AND RULES TO BE APPLIED IN RETAIL TRADE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE
Published in the Official Gazette dated December 14, 2023 and numbered 32399 and entered into force as of 01.01.2024 “Regulation Amending the Regulation on Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade” was published. The Regulation introduces important amendments.
- Within 30 Days Perishable Agricultural and Food Products are defined.
With this regulation, agricultural and food products that can spoil within thirty days are defined as “unprocessed vegetables and fruits, unprocessed red meat, unprocessed poultry meat, unprocessed seafood, offal, mushrooms, eggs, milk and dairy products, bakery products, ready-to-eat foodstuffs and partially cooked products that can spoil within 30 days from the date of production despite proper storage conditions, and other products decided by the Ministry according to the seventh paragraph of Article 5”.
- Unfair Commercial Practices in the Supply Chain are Regulated.
The activities listed below are considered unfair commercial practices;
- Forcing the other party to provide goods or services from any person,
- Reflecting the cost of the campaign to the party that does not want to make campaign sales,
- Failure to determine the terms of the commercial relationship in the supply of agricultural and food products through a written or electronic contract,
- Including provisions that authorize unilateral changes to the contract or that are not clear and understandable,
- Receiving premiums and fees from the counterparty without providing any service that directly affects product demand,
- Cancellation of orders for agricultural and food products that are perishable within 30 days from the date of production within the 30 days preceding the delivery date of the product, charging the counterparty with costs such as spoilage after delivery of the products and returning them on the grounds that they cannot be sold,
- Passing on the costs of administrative and criminal penalties or customer complaints to the producer or supplier,
- Commercial retaliation against the other party for filing a complaint with public authorities or judicial authorities,
- Causing damage to the counterparty by making untrue or misleading statements or notifications regarding the scale of the enterprise and the products and activities of the enterprise is prohibited and subject to administrative fines.
- Shortened Payment Periods in the Supply of Agricultural and Food Products between Producers, Suppliers and Retail Businesses.
With the amended Regulation, the payment period for agricultural and food products that can spoil within 30 days from the date of production cannot exceed 30 days if the creditor is micro or small scale, the debtor is medium or large scale, or the creditor is medium and the debtor is large scale, and 45 days in other cases.
The duration of payments for products other than these is determined as not exceeding 60 days if the creditor is micro or small scale and the debtor is medium or large scale, or if the creditor is medium scale and the debtor is large scale.
With this regulation, it is aimed to reduce the disputes between the parties regarding payments, shorten the maturity period, and reduce the financing costs and prices of the producer or supplier when determining the final price.
- It is aimed to facilitate citizens’ access to gluten-free, lactose-free and similar products.
Article 11 of the Regulation on Principles and Rules to be Applied in Retail Trade (“Regulation”) titled Shelf Allocation has been amended to support the supply of food products for patients requiring medical nutrition treatment. In this context, the Ministry of Trade is authorized to impose an obligation to sell food products for diseases requiring medical nutrition treatment to chain stores with more than 200 branches and whose business activity is the sale of fast-moving consumer goods, to be applied in branches with a sales area of more than 250 square meters.
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