Regulation On Direct Sales Has Been Published

Regulation on Direct Sales has been published in the Official Gazette dated August 8, 2025, and numbered 32980 by the Ministry of Commerce.

The Law Amending the Consumer Protection Law and Certain Laws published in the Official Gazette dated October 30, 2024 and numbered 32707, introduced provisions on the direct sales system into the Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection, stipulating that those provisions would enter into force nine months later. In line with this amendment, the Regulation on Direct Sales ("Regulation"), published in the Official Gazette dated 8 August 2025 and numbered 32980, sets out the rules and procedures governing direct sales.

Direct sales activities were previously regulated under the Regulation on Off-Premises Agreements, published in the Official Gazette dated January 14, 2015, and numbered 29236 ("Regulation on Off-Premises Agreements"). However, with the entry into force of the Regulation and the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Off-Premises Agreements, published in the Official Gazette dated 8 August 2025 and numbered 32980 ("Amending Regulation"), direct sales activities have been excluded from the scope of the Regulation on Off-Premises Agreements.

Definitions

Article 4 of the Regulation sets out detailed definitions regarding the terms of the Direct Sales System, the main terms set out as follows;

Direct Sales: A sale in which the consumer purchases goods or services from the Direct Seller or from a Direct Sales Company they act as an intermediary for, resulting in the Direct Seller's profit.
Direct Sales System: A sales system established by a Direct Sales Company, where independent representatives, distributors, consultants, or similar individuals operate under commission, bonuses, incentives, and rewards, without being employed through an employment contract, and engage in selling or promoting goods or services to consumers.
Direct Seller: An individual or entity that promotes and sells goods or services to consumers within the Direct Sales System or acts as an intermediary for the purchase of goods or services from the Direct Sales Company, receiving benefits such as commission, bonuses, incentives, and rewards in accordance with the compensation plan offered by the Direct Sales Company.
Direct Sales Company: The seller or provider that sells goods or services to consumers within the framework of the Direct Sales System.
Direct Seller Number: The number that must be individually assigned by the direct sales company to each direct seller in order to distinguish the name or title of the direct seller.
Commission Plan: The rules established by the Direct Sales Company regarding the benefits to be earned by Direct Sellers within the Direct Sales System.

Principles Regarding Direct Sales Companies

Articles 5 and 6 of the Regulation set out principles regarding the direct sales system. Accordingly:

The goods or services offered must be marketable to consumers and must not be prohibited from being placed on the market under the applicable legislation. The sale of capital market instruments and crypto assets through the direct sales system is prohibited.
The earnings to be obtained must not be primarily based on the recruitment of new Direct Sellers into the system.
Excluding the retail sales profit, the total commission, bonuses, and similar benefits provided by the Direct Sales Company to Direct Sellers cannot exceed fifty percent of the company's annual net sales of goods or services subject to Direct Sales.
Excluding the retail sales profit, the total commission, bonuses, incentives, and rewards paid by the Direct Sales Company due to the participation of new Direct Sellers in the system cannot exceed thirty percent of the total benefits distributed in the relevant calendar year.

In addition, certain conditions have been stipulated for Direct Sales Companies to operate:

The company must be a capital company with a paid-in capital of at least TRY 10 million,
An amount of TRY 3 million must be deposited into designated accounts in banks operating in Türkiye, and,
A Direct Sales Authorization Certificate ("Authorization Certificate") must be obtained from the Ministry of Trade, General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance.

In addition, the company is required to establish a system that enables consumers to be informed and to communicate without physical face-to-face interaction, through means such as mail, catalogues, telephone, fax, e-mail, text message, or the internet. The information that must be provided by this system is listed under Article 20 of the Regulation.

Principles Regarding Direct Sellers

The Regulation introduces certain restrictions concerning Direct Sellers who may participate in the direct sales system. Accordingly:

A Direct Seller cannot be (i) under the age of eighteen, (ii) a person lacking legal capacity, (iii) a shareholder or manager of the company, or (iv) the spouse or relatives by blood or marriage up to the first degree of such persons.
No payment that does not correspond to goods or services intended for sale to the consumer may be requested from the Direct Seller to join or remain in the system, nor may any document imposing a debt obligation be obtained.
Mandatory entry package cannot determine the level of a newly joined Direct Seller within the system. Furthermore, the price of the goods or services included in the entry package may not exceed the recommended sales price.
A Direct Seller has the right to withdraw from the system without incurring any obligations. If the Direct Seller withdraws within thirty days from the date of joining, the Direct Sales Company is obliged to:
retrieve all unused goods, and
refund, within 30 days, the price of the returned goods or services after deducting any benefits already paid in respect of such goods or services.

Article 8 of the Regulation sets out the responsibilities of Direct Sellers. Accordingly:

Joint Liability: The Direct Seller is liable to the Direct Sales Company for ensuring that consumers can exercise their rights and for fulfilling other obligations towards consumers. Direct Sales Companies and Direct Sellers are jointly and severally liable for the fulfilment of these obligations to consumers.
Direct Seller Number: In cases where goods or services belonging to the Direct Sales Company are sold, it is mandatory to indicate the Direct Seller Number. Failure to comply with this obligation renders the Direct Seller liable to the company.

Direct Sales Authorization Certificate

Under the Regulation, it is mandatory for Direct Sales Companies to obtain an Authorization Certificate to carry out direct sales activities. Article 9 of the Regulation sets out the documents required to be submitted during the application process. It is further stipulated that the Ministry may request additional information and documents when deemed necessary.

Pursuant to the Regulation, Direct Sales Companies that have been granted an Authorization Certificate shall be announced on the Ministry's website. The validity period of the Authorization Certificate is 3 years.

In addition, Article 12 of the Regulation sets out the circumstances under which the Authorization Certificate may be revoked. In such cases, Direct Sales Companies whose Authorization Certificates are revoked shall also be announced on the Ministry's website.

Pursuant to Provisional Article 1, Direct Sales Companies engaged in direct sales activities prior to the Regulation may continue their activities until their Authorization Certificate applications are finalized by the Ministry. However, Direct Sales Companies are required, by January 30, 2026, to align their structures and operations with the procedures and principles set out in the Regulation and to apply for an Authorization Certificate.

Information Form

Pursuant to Article 13 of the Regulation, without prejudice to the provisions under the relevant legislation concerning pre-contractual information, as well as the form and mandatory content of the agreement, it is obligatory to provide the consumer with an Information Form, which must be delivered either in writing or through a durable medium.

The mandatory information to be included in the Information Form is listed in the Regulation. In addition, it is stipulated that:

The service subject to direct sales must be performed on the date specified in the Information Form, and
The delivery date of the goods subject to direct sales may not exceed thirty days from the sales date specified in the Information Form.

Where the Information Form is not provided to the consumer, or is provided incompletely or inaccurately, the consumer shall not be bound by the statutory period prescribed for exercising the right of withdrawal. In such case, the withdrawal period shall in any event expire one year after the end of the original statutory withdrawal period.

Right of Withdrawal

Under the Regulation, the withdrawal period granted to consumers has been set at 30 days, during which consumers may exercise their right of withdrawal without any justification and incurring any penalty. Pursuant to the Regulation, it is sufficient for the consumer to send the withdrawal notice in writing or through a durable medium to either the Direct Sales Company or the Direct Seller.

The Regulation stipulates that, within thirty days at the latest from the date the withdrawal notice is received, all payments collected —including delivery costs, if any— must be refunded by the Direct Sales Company using the same means of payment employed by the consumer at the time of purchase, without imposing any additional costs or obligations on the consumer, in a single transaction.

The withdrawal period begins, in the case of services, on the date of sale, and in the case of goods, on the date the consumer takes delivery of the goods. However, the consumer may also exercise the right of withdrawal during the period between the date of sale and the date of delivery.

The Regulation further provides that the withdrawal notice may be given either through the sample withdrawal form annexed to the Regulation or by way of a clear statement of withdrawal. The Direct Sales Company is obliged to ensure that the consumer can access the sample withdrawal form either through the Direct Seller or via the consumer information system.

Where the withdrawal notice is addressed to the Direct Sales Company, it is mandatory to indicate the Direct Seller's number, name, surname, or trade name who carried out the sale.

Exceptions to the right of withdrawal are set out in Article 18 of the Regulation.

Entry into Force

The fifth and sixth paragraphs of Article 5, which regulate the upper limits on commissions, bonuses, and similar benefits provided by Direct Sales Companies, shall enter into force on 1 January 2026. All other provisions entered into force on the date of publication, 8 August 2025.

The full text of the Regulation is available at this link, and the Amending Regulation is available at this link. (only available in Turkish)

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.