The Regulation on the Amendment of the Regulation on Distance Contracts prepared by the Ministry of Commerce was published in the Official Gazette on 23.08.2022.
With the changes made;
Intermediary Service Provider and Platform concepts are defined. Intermediary Service Provider is defined as the natural or legal person who mediates the establishment of a distance contract between the seller and the provider in order to use the remote communication tools with the system created.
Platform, on the other hand, is defined as the system created by the intermediary service provider to mediate the establishment of distance contracts, excluding the public electronic platform where public services are offered from a single point.
Although the intermediary service providers are obliged to inform the consumer in advance, they are severally liable with the seller or the provider in the processes such as the use of the right of withdrawal and the refund.
The period of ten days for consumers to send the goods subject to the right of withdrawal from the date of delivery has been changed to fourteen days.
With the article 12/A added to the relevant Regulation, some obligations have been imposed on the Intermediary Service Providers. Accordingly, a suitable system for the transmission and follow-up of the requests and notifications specified during the use of the rights and obligations arising from the distance contracts established on the platform should be established and it should be accessible all the time.
Article 15 regulating the exceptions for the use of the consumer’s right of withdrawal has been amended. The following contracts have been added to the exceptions for the use of the consumer’s right of withdrawal;
- Contracts regarding movables, which are required to be registered according to the Highway Traffic Law, and unmanned aerial vehicles that are required to be registered or registered,
- Contracts for mobile phones, smart watches, tablets and computers delivered to the consumer,
- Contracts concluded by auction in the form of live auction,
- Contracts regarding the installation or assembly of the goods specified in the introduction and user manual by the seller or authorized service.
The provisions regarding the refund will enter into force on 01.01.2023. Other provisions will enter into force on 01.10.2022.