The Ministry of Commerce gave the first authorization as a “renewal center” to bring second-hand technological products that have not completed their useful life back into the economy.
According to the ministry statement; The “Regulation on the Sale of Refurbished Products”, which regulates the procedures and principles regarding the refurbishment of used mobile phones and tablets to a certain standard, and their resale as “refurbished products” in a guaranteed and certified manner, entered into force by being published in the Official Gazette dated 22 August 2020 and numbered 31221.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Regulation, the activities of carrying out “renewal” transactions and placing “renewed products” on the market can only be carried out by renewal centers authorized by the Ministry.
The aim of the said regulation is to bring second-hand technological products that have not completed their useful life back into the economy, to reduce waste and damage to the environment, to reduce the import items related to the aforementioned products, to prevent informality and to enable consumers to shop second-hand in a safe and guaranteed way.
Applications will be made to the Ministry
In this context, companies that want to operate as a “renewal center” must first be certified by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) with the TSE-HYB document within the scope of the relevant standard, and then apply to the Ministry to obtain a “Renewal Authorization Certificate”.
The companies whose applications are evaluated and meet the conditions determined in the Regulation will be authorized by the Ministry to carry out the renewal procedures.
Information on the authorized companies will be published on the “https://tuketici.ticaret.gov.tr/yayinlar” page on the Ministry’s website.
3 companies’ applications were evaluated
The applications of 3 companies that have reached the Ministry so far have been evaluated, and these companies, whose applications have been approved, have been authorized as “renewal centers”.
It was stated that unauthorized sales of “refurbished products” were observed on various electronic commerce platforms, and the following warnings were made:
“Since the renewal centers authorized by the Ministry have started to operate, these sales are in violation of both the Regulation on the Sale of Refurbished Products and the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices. This situation also leads to consumer grievances. For this reason, the unauthorized sales and promotions in question are closely monitored by our Ministry, and the administrative sanctions determined in the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 will be applied to those who are found to be in violation. On the other hand, it is important for our consumers to shop for second-hand mobile phones and tablets from companies authorized by our Ministry so that they do not suffer any loss of rights in the future.”
Source: AA / Translated by Irem Yildiz