September 2, 2026
The Turkish Ministry of Trade has stepped up inspections of discount advertisements in an effort to prevent misleading promotions and artificial perceptions of price reductions.
Under a new regulation that took effect on August 1, 2026, businesses must base the pre-discount price advertised for a product or service on the lowest price applied during the previous 10 days. Conditional sales campaigns have also been brought under stricter scrutiny.
New rules target artificial discounts
The Ministry of Trade has introduced tighter rules on discount advertising to protect consumers’ economic interests and strengthen fair competition in the market.
Inspections have been launched simultaneously across both traditional and digital platforms against practices that mislead consumers through claims of exceptionally large discounts.
The amendments to the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices, which came into force on August 1, target practices such as raising a product’s price shortly before a promotion and then advertising it as heavily discounted.
Lowest price in the previous 10 days will apply
Under the new rules, when a business advertises a discount on a product or service, the reference price before the discount must be the lowest price charged by the seller during the previous 10 days.
For highly perishable goods, such as fruit and vegetables, the price immediately preceding the discount may instead be used as the reference price.
The rules also cover not only straightforward percentage-based discounts but also conditional sales advertisements, in which consumers must meet certain conditions to benefit from a promotion.
Fines of up to TL 39.9 million
The Advertising Board under the Ministry of Trade can impose advertising suspension penalties and administrative fines on companies found to have used misleading advertisements or provided incomplete information.
Depending on the medium in which the advertisement was published, fines can range from TL 108,370 to TL 39,916,524.
The regulation also covers advertisements created using artificial intelligence, targeted advertising practices and commercial promotions carried out by social media influencers.
The ministry’s intensified oversight aims to ensure that consumers are not misled by artificial discount campaigns and that businesses compete on a fairer basis.
Source: Patronlar Dünyası/ Prepared by: İlayda Gök