Recent Development
The Ministry of Trade (“Ministry“) continues its inspections on the unfair price increases of consumer goods and services following the recent amendments to the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices (“Regulation“) adopted based on Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers (“Consumer Protection Law“).
What’s New?
According to the recent amendments to the Regulation published in the Official Gazette No. 30521 on August 31, 2018, it is a misleading commercial practice for companies to increase the sales prices of goods and services offered to consumers on the grounds that the increases are caused by input cost and exchange rate changes, even though these factors do not actually affect sales prices.
In this regard, the Ministry has been conducting strict inspections on consumer products to ensure the protection of consumers and the prevention of unfair competition. As of October 8, 2018, a total of 69,200 products and 3,974 companies were inspected.
In addition, the Ministry requested 114 companies to submit defenses to their ongoing inspections. The Ministry imposed administrative sanctions on certain companies in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Law.
Conclusion
The Ministry continues its inspections on unfair product price increases done under the pretext of exchange rates increases to protect consumers and prevent unfair competition. Companies should follow the Ministry’s developments and announcements and comply with the principles and procedures set forth in the Regulation for product price increases.
