E-commerce in Turkey now operates under one of the most actively enforced regulatory regimes in the region. Distance sales contracts, ETBIS registration, electronic intermediary service provider obligations, and the rising compliance bar for cross-border marketplaces have turned what used to be a website launch checklist into a continuous compliance discipline. Vircon Legal advises e-commerce operators, marketplaces, and SaaS-enabled commerce platforms on this rapidly evolving area.
Our e-commerce practice covers:
- ETBIS registration: scope analysis, threshold calculation, registration filings (see our ETBIS Registration Checklist)
- Distance sales contracts: clause drafting, withdrawal rights, pre-contractual information, language requirements
- Electronic intermediary service provider classification and notice-and-takedown procedures
- Cross-border e-commerce structuring: VAT compliance, import duty treatment, regulatory taxonomy for foreign sellers serving Turkish consumers
- Marketplace platform terms: seller agreements, dispute mechanisms, KYC for merchant onboarding
- Payment integration: e-money licensing intersection, PCI DSS compliance, fraud allocation
- Consumer protection: advertising standards, comparison disclosures, dark pattern audits
- Data protection overlap with KVKK & GDPR: cookie consent, profiling, behavioral advertising
We routinely advise marketplace operators expanding into Turkey, Turkish e-commerce companies preparing for international expansion, and venture-backed D2C brands navigating their first regulatory inspections. Our integration with technology law, data privacy, and SaaS contracting practices means we can advise across the full stack without siloed handoffs.
Founder Academy resources
Free, practical checklists for this area: ETBİS Registration Checklist, E-commerce Mandatory Legal Texts Checklist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ETBİS and who must register?
ETBİS is the Ministry of Trade’s electronic-commerce information system. E-commerce service providers selling through their own site and intermediary platforms must register before starting activity, and keep turnover and activity data current. Registration gaps surface quickly in payment-provider and marketplace onboarding.
What changed with the 2022 e-commerce amendments?
A tiered regime by transaction volume: licensing fees for large platforms and ETBSH-classified intermediaries, restrictions on advertising and discount budgets, data-portability and fair-practice rules toward sellers, and limits on platforms selling their own brands. Growing marketplaces should monitor which thresholds they are about to cross.
Do foreign sellers targeting Turkish consumers need to comply?
Yes. Selling into Türkiye in Turkish, in lira, or with TR-targeted marketing brings distance-contract and consumer-law obligations, KVKK duties, and potentially ETBİS registration through the intermediary. The marketplace handles part of the burden, but not the seller’s own legal documentation.