"No Exemption For You": Does Turkish Competition Board's Practice Derive From EU On Platform Sales Bans?

The Turkish Competition Board (the “Board”) has recently had its hands full with several cases regarding digital marketplaces. Continuing this trend from another perspective, the Board's decision on BSH Ev Aletleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (“BSH”) concerns a request for an exemption from restrictions on internet retail sales. After an extensive review of the case, the Board ruled against granting an exemption for the relevant provisions restricting retailers from making online marketplace sales. Further, the Board found that no exemptions can be granted from the restriction against active or passive sales to end users by members of a selective distribution system, or from the prevention of purchases and sales among the members of a selective distribution system by imposing a one-stop purchasing obligation on authorised dealers.