The New Duty Free Shops Regulation

The Regulation on Duty Free Shops "Regulation") was published in the Official Gazette numbered 30148 and dated 8 August 2017 and abolished the former Regulation on Duty Free Shops published in the Official Gazette numbered 26318 and dated 13 October 2006 (the "Former Regulation").

The Regulation introduces significant changes to current regulations by setting forth new criteria for duty-free shops and such shops' warehouses and imposes new restrictions on the consumers. These amendments will enter into force as of 8 September 2017. The most important changes introduced by the Regulation are as follows:

Preliminary Permit and Permit Process

The Regulation introduced a comprehensive amendment in relation to the authorization process. While there was no preliminary permit process in the Former Regulation, a preliminary permit process to operate duty-free shops and warehouses is introduced in the Regulation. The preliminary permit process is essentially a process to