Parliament Finally Approves E-Commerce Law

The Law on Electronic Commerce ("the Law") which has been pending for approval by the Turkish Parliament for the past 3 years has finally been passed on October 23, 2014. However, the Law will enter into force as of May 1, 2015.

The aim of the Law is to harmonize the Turkish e-commerce legislation with the Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on Certain Legal Aspects of Information Society Services, in Particular Electronic Commerce, in the Internal Market ("Directive on Electronic Commerce").

The Law regulates the procedures and principles on e-commerce. It aims to create a more secure, transparent and accessible e-commerce environment to extend the use of e-commerce in Turkey. The implementation of the Law will be provided by secondary legislations prepared by the Ministry of Customs and Trade.