The updated regulation on the trade of motor vehicles in Türkiye, prepared by the Trade Ministry, was published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, stipulating the mandatory use of a secure payment system for selling second-hand motor vehicles.
The change in regulation sees the expansion of the existing scope of rules on vehicle sales, mandating a stiffer regulatory approach and thus ensuring fairer competition in the market.
In a written statement related to the matter, the ministry said it "continues its efforts to preserve the fair, competitive and stable market structure in the automotive sector."
In line with this, it said that the mentioned regulation was prepared to meet public expectations and prevent the grievances of those engaged in the motor vehicle trade and consumers.
The statement highlighted that the scope of the regulation governing second-hand motor vehicle trade has therefore been expanded with this regulation, adding that significant changes have been made regarding second-hand sales.
It also said that the obligations of distributors and authorized dealers in new vehicle trade were regulated. Additionally, principles and rules regarding vehicle auctions conducted electronically and pre-evaluation of vehicles were also established, the statement said.
The statement further pointed out the aim of preventing fraudulent activities that citizens may encounter in vehicle buying and selling.
"To eliminate the risk of counterfeit money, difficulties with cash payments and the risk of non-payment of the sales price, the use of the 'Secure Payment System' has been made mandatory for everyone in second-hand motor vehicle sales," it said.
Furthermore, it was noted that an obligation to issue an order form was introduced to prevent buyer grievances in orders with partial payments.
"The authorized dealer will not be able to request any payment from the buyer without preparing this form, will deliver the vehicle for which the deposit has been received to the buyer within 45 days and will not be able to receive a deposit bigger than 10% of the sales price until seven days before the vehicle delivery," it explained.
Furthermore, the buyer can cancel their order within 14 days from the date the order form is issued without being subject to any penalty condition.
New rules for distributors, dealers
The statement also mentioned that new rules and obligations have been introduced for distributors and authorized dealers to ensure a fair, competitive environment in the motor vehicle supply chain and prevent unfair commercial practices.
Accordingly, the ministry said that activities that were deemed unfair commercial practices by distributors were defined and the rules they must follow in their relations with authorized dealers were established.
Aligned with this, distributors cannot increase the vehicle price after the invoice date and must deliver the vehicle to the authorized dealer within 15 days.
On the other hand, authorized dealers would not be able to raise the price of the vehicle for which the SCT and VAT have been paid by the buyer – and must deliver the vehicle to the buyer within 15 days.
Moreover, to address the difficulties faced in obtaining a second-hand motor vehicle trade authorization certificate and to prevent businesses from operating without an authorization certificate, the requirement to have a business opening and operation license has been removed from the authorization certificate conditions.
Thus, the ministry said that the grievances of businesses that could not obtain an authorization certificate due to the license requirement, despite meeting all other conditions, have been eliminated.
It is noted, however, that businesses engaged in the second-hand motor vehicle trade are still obliged to obtain a business opening and operation license under the license regulations.
The statement also noted although the high school graduation requirement, which is among the authorization certificate conditions, is maintained, a regulation has been made so that the high school graduation requirement is not required in authorization certificate applications made until March 1, 2025, for businesses that are registered with a tax or professional chamber as of the date the regulation enters into force.
At the same time, it was said that specific rules have been established to ensure that tenders conducted in the electronic environment are carried out securely and transparently. These included the announcement of tender conditions and detailed information about the vehicles offered for sale on the tender platform, the determination of the tender price per fair competition rules and the prohibition of the tender platform operator and the seller from participating in the tender directly or indirectly.
Additionally, a regulation was made that states that the difference between the initial price offer presented to the vehicle owner and the final offer in preliminary valuations conducted electronically should not exceed 5%, the offer should be valid for at least 24 hours and the final offer should be given on the same day for the vehicle that has been physically inspected, according to the ministry.