An e-commerce site's design can be finished in a few weeks, but the legal preparation is often left until the last day. The result: contract texts are copied from another site, the returns page stays incomplete and the cookie notice is only there for show. Yet these texts set the rules between you and your customer, and they are the first place anyone looks in a dispute. Below, we list in order what a business selling from its own site in Turkey needs to prepare.
First, you need a business and a tax registration
Selling online on a regular basis is a commercial activity and requires a tax registration. For businesses starting out alone, a sole proprietorship (şahıs şirketi) is often the quickest route; if there will be several owners or there are big growth plans, a limited company (limited şirket) or a joint-stock company (anonim şirket) is considered. Banks and payment institutions ask for your tax certificate (vergi levhası) and company documents when you apply for a virtual POS (an online card payment account). That is why the company paperwork needs to be finished before the payment setup. If you already have a company, you do not need to set up a new one for your own site; but ask your accountant (mali müşavir) to check whether your registered line of business covers online sales. For people who sell products they make at home online, a tradesman's exemption (esnaf muaflığı) is also available under certain conditions. Ask your tax office or your accountant whether this route suits you.
Which documents does the customer get before the sale?
Under Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection and the Distance Contracts Regulation (Mesafeli Sözleşmeler Yönetmeliği), an online sale counts as a distance contract. The regulation requires the customer to be informed before placing the order and to confirm that information. The consumer can withdraw from the contract without giving a reason within fourteen days of receiving the product; this is called the right of withdrawal (cayma hakkı). The regulation lists exceptions, such as products made specifically for the customer, products that spoil quickly, or products that are not suitable for return for hygiene reasons once the packaging is opened. That is why the checkout step and the site should include the following:
- Preliminary information form (ön bilgilendirme formu): the seller's details, the product's main features, the total price including taxes, the delivery fee and time, payment information and how to use the right of withdrawal. This form should not sit as a small link in a corner of the payment page; the customer should be able to see it easily before confirming the order.
- Distance sales contract (mesafeli satış sözleşmesi): the contract that sets out the rights and obligations of both sides and is created for each order with that order's details.
- Confirmation step: the order should not be completed until the customer confirms having read these two texts, and the contract should be sent to the customer by email after the order.
- Returns and delivery page: the return address, the shipping company to use for returns, how the money will be refunded and the products the right of withdrawal does not apply to should be written in plain language.
What about KVKK, ETBİS and e-invoicing?
- KVKK privacy notice (aydınlatma metni): the moment you collect a name, address and phone number for an order, you become a data controller under Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (KVKK). You need a text that explains what data you collect and why, who you share it with (such as the shipping company and the payment institution) and what rights the customer has. The privacy notice and the explicit consent text are separate documents: explicit consent is not required for the information needed to deliver the order, while some purposes such as marketing may require separate approval. Whether registering with VERBİS (the data controllers' registry) is mandatory for you depends on the size and activity of your business.
- Cookie notice: visitors are expected to give consent for advertising and measurement cookies. The notice should not be there only for show; these codes should not run until consent is given.
- Commercial message consent: to send campaign emails or SMS messages to consumers, Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce requires you to get prior consent. These consents are managed through İYS (İleti Yönetim Sistemi, Turkey's commercial message management system).
- ETBİS registration: businesses that sell from their own site must register with the Ministry of Trade's Electronic Commerce Information System (ETBİS). Registration is done through e-Devlet (the government's online services portal), and it must be kept up to date when your details change.
- e-Fatura and e-Arşiv: which electronic invoicing system a business selling online must switch to, and when, is set by thresholds based on turnover and type of activity. A business that has switched to electronic invoicing issues an e-Fatura (e-invoice) if the buyer is an e-Fatura user, and otherwise (like most end consumers) an e-Arşiv (e-archive) invoice.
- Identity and contact details: the business's name or trade name, MERSİS number (the central trade registry number; if there is none, the tax identification number), full address, phone number and email address should be easy to find on the site.
Check these before going live
Before opening the site, place a real test order and follow the process through the customer's eyes. The preliminary information form and the contract should appear at the payment step, and the order should not go through until the confirmation box is ticked. After the order, check that the contract reaches the customer's email and that the returns page and contact details can be reached from every page. Make sure the advertising codes really stop when the visitor chooses to reject cookies, and that the invoice is created without the order details being typed in again by hand. Since the regulations and the way you work will change over time, also add a regular review of these texts to your calendar. When Adorb builds a custom e-commerce site for you, it sets up the payment, shipping and e-invoice connections to fit your business and completes the tests before launch. The legal content of the texts, however, is a decision for you and your advisor.