Period 17.12.2018 - 31.12.2018

We are excited to share this very first legal bulletin of 2019. By this occasion, we wish you a happy and a prosperous new year!...

This issue contains brief information regarding prominent amendments to various regulations that were made by the end of 2018. We will continue to share more information regarding any progress in the legal environment and also we will try to provide in deep insights on specific topics from different perspectives.

Mediation in commercial disputes

Law No. 7155 is published in the Official Gazette. According to this Law, article 5 of the Turkish Commercial Code (TCC) has been amended and this amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2019. Accordingly, it is obligatory to apply to a mediator for resolutions of commercial disputes regarding receivables and compensation claims before commencing a law suit.

Eligible Consumer Limit for 2019

The eligible consumer limit valid for 2019 is reduced to 1600 kW / s by EMRA (Energy Market Regulatory Authority, EPDK). Those who consume electricity above this limit will be in the free consumer category. With this arrangement, the subscribers with monthly electricity bill of 67 TL and above, can benefit from the free consumer application and will be able to get electricity by signing a bilateral agreement with any supplier they choose.

40% of the self-generated electricity may be sold

According to EMRA’s decision which was published in the Official Gazette on December 26, 2018, the limit of 20 % set forth under temporary article 7/2 of the Electricity Market Law is amended and increased to 40%. The mentioned article stipulates the license owners’ rights that operate facilities which were privatized before the Law entered into effect and determines the limit of the electricity amount that they are granted to sell as 20% of their production amount registered under their license. The article grants EMRA the right to evaluate and increase the mentioned ratio according to supply security necessity. Considering the probable demand in 2019 and to ensure the security of supply, mentioned facilities will be able to sell 40% of the electricity they generate.

Process to apply to the Consumer Arbitration Committees are amended

With the amendment to the Protection of Consumer Rights Law which was published in the Official Gazette dated 26 December 2018 and which will be effective from 1 January 2019, the monetary limits for applying the consumer committees are changed. Accordingly, for the applications to the Consumer Arbitration Committees in 2019, the values are determined as follows:

• For disputes below TL 5.650, District Consumer Arbitration Committees;

• For disputes between TL 5,650 and TL 8,480 Provincial Consumer Arbitration Committees

If the consumer complaints arising from the consumer protection provisions are within the specified limits, consumers are required to apply to the Consumer Arbitration Committee to solve the problem.

Furthermore if the Consumer Arbitration Committee has not been established in the district where the application can be made, consumers will be able to apply to the district governorate which then the mentioned applications will be forwarded to the competent arbitral tribunal determined by the Ministry.

Finally, the administrative fines determined under article 77 of the above mentioned law are increased as of 1/1/2019. The increase was made as 23.73% by considering the evaluation rate for the year 2018 according to the General Communiqué on Tax Procedure Law.

Competition Authority (TCA) Investigation against hot-air balloon operators

30 tourism companies operating hot air balloons in the Cappadocia region were investigated by TCA on the grounds of unfair competition and TCA has concluded the preliminary investigation. TCA will investigate the allegations regarding unfair acts of the companies that are said to exclude certain hotels and companies by not providing hot air balloon flight services except their own ones. The companies will give their written and oral defense statements to TCA. If TCA will decide a breach of the Competition Law, the mentioned companies will be sentenced to fines of high values (will be calculated over their gross revenues). This investigation is important both in public interest and Turkey’s tourism perception means.

Constitutional Court decision regarding property right

According to The Constitutional Court Decision (CC) which was published in the Official Gazette on 25/12/2018, it has been determined that the collection of consumption tax from the company using its own generated gas and electricity, constitutes a violation of property right. The applicant company, whose main activity was steel production, uses the electricity that is generated by its own means in production. However, the municipality charged the company electricity and gas “consumption tax” despite the fact that the company already paid its generation tax. The company made the payment upon request and then filed a lawsuit in the Tax Court for the annulment of the consumption tax and the reimbursement of the payment. Upon rejection of the Tax Court, the company brought the matter to the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court decided that the property rights guaranteed by Article 35 of the Constitution were violated and that the file be sent to the tax court for retrial in order to eliminate the violation and its consequences.