Türkiye’s Ministry of Trade imposed administrative fines of more than 249 million lira on companies for misleading advertising and unfair commercial practices in the first nine months of 2026, the ministry said on Friday.
More than 33,000 applications were assessed between January and September, according to the ministry’s statement, reported by the Demirören News Agency (DHA).
Suspension orders in 136 cases
In addition to fines, the ministry ordered advertisements to be halted in 136 files where consumer protection rules were found to have been violated. Administrative fines totalling 17,176,744 lira were issued in those cases.
The statement did not name the companies or break down the penalties by sector.
How the system works
Advertising complaints in Türkiye are reviewed by the Advertising Board (Reklam Kurulu), a body attached to the trade ministry that includes representatives of consumer groups, professional associations and the media. It can order an advert to be corrected or stopped and can impose fines on advertisers, agencies and media outlets.
Common targets in recent years have included online retailers advertising fake discounts, health and beauty products making unproven medical claims, real estate projects promising unrealistic returns and influencers who fail to make clear that posts are paid promotions. Regulations require sponsored social media content to be clearly labelled as advertising.
Consumers, including foreign residents, can file complaints through the e-Devlet government portal, the ministry’s consumer information system or the 175 consumer hotline. Disputes over faulty goods or services below a set value are handled by local consumer arbitration committees, with higher-value cases going to consumer courts.
Wider consumer crackdown
The figures come as the ministry steps up its market oversight amid high inflation, which has made pricing practices a sensitive issue. Earlier this week, the government gave the ministry new powers to set installment limits on retail sales of goods and services, and it has fined businesses for excessive price increases and for posing as authorised service providers.
The ministry has said it will continue inspections both in physical stores and in e-commerce, where most complaints about misleading claims now originate.
Sources
Photo: ismail soytekınoglu / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
