Ministry of Trade Imposes 10 Million TL Fine on Businesses for Price Gouging in Just Three Days
The Ministry of Commerce imposed an administrative monetary fine of 10 million TL on businesses applying excessive pricing within three days following the announcement of the minimum wage increase.
In a statement, the Ministry emphasized, "As the Ministry of Commerce, we continue our inspections for excessive pricing and price labeling uninterruptedly across all 81 provinces through our provincial trade directorates, to ensure that the minimum wage increase does not adversely affect our citizens and that our consumers do not encounter any violations of their rights."
As part of these inspections, a total of 4,378 markets were inspected starting from December 25, 2024, leading to the identification of violations in 5,125 out of 397,198 inspected products. A total administrative fine of 10,019,801 TL was imposed on businesses for these violations.
The statement continued: "During the three-day inspection period starting from December 25, 2024, the province with the highest number of market inspections was Istanbul, with 605 markets inspected, followed by Antalya with 325 markets and Ankara with 322 markets. In terms of inspected products, Ankara ranked first with 100,600 products, followed by Antalya with 75,125 products, and Istanbul with 54,881 products. The provinces with the highest number of identified violations were Istanbul with 2,123, Ankara with 1,377, and Elazığ with 506 violations."
As a result of the inspections, taking into account the penalties applied to identified infringing products, the province with the highest total fines was Istanbul with 4,670,600 TL, followed by Ankara with 3,029,400 TL, and Bursa with 211,200 TL.
Additionally, actions have been initiated against 2,668 firms on suspicion of unjustified price increases, requesting defenses and three months of retrospective invoices regarding suspicious transactions from these firms. Following these investigations, companies found to have adequate concrete evidence of excessive pricing will be referred to the Unjust Pricing Evaluation Board, which may impose fines ranging from 100,000 TL to 1,000,000 TL for the year 2024, and from 143,930 TL to 1,439,300 TL for 2025.
Among the markets subject to administrative action on suspicion of unjustified price increases, 603 are located in Istanbul, 322 in Ankara, and 99 in Izmir.
The Ministry of Commerce will continue its efforts without interruption, ensuring the protection of citizens' rights and interests and preventing businesses from acquiring unjust profits through unjust price increases and unfair practices.