Turkmenistan Develops Rules to Regulate E-Commerce

BUSINESS TURKMENISTAN
Turkmenistan Develops Rules to Regulate E-Commerce
These rules apply to legal entities, regardless of their organizational and legal form.

The Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan has developed Rules for Remotely Selling Goods, which are designed to regulate the processes of online commerce, Turkmenportal reported on Friday.

The Rules include general provisions for the creation of remote trading, including advertising of goods, the conclusion of a contract for the sale of goods, the procedure for delivering goods to a consumer, and define the consumer rights and other relevant points.

These rules apply to legal entities, regardless of their organizational and legal form, and to individual entrepreneurs who carry out entrepreneurial activities without creating a legal entity.

Rules for Remotely Selling Goods do not apply to entrepreneurs who conclude transactions, contracts and other types of transactions in the wholesale trade using electronic documents, and to the sale of goods through vending machines, relations arising from contracts for the remote purchase of goods from abroad , sales contracts and tenders.

According to the Rules, the following types of online stores may operate in Turkmenistan:

  • Online store as an additional platform for a working store;
  • An online store that sells only from the supplier's warehouse upon request, only through the website;
  • An online store with its own warehouse that sells only through the website.

At the same time, an online store can combine several types of methods for selling goods (sales from warehouse and sales upon request).

According to the document, it is prohibited to sell alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, dietary supplements, weapons and ammunition, audiovisual works and phonograms at the online store.

Trade in products made of precious metals and precious stones is carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of Turkmenistan.

Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs selling goods remotely (including through online stores) are required to use electronic cash registers and provide the ability to settle through a payment terminal. The cashier's receipt must be issued immediately at the time of payment for the goods.

"Rules for Selling Goods Remotely" were approved by order of the Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan dated July 14, 2020 and registered in the Ministry of Justice of Turkmenistan on August 3, 2020 under No. 1367.

2022