What monetary limit applies to a consumer arbitration committee in 2026?

In 2026, whether a consumer dispute goes to an arbitration committee depends on the monetary limit published for the year of the application, not on the day the goods were bought. The communiqué published in the Official Gazette of 23 December 2025, issue 33116, sets the amount that applies from 1 January 2026. This note explains that limit, where an application is made, and how a committee decision is challenged. The optional remedies for defective goods are outside this note.

Summary: Under Article 3 of the communiqué, for applications made in 2026, provincial or district consumer arbitration committees have jurisdiction over disputes valued below 186,000 Turkish lira. Article 68 of Law No. 6502 makes an application mandatory for disputes below the limit and closes the committee route for disputes above those values. The period for challenging a decision is two weeks from notification (Article 70). An objection does not by itself stop enforcement of the decision.

Which applications use 186,000 TL?

The communiqué entered into force on 1 January 2026 (Article 5). Its text sets the limit for “applications to be made for the year 2026”. The fourth paragraph of provisional Article 3 of Law No. 6502 says that applications already made to a committee, and actions already brought, follow the jurisdiction rules in force on the date of the application or the action. An application made before 2026 does not change its amount by itself under this communiqué.

The words “thirty thousand Turkish lira” in the statute are increased at the start of each calendar year by the revaluation rate announced for that year (Article 68/4). Fractions of one thousand Turkish lira are disregarded in the calculation. The amount applied in 2026 is that rule as announced by the communiqué: 186,000 Turkish lira. The footnote in the consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr also points to this communiqué from 1 January 2026.

What do “below” and “above” the limit mean?

Article 68/1, without prejudice to the parties’ rights under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code, makes an application to the consumer arbitration committee mandatory for disputes below the limit. The same paragraph says that an application cannot be made for disputes above those values.

The 2026 communiqué states the jurisdiction sentence as “below 186,000 Turkish lira”. If the dispute is worth exactly 186,000 Turkish lira, the communiqué does not add a separate sentence treating the committee as having jurisdiction. This note does not record that equal amount as committee jurisdiction.

The communiqué does not set two separate money bands for provincial and district committees. Below 186,000 Turkish lira, both kinds of committee have jurisdiction. Which committee is competent depends on the territorial and subject-matter division determined by the Ministry under Article 4 of the communiqué. Provincial committees are competent within the province, and district committees within the district. In a district where no committee has been established, the committee designated by the Ministry for that district is competent.

Where is the application made?

Article 68/3 and the second paragraph of Article 4 of the communiqué point to the same place. An application may be made to the consumer arbitration committee where the consumer resides or where the consumer transaction was carried out.

If no committee has been established in the district where an application may be made, the application may be made to the district governorate. The governorate records it in the Consumer Information System and forwards it to the competent committee designated by the Ministry.

The committee must accept applications made to it in order to do what is required (Article 68/2). That sentence does not mean every request is accepted on the merits.

How does the court route work above the limit?

An application cannot be made to the committee for disputes above the limit (Article 68/1). In disputes heard by the consumer court, applying to a mediator before bringing the action is a condition of the action (Article 73/A). That condition does not apply to disputes within the committee’s jurisdiction or to objections against a committee decision. Disputes arising from ownership of immovable property that are in the nature of a consumer transaction are also excepted in the same article.

This note does not open who pays the mediation fee or how the mediation bureau works.

How is a committee decision challenged?

Under Article 70, committee decisions bind the parties. The committee cannot award an attorney fee. Documents that must be notified are served electronically under Article 107/A of Tax Procedure Law No. 213. If service cannot be made that way, Notification Law No. 7201 applies. Decisions are enforced under the provisions of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code on enforcement of judgments.

The parties may object to the decision within two weeks from the date of notification, before the consumer court where the committee sits or where the consumer resides. The objection does not stop enforcement of the decision. On request, the judge may stay enforcement by way of an interim measure. The decision given by the consumer court on the objection is final.

These two weeks are not a calendar calculation for a particular decision. The period starts on the date that decision is notified.

What does this note not explain?

Rescission, a price reduction, free repair and replacement with a defect-free equivalent for defective goods are in the note What remedies can a consumer choose for defective goods?. The committee limit does not decide which of those remedies has arisen.

Article 68 reserves the parties’ rights under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code. Non-judgment enforcement by general attachment for a money claim is a separate route from a committee application. The payment order and objection period on that route are in the note Payment order and objection period in non-judgment enforcement. The general frame for the area is on the Consumer law page.

The 2026 amount is in the communiqué of 23 December 2025. The statutory provisions are in Law No. 6502 on mevzuat.gov.tr.

This note is general information and does not contain a legal opinion for a particular person.