Price lists, QR menus and discount rules
This is not legal advice.EU rules checked: November 6, 2026 · Turkey rules checked: October 1, 2026
In the EU, every announced price reduction must show the prior price, meaning the lowest price in at least the 30 days before the reduction. Turkey uses a shorter window: for goods, the prior price is the lowest price in the ten days before the discount. In Turkey, prices are also shown including all taxes; restaurants and cafés may show their price list by QR code at the table but must hand over the list on request; and food and beverage businesses that meet the Ministry’s criteria must report their price lists to its system within three months of the procedure being announced.
EU: announcing a price reduction
- Any announcement of a price reduction must state the prior price, meaning the lowest price the trader applied during a period of at least 30 days before the reduction (Price Indication Directive 98/6/EC, Art. 6a(1)–(2), added by Directive (EU) 2019/2161 and applied from May 28, 2022).[1]
- Member states may set different rules for goods that perish or expire quickly, a shorter period for products on the market for less than 30 days, and a rule for progressively increasing reductions (Art. 6a(3)–(5)), so check the national rules where you sell.[1]
In Turkey
Turkey’s rules on this topic, from the official legal texts. They apply to businesses operating in Turkey or targeting customers there.
How must prices be shown?
- Labels and price lists must show the selling price including all taxes, in Turkish (Price Tag Regulation, Art. 5/2-c).[2]
- In food and beverage businesses, table price lists may also be shown by QR code; but if a customer asks, a price list must be provided separately (Art. 8/2).[2]
- Businesses that meet the set criteria must report their price lists to the system within three months after the procedures for data reporting are announced on the Ministry’s website (Art. 8/5).[2]
Discounted prices
- For goods, the price before the discount is the lowest price in the ten days before the discount applies (Price Tag Regulation, Art. 11/1; for ads, Commercial Advertising Regulation, Art. 14/3).[2][3]
- Our practice noteWhen you produce bulk product descriptions or campaign visuals with AI, do not let the tool write prices or discount rates; add them from your approved price list.
What should you do?
- Keep a price history for every product you discount, so you can show the correct prior price in each country.
- Turkey: show prices including taxes on menus and price visuals.
- Turkey: if you use a QR menu, keep a printed list ready too.
- Turkey: calculate the prior price from the lowest price of the last ten days when you discount.
- Turkey: if your business meets the Ministry’s criteria, follow the reporting announcement on ticaret.gov.tr.
Where does this come up?
Sources
- [1] Directive (EU) 2019/2161 on the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules, Art. 2 (Price Indication Directive, Art. 6a), Art. 3 (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, Annex I)
- [2] Price Tag Regulation (Turkey), Art. 5, 8, 11 (Official Gazette of Turkey, June 28, 2014, No. 29044; amended October 11, 2025, No. 33044)Original title: Fiyat Etiketi Yönetmeliği
- [3] Regulation amending the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices (Turkey) (Official Gazette of Turkey, July 1, 2026, No. 33297; in force August 1, 2026)Original title: Ticari Reklam ve Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar Yönetmeliğinde Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Yönetmelik
- [4] Turkish Ministry of Trade announcement: a new era for price tagsOriginal title: Ticaret Bakanlığı duyurusu: Fiyat etiketinde yeni dönem başlıyor
EU sources were read from the official texts on November 6, 2026; Turkish sources on October 1, 2026. If the law changes, this page is updated along with the date.