E-commerce law in Azerbaijan: basics for online stores

The legal framework

• Law on Electronic Commerce (2005) — sets out the basic rules for electronic trade, electronic documents and information obligations in online transactions.
• Civil Code — governs contracts, including contracts concluded electronically. Amendments adopted by Law No. 822-VIQD of 24 February 2023 updated the regulation of such agreements, according to Deloitte Azerbaijan's legislative tracking.
• Consumer protection legislation — rights of consumers regarding information, product quality, returns and exchanges.
• Tax Code — registration, VAT and invoicing obligations; see e-invoicing (e-qaimə).
• Law on Personal Data — processing of customers' data; see personal data law.

Source for the 2023 amendments: Deloitte Azerbaijan — Legislative tracking.

Non-resident sellers

Azerbaijan has introduced rules for the taxation of electronic commerce by non-residents without a presence in the country. According to published summaries, Article 33.8-1 of the Tax Code requires certain non-residents providing services to persons not registered as taxpayers in Azerbaijan to register electronically, and registration rules were approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 387 of 30 October 2023. The State Tax Service publishes the procedure for electronic registration of non-residents engaged in electronic trade.

Sources: Report.az, State Tax Service.

What your website should show

Regardless of the exact wording of each law, customers, payment providers and marketplaces expect an online store to publish:

• Seller information: legal name, registration and tax number, address, contacts.
• Product information: description, characteristics, price in manats including taxes, availability.
• Terms of sale: how an order is formed and confirmed, when the contract is concluded, payment methods.
• Delivery: methods, zones, costs, timeframes.
• Returns and exchanges: conditions and procedure, consistent with consumer protection rules.
• Warranty and complaints: how to make a claim.
• Privacy policy and consent for data processing. See privacy policy.

Many stores publish their terms as a public offer (an offer to conclude a contract on published terms, accepted by placing an order). A lawyer should draft or review it.

Order confirmation

Customers should receive confirmation of their order with its contents, price, delivery terms and seller details. Keep records of orders, confirmations and consents — they matter if there is a dispute.

Restricted categories

Selling medicines, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, certain financial products and some other categories online is restricted or subject to licensing. Check the rules for your products before designing the store; see, for example, pharmacies.

Receipts and tax

B2C sales in Azerbaijan are recorded through cash registers of the required type, including for payments received online and on delivery, and B2B sales through electronic invoices. How this works for online orders — especially with cash or card on delivery — should be agreed with your accountant before launch, and the store's order data should be exportable to your accounting system.

Marketplaces

A marketplace that sells on behalf of other sellers has additional questions: who is the seller of record, who issues receipts, who handles returns, and how payments between parties are structured. These must be settled legally before development.