Khaberni - Published in the Official Gazette on Thursday, an amended law for the Competition Law for the year 2026, which is to be read together with Law No. 33 of the year 2004 referred to in the original law and its amendments, and is to be enacted 30 days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
To view the law as published in the Official Gazette, click here.
The House of Representatives approved, at the end of March, by a majority, the amendments made by the Senate to Articles 3 and 6 of the draft amended Competition Law for the year 2025, and it enacted the entire bill with the Senate's amendments.
The aim of the bill is to develop mechanisms to implement competition policies in the kingdom by enhancing the institutional empowerment of the administrative body charged with enforcing the law in accordance with best global practices. This is achieved by granting the Competition Protection Authority sufficient technical independence, executive powers, decision-making mechanisms, and development of tools to investigate complaints and the authority to initiate proceedings through the public prosecutor.
The "Competition Amendment" forms part of a series of legislations linked to the economic modernization vision and its implementation program, emanating from the government's effort to enhance and protect free and effective competition in the kingdom, and to prepare an economic environment based on fair competition, which forms a fundamental basis for sustainable economic growth, stimulating development and innovation, and serving as a tool to protect the consumer from monopolistic practices, ensuring access to a variety of quality products and services at prices that meet their desires and needs.
The bill also includes the creation of a "Competition Affairs Council" which will serve as an advisory council concerned with outlining the general competition policy in the kingdom, and includes representatives from both public and private sectors.
And the "Competition Amendment" will contribute to improving the kingdom’s ranking in global standards related to easing business and attracting investments within a fair competitive environment.
The amendments also included increasing penalties in case of repeated offenses related to competition, narrowing the scope of exceptions provided in the law, the bases for granting them, and developing tools for detecting practices that breach competition within the best regulatory standards for protecting the competition atmosphere.
