Article 4 of the Saudi Anti-Fraud Law

This article sets a clear rule: no discounts and no commercial contests without a license from the Ministry. The Ministry, under Article 1, is the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The prohibition covers two things:

• Price reductions on products, that is, announcing reduced prices to customers.
• Commercial contests, that is, contests that a merchant runs for commercial purposes.

The phrase "by any means" means that the prohibition is not limited to a particular means, so it covers announcing the reduction or the contest inside or outside the shop or by any other means. The article does not set out the conditions or procedures for the license; these are known from the Ministry and from the related implementing provisions.

From the article's position among the Law's provisions, the aim appears to be protecting the consumer from discounts and contests run without oversight. The obligation here falls on whoever runs the discount or contest, and the license must be obtained before it is run, not after. This article comes after Article 3 on the duty to notify about an adulterated product, and before Article 5, which specifies the employees who handle detecting and establishing violations of the Law, including a violation of this article.

Any shop or online store planning a sales season or a promotional contest should therefore obtain the license first. Anyone with a special situation can consult a lawyer specialized in commercial cases.