Article 7 of the Saudi Anti-Fraud Law

This article is short but has a large effect: the suspected product stays held in the merchant's hands, and he may not deal with it until the result of the examination clearing it appears.

This article comes after Article 6, which allows the judicial police officer to take samples of the suspected product for analysis; after a sample is taken, the merchant may not sell the product, move it or dispose of it, because that could erase the trace of the violation or put a harmful product in the consumer's hands before its safety is confirmed.

The following can be drawn from the text:

• The prohibition covers dealing in general, and is not limited to selling.
• The end of the prohibition is tied to the examination result clearing the product; if the fraud is established, the Law's other provisions apply.
• The examination period was set by Article 8: a maximum of fifteen days for food products, with the Regulations setting the periods for other products.

The party addressed by this prohibition is the merchant with whom the suspected product is held, who must keep it without selling, moving or destroying it until the result is known. The penalty for breaching this prohibition is found in the Law's chapter on penalties.

A merchant from whose goods samples have been taken should therefore keep them as they are until the result appears. If needed, he can consult a lawyer specialized in commercial cases.