Article 7 of the Saudi Law of Commercial Data

المادة 7 من نظام البيانات التجارية

The article punishes a violator of the Law of Commercial Data with a fine not exceeding SAR 100,000, doubled on repetition with closure of the shop for up to one year, without prejudice to any harsher penalty.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

مع عدم الإخلال بأي عقوبة أشد يعاقب من يخالف أحكام هذا النظام بغرامة مالية لا تزيد على مائة ألف ريال، وفي حالة العود تضاعف العقوبة مع غلق المحل لمدة لا تزيد على سنة.

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 7 explained in plain English

This article sets the basic penalty for violating the provisions of the Law of Commercial Data:

First violation: a fine not exceeding SAR 100,000. The amount is a maximum, and the fine may be less.
On repetition: the penalty is doubled, with closure of the shop for a period not exceeding one year.

The article begins with the phrase "without prejudice to any harsher penalty", which means that if the same act is punished more severely under another law, this article does not prevent that from being applied.

The penalty covers violation of any provision of the Law, for example violating a decision of the Minister of Commerce issued under Article 6 barring the import, sale or offering for sale of products unless they carry certain statements that bear on assessing their value.

Article 8 provides that the competent employees of the Ministry of Commerce handle detecting violations of the provisions of the Law. Anyone facing an accusation of violating this Law should consult a lawyer specializing in commercial cases.

Practical example

A shop in Riyadh is found to be selling products carrying an incorrect expiry date, and is punished with a fine. The same violation is then repeated. Under this article the penalty is doubled on repetition, with closure of the shop for a period not exceeding one year.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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