Article 20 of the Saudi Competition Law

المادة 20 من نظام المنافسة

The article sets a fine not exceeding SAR 2 million for violating any other provision of the Competition Law or its Regulations, without prejudice to the special penalties in Articles 12, 19 and 24.

Official text (Arabic)

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

دون إخلال بما تقضي به الفقرة (1) من المادة (الثانية عشرة)، والمادتان (التاسعة عشرة)، و(الرابعة والعشرون) من النظام؛ يعاقب كل من يخالف أي حكم آخر من أحكام النظام أو اللائحة بغرامة لا تتجاوز (مليوني) ريـال.

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 20 explained in plain English

This article is a general fallback penalty that covers every violation for which the Law has not assigned another penalty.

Which violations are covered? Violating any other provision of the Law or the Implementing Regulations.
The penalty: a fine not exceeding SAR 2 million.

The text is "without prejudice" to three special provisions:

Paragraph 1 of Article 12: which prohibits the Authority and Board members from carrying on commercial business (except members chosen in their personal capacity), prohibits the Authority's staff from practicing any profession that conflicts with its work, and tasks the Board with approving rules on disclosure and transparency.
Article 19: which punishes violating Articles 5, 6, 7 and 11 with a fine not exceeding 10% of the total value of annual sales that are the subject of the violation, or SAR 10 million when estimating is impossible, or three times the gains, and punishes violating Article 16 with a fine not exceeding 5% or SAR 5 million.
Article 24.

If the violation is one dealt with by these special provisions, they are referred to, and this article remains for all other violations, including violations of the Regulations' provisions.

In addition to the fine, Article 21 allows the Board to take measures to remove the violation, such as requiring the violator to correct its position within a specified period. Anyone facing a procedural violation of the Regulations' provisions is advised to consult a lawyer specialized in competition and commercial cases.

Practical example

An establishment in Riyadh violated a procedural provision of the Implementing Regulations that does not fall within the violations with a special penalty in Article 19. This violation is subject to a fine not exceeding SAR 2 million under this article.

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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