Article 13 of the Saudi Product Safety Law

This article sets out the obligations of the distributor, who under Article 1 is whoever makes the product available on the markets in the supply chain other than the manufacturer and the importer, or provides at least two services among storage, packaging, addressing and preparing the consignment without owning the product.

Its obligations, within the limits of its activity, are:

1. Acting with due care to help ensure compliance with the requirements.
2. Not making products available on the markets if it knows, or is presumed to know on the basis of the information in its possession or its professional capacity, that they do not comply with the requirements.
3. Taking part in passing on information about the product's risks, keeping and providing the documents needed to trace the product's origin, and cooperating in carrying out the corrective actions taken by the competent bodies and the economic operator.

The phrase "is presumed to know" is important: it is not enough for the distributor to claim ignorance if the information it has or its professional experience reveals non-compliance. Conversely, the phrase "within the limits of its activity" means its obligations are proportionate to its role in the supply chain.

It is preceded by Article 12, which requires the manufacturer, the authorized representative and the importer to follow up risks and recall the product, and followed by Article 14, which requires every economic operator to notify the competent bodies immediately if it learns that the product presents a hazard. A merchant who receives complaints about a product they sell would do well to consult a lawyer who specializes in commercial cases.