UAE Competition Law Overhaul: Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2026 Takes Effect on 30 July 2026
The United Arab Emirates has completed its long-awaited competition framework. On 20 April 2026 the Cabinet issued Cabinet Decision No. 59 of 2026, the Implementing Regulations to Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2023 on the Regulation of Competition. The regulations replace the outdated Cabinet Resolution No. 37 of 2014 and come into force on 30 July 2026, giving businesses only a short window to bring their arrangements into compliance.
A new mandatory merger-control regime
For the first time, the UAE has clear, turnover-based thresholds for notifying an economic concentration (merger, acquisition or similar transaction) to the Ministry of Economy and Tourism. A filing is mandatory where the parties’ combined annual sales in the relevant UAE market exceeded AED 300 million in the previous financial year, or where their combined market share exceeds 40% of the relevant market. Transactions meeting either test cannot close until they are cleared, and the regulations set out procedural timelines for review, complaints, investigations and exemptions.
Significantly tougher penalties
The enforcement architecture now has real teeth. Breach of the substantive prohibitions on anti-competitive agreements and abuse of a dominant position can attract fines from AED 100,000 up to 10% of annual UAE sales. Failure to notify a reportable concentration under Article 12 carries a penalty of 2% to 10% of the relevant revenues, and where turnover cannot be established the fine ranges from AED 500,000 to AED 5 million. Under Article 29, the court may also order closure of the offending establishment for three to six months and publish the judgment in two local daily newspapers at the offender’s expense.
What businesses must do before 30 July 2026
Companies active in the UAE should review pending deals, distribution and pricing arrangements, and any conduct that could be seen as restricting competition. Groups approaching the turnover or market-share thresholds should build competition clearance into their transaction timelines now, because closing without approval is no longer a paperwork risk — it is a fining risk.
At Dubai Legal Expert, our commercial litigation and regulatory team advises on merger notifications, compliance audits and defence against Ministry of Economy and Tourism investigations. If a deal or business practice may fall within the new regime, early advice can prevent costly enforcement.
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