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The UAE Ministry of Economy has published detailed Guidelines on the submission of competition complaints under Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2023 on the Regulation of Competition (the “Competition Law”). While the Competition Law has been in force since December 2023, the practical operation of complaint-based enforcement had, until now, remained relatively opaque.
The Guidelines provide much-needed procedural clarity. In the Guidelines, it is explained who may file a complaint, what types of conduct fall within scope, how complaints must be structured and substantiated, and how the Ministry of Economy will assess them at the admissibility stage. More broadly, they signal a shift toward a more disciplined, structured and predictable approach to competition enforcement in the UAE.
- Who may submit a competition complaint
The Guidelines confirm that competition complaints may be submitted by any natural or legal person with a legitimate interest, including economic establishments, consumers and public bodies. In practice, legitimate interest must be demonstrated through a connection to the affected market and by showing that the alleged conduct harms, or is likely to harm, the complainant’s interests, consumer welfare or competitive conditions more generally.
At the same time, the Guidelines make clear that the complaint mechanism is not designed to resolve private commercial disputes. Complaints must raise issues of competition law relevance and market impact, rather than isolated contractual or commercial grievances.
- Conduct that may be challenged
Complaints must relate to conduct prohibited under the Competition Law, namely restrictive agreements, abuse of dominance, abuse of economic dependency and sales or offers at excessively low prices. The explicit inclusion of economic dependency and low pricing practices continues to distinguish the UAE framework from some other competition regimes and underscores the need to assess conduct through a UAE-specific lens.
The Guidelines also clarify what does not ordinarily fall within scope. Practices that primarily cause individual or personal harm, such as misleading statements, imitation or other unfair commercial conduct, will generally fall outside competition enforcement unless they can be shown to distort market structure or competitive dynamics. Similarly, intra-group conduct may fall outside the scope of the prohibitions where entities operate as part of a single economic unit, subject to conditions relating to ownership and control.
- How complaints must be framed
A central theme of the Guidelines is that complaints must be analytically coherent and evidentially grounded. A complaint is expected to set out a clear factual narrative, including the conduct complained of the relevant timeframe, the geographic scope and the market context. It must then link those facts explicitly to the relevant provisions of the Competition Law and explain how the conduct harms competition, not merely the complainant.
This emphasis reflects a clear policy choice: the Ministry of Economy expects complaints to function as properly reasoned case files at the point of submission, rather than as preliminary signals or informal prompts for investigation.
- Evidence and burden of proof
The evidentiary burden rests primarily with the complainant. The Guidelines require submissions to be supported by sufficient evidence to establish a reasonable and serious basis for opening an investigation. Vague allegations or unsupported assertions are expressly exposed to rejection at the admissibility stage.
In practice, this creates a challenge, particularly for competitor complaints, where access to internal documents and commercial data is inherently limited. The Guidelines implicitly recognize this constraint by allowing reliance on circumstantial evidence and logical indicators, provided they are coherent, consistent and persuasive. Publicly available information, observable market effects and contemporaneous documentation held by the complainant will therefore play a critical role in many cases.
Once a complaint passes the admissibility threshold, the Ministry may exercise its investigative powers to request information from the respondent. However, the Guidelines make clear that the authority does not assume the burden of building the case from scratch.
- Procedure and review by the Ministry
The Guidelines also bring greater transparency to the procedural handling of complaints. They describe the formal submission requirements, including the use of official forms and the possibility of requesting confidential treatment. They also explain the Ministry’s initial screening process, the opportunity to remedy deficiencies, and the potential outcomes following review.
Where a complaint is accepted, the Ministry may open an investigation and, if an infringement is established, impose administrative sanctions or refer the matter to the courts. The Guidelines further address the withdrawal of complaints and the availability of grievance or appeal mechanisms, while noting that withdrawal does not necessarily prevent the authority from continuing proceedings where public interest considerations arise.
- A more structured enforcement environment
Taken as a whole, the Guidelines mark a meaningful step in the maturation of UAE competition enforcement. While largely procedural, they reflect a broader shift toward structured analysis, clearer jurisdictional screening and more rigorous evidentiary expectations. For businesses, this does not necessarily mean that enforcement risk has increased overnight, but rather that it is becoming more organized, predictable and responsive to well-presented complaints.
- Takeaways for Businesses: Complaint-Driven Competition Enforcement in the UAE
The publication of the Guidelines confirms that competition complaints are a central enforcement trigger in the UAE, not a theoretical risk. Businesses should assume that competitors, customers and counterparties may actively rely on the complaint mechanism, particularly in commercially sensitive relationships.
In this context, vertical arrangements warrant renewed attention. Exclusivity provisions, distribution controls, rebate structures and pricing policies should be assessed not only for legal compliance, but also for how their commercial rationale is documented internally. Poorly articulated or inconsistent explanations can increase exposure if conduct is later scrutinized through a complaint.
The Guidelines also place a premium on internal preparedness. Clear escalation pathways, organized records and a coherent internal response strategy can materially influence how effectively a company engages with the Ministry of Economy if a complaint is lodged.
Equally, operational awareness remains critical. Commercial and procurement teams should be alert to high-risk scenarios, including interactions with competitors, tendering processes, relationships involving economic dependency and aggressive pricing strategies.
Finally, the Guidelines make this an opportune time for targeted compliance reviews aligned with the UAE Competition Law’s specific features, particularly the rules on abuse of economic dependency and sales at excessively low prices. In an environment where complaint-driven enforcement is becoming more structured and disciplined, preventive compliance and early issue-spotting remain the most effective risk-management tools.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
