The Consumer Protection Law in UAE has gone through several legislative amendments. The president of the UAE, Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, released Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on consumer rights in November 2020, effectively repealing Federal Law No. 24 of 2006. The new Consumer Protection Law aims to strengthen the consumer protection mechanism and have more leverage over markets to ensure their stability and growth, as well as to achieve a healthy relationship between merchants and consumers in the UAE's various markets.
Customer Rights:
The new Consumer Protection Law improves consumer privacy and data security. “It is not permissible to use customer data to market products or services,” according to Article 4, and “whoever violates this rule would be subject to legal liability.”
According to Article 8 of the new Consumer Protection Law, any invoice given to a customer must be written in Arabic and include the following information: the company's name, address, type of product, price, and any other information needed by executive regulations.
E-commerce Regulations:
Article no. 25 of the aforementioned law states that:
- Any E-commerce providers must be registered within the competent authorities in UAE with their names, legal status, address, license and other sufficient information in Arabic.
- The competent authority is not responsible for any e-commerce operations which take place through unlicensed providers inside the country.
More steps are provided in the aforementioned article to enforce the necessary regulation over the digital markets and to protect consumers from fraudulent businesses.
Penalties:
According to article 29 of the aforementioned constitution, anyone who violates the provisions of the current Consumer Protection Law faces legal consequences. A fine of up to two million dirhams and/or two years in jail are possible penalties.
To summarize, the aforementioned legislation seeks to improve the consumer protection mechanism and include further measures to enforce the requisite market regulation over the repealed law's protection.
