«التجارة»: السجن 3 سنوات وغرامة مليون ريال على العروض الوهمية

The Ministry of Commerce emphasized that establishments and online stores must adhere to the conditions for organizing commercial competitions.

The ministry's spokesperson, Abdulrahman Al-Hussein, explained that the conditions include obtaining an electronic license from the Chamber of Commerce before conducting the competition, clarifying the method of participation, the type of prizes offered to participants, and the start and end dates of the competition, with the prize draw process to be supervised by the Ministry of Commerce.

The spokesperson stated on the ministry's account on the (x) platform: "Among the conditions for organizing commercial competitions is the prohibition of requiring a purchase to enter the prize draw, and not increasing product prices during the competition while publishing the license number in the competition advertisements, and ensuring that the organizer of the competition, their relatives, or employees of the establishment do not participate."

The "Commerce" spokesperson pointed out the necessity of delivering prizes within 7 days from the date of the draw, announcing the results through the same channels used to announce the competition, and preventing the duration of the competition from exceeding 60 days from the announcement until the delivery of the prizes.

In this context, the Ministry of Commerce has set strict penalties for anyone who misleads consumers with false offers.

The spokesperson confirmed that the monitoring teams affiliated with the Ministry of Commerce conducted 4,000 inspections of commercial establishments and online stores, and issued more than 4,300 discount licenses for the National Day for 4 million products and goods, including clothing, perfumes, phones, and other products.

He noted that the penalties imposed for false offers include imprisonment for up to 3 years and a fine of one million riyals, along with other penalties that include closure, cancellation, and public shaming.