Okaz/Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — The General Authority for Competition announced that hefty fines were slapped on a number of water bottling plants and commercial firms for their violation of the provisions of the Competition Law.

A fine of SR1 million was imposed on Seha Water Factory while SR100000 in fine was slapped on each of the following firms and bottling plants: Abq Al-Nada Trading Establishment, Quwat Al-Ahram Trading Est., Nader Abdullah Muhammad Hadi Al Shaiban Al-Dosari Trading Est, Al-Dana Water Company, Wael Muhammad Shaaban Factory for Bottling Healthy Drinking Water, Layan Bottling and Distribution Factory Limited, and Al-Baraka Water Company. The erring firms have also to meet the expenses for publishing the violations against them in local newspapers.

These firms were found violating the Competition Law and its executive regulations by agreeing not to compete in prices and share customers among themselves, which is prohibited by the Competition Law. The authority’s board of directors issued its decision approving the procedures for investigation into the charges against these firms.

It stated that after collecting evidence and conducting the necessary investigations, the authority referred the violation to the Committee for Adjudication of Competition Law Violations, and accordingly the committee issued its decision to penalize these firms. The committee’s decision has become final upon the issuance of the rulings of the Administrative Court of Appeal in Riyadh rejecting the lawsuit filed by establishments against the committee’s decision.

The authority called on all establishments to adhere to the Competition Law and its executive regulations, and to work with the contents of legitimate competition that encourage consumer choices and support market growth and efficiency within a framework of justice and transparency.

The authority urged all establishments to review the guidelines on ways to comply with the Competition Law through the compliance portal: https://emtithal.gac.gov.sa.