The law defines commercial fraud in its first article as deceiving the consumer by any means, including altering or changing the nature, quantity, type, price, or essential characteristics of goods, their origin, source, or suitability, or by providing false or misleading commercial information about promoted products or any other related matter that leads to consumer deception. The law distinguishes between three types of infringing goods:

The law defines the supplier as any natural or legal person engaged in importing, exporting, re-exporting, manufacturing, producing, marketing, trading, promoting, selling, possessing, storing, transporting, or displaying, while the dealer is the person who purchases the goods.

The law specifies in its second article three main objectives: combating the activities of counterfeiting original goods and all forms and types of commercial fraud, establishing mechanisms, controls, and procedures to prevent trade in counterfeit, fraudulent, and spoiled goods, and creating a legal commercial environment that encourages the protection of intellectual property rights.

Article four prohibits the importation of fraudulent or spoiled or counterfeit goods or their export, production, manufacturing, display, sale, storage, transport, marketing, trading, promotion, disposal, or possession for sale, and also prohibits attempting any of these actions. Anyone who commits, participates in, or attempts to commit any of the following acts is considered in violation of the law:

• Import and trade with knowledgeImporting fraudulent or spoiled or counterfeit goods or materials intended for these purposes with the intent of commercial fraud, or exporting, re-exporting, manufacturing, producing, selling, storing, transporting, or trading them with knowledge of this.
• Deception in the specifications of the goodsDeception, fraud, or imitation in the type, number, amount, measurement, weighing, energy, quality, essence, truth, nature, characteristics, elements, origin, source, composition, or expiration date of goods.
• Possession for marketing purposes.Possession, either directly or indirectly, for the purpose of marketing, trading, promoting, or displaying counterfeit, spoiled, or imitated goods for sale, or materials for counterfeiting goods.
• Preparation and packaging tools.Using containers, vessels, wrappers, packages, labels, or printed materials in the preparation or handling of goods intended for sale that are non-compliant, or in their packing, wrapping, bundling, distributing, storing, or transporting.
• False description and misleading advertising.Describing, advertising, or presenting goods in a manner that contains false, deceptive, or misleading information.

Article eight requires the supplier to present to the competent authority or ministry, as applicable, the mandatory commercial books or equivalent that clarify the commercial data of the goods owned or possessed, their value, and all supporting documents and invoices when requested, and to place on the goods identification labels or any information indicating the components of the product and how to use, maintain, or store it according to applicable laws. Article five also obliges him to withdraw non-compliant goods from markets and warehouses on his own or based on the order of the competent authority, bearing the costs of withdrawal, disposal, destruction, or return to the source.

The law considered the rights of the good-faith buyer, as Article seven stipulated the supplier's obligation to refund the value of counterfeit, spoiled, or imitated goods, or to replace or change them according to the good-faith buyer's desire, without prejudice to his right to claim compensation. This provides the consumer with a civil remedy in addition to the punitive route for the violator.

According to Article nine, employees designated by a decision from the Minister of Justice in agreement with the Minister of Economy or the head of the local judicial authority, as applicable, shall have the status of judicial officers to prove violations of the law and its executive regulation. Article ten granted them broad powers:

Article eleven prohibited judicial officers from performing their duties, and also prohibited the supplier from disposing of retained goods before the examination results are approved.

Article twelve allows the supplier whose goods have been seized or retained to submit a request for release to the competent court, which may order the release within 24 hours of the request under the conditions that the supplier provides evidence that the goods are perishable or subject to damage, that samples have been taken for examination, and that the court is convinced there is no risk to public health. Additionally, the goods will be released if no order from the court to uphold the retention is issued within 45 days from the date of seizure, provided this period does not exceed 20 days for goods at risk of rapid spoilage or damage.

Article thirteen permits, by a reasoned decision from the minister or his delegate, or the head of the local authority or his delegate, in cases of necessity or urgency and when there is strong evidence of counterfeit, spoiled, or imitated goods with the supplier, to close the establishment or location where the crime occurred, provided that the order is presented to the competent court within 10 working days from the date of issuance for approval or cancellation; otherwise, the decision is considered null.

Article fourteen established a committee called the 'Supreme Committee for Combating Commercial Fraud' under the Ministry of Economy, with its formation, operational system, and competencies determined by a decision from the Council of Ministers based on the minister's proposal in coordination with the relevant authorities. The detailed competencies of the committee will be defined later by a regulatory decision from the Council of Ministers.

Article sixteen states that — without prejudice to any harsher penalty prescribed by any other law — penalties for the crimes specified in the law are imposed as provided therein. The penalties are tiered according to the severity of the act:

In addition, Article Nineteen requires the competent court — without prejudice to the rights of good faith third parties — to order the confiscation or destruction of the infringing goods, drugs, products, materials, and tools used in that, and to publish a summary of the final conviction in two local daily newspapers, one in Arabic, at the expense of the convicted party, and the court may order the closure of the establishment for a period not exceeding (6) six months. Article Twenty also penalizes the person responsible for the actual management of the legal entity with the same penalty if it is proven that they were aware of the crime and did not take the necessary measures, making them jointly liable for the fines.

Article 22 allows the ministry or the competent authority, as applicable, to settle any violations of the law and its executive regulations upon the request of the violator, in exchange for a payment of no less than twice the minimum fine imposed on the violator according to the administrative penalties regulation. The executive regulation specifies the necessary procedures and controls for the settlement.

Article 23 organized the objection process, allowing any interested party to file a written objection to the minister or head of the competent authority against any decision issued based on the provisions of the law within (15) fifteen working days from the date of notification. The objection shall be decided within (30) thirty days and the decision shall be final, with a lack of response within the period considered a rejection. An appeal may then be filed before the competent court within (30) thirty days from the notification of the rejection of the objection or the expiration of the decision period. In all cases, an appeal before the court is only permissible after objecting to the decision.

Article 24 repealed Federal Law No. (19) of 2016 concerning the fight against commercial fraud and any provision that contradicts the provisions of the new decree, while continuing to apply the regulations and decisions issued based on the repealed law as long as they do not conflict with the decree, until new provisions are issued. Article 25 required the Council of Ministers to issue the executive regulation and necessary decisions to implement its provisions within (6) six months from the date of its enforcement. Article 26 stipulated the publication of the decree in the official gazette and its enforcement two months after its publication.

• Federal Decree-Law No. (42) of 2023 on Combating Commercial Fraud.Federal Decree-Law
• Federal Law No. (19) of 2016 on Combating Commercial Fraud (repealed by Decree No. 42 of 2023).Federal Law (repealed)