The Executive Regulations provide greater procedural clarity for businesses, investors and legal professionals dealing with competition-related matters in the UAE. They complement the Federal Decree-Law by establishing detailed mechanisms relating to economic concentrations, dominant positions, anti-competitive practices, exemptions, complaints and regulatory procedures.
The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism has also published related competition legislation and guidance, including the thresholds under Cabinet Decision No. (3) of 2025, competition complaint guidelines and guidance on defining the relevant market.
For companies operating in the UAE, competition law is therefore becoming an increasingly important component of corporate governance, transaction planning and legal risk management.
Understanding the UAE Competition Law Framework
The UAE's modern competition framework is principally governed by Federal Decree-Law No. (36) of 2023 Regulating Competition.
The Decree-Law establishes the core legal framework for protecting competition and addressing conduct that may restrict, prevent or distort competition. It also replaced the previous Federal Law No. (4) of 2012 on the Regulation of Competition.
The Executive Regulations issued through Cabinet Resolution No. (59) of 2026 provide the procedural and operational framework required for implementing the Decree-Law. The Ministry of Economy and Tourism now lists the 2026 Executive Regulations alongside the principal Competition Law, applicable thresholds and other competition-related decisions and guidance.
This development is particularly significant for businesses involved in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships and other transactions that may affect market competition.
Why the Executive Regulations Matter for Businesses
Competition law can directly affect how businesses structure transactions and conduct commercial relationships.
The Executive Regulations provide greater clarity regarding regulatory procedures and the information that may be required when dealing with competition-related matters. This is important because competition assessments frequently involve questions concerning the relevant market, market share, economic concentration and the potential impact of a transaction or business practice on competition.
The UAE framework therefore requires businesses to consider competition law at an earlier stage of commercial decision-making rather than only after a transaction or practice has been implemented.
For legal departments, shareholders, investors and transaction advisers, competition-law due diligence should increasingly form part of the overall legal review of significant commercial arrangements.
1. Merger Control and Economic Concentrations
One of the most important areas of the UAE Competition Law framework concerns economic concentrations.
Businesses involved in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures or transactions that result in a change of control should assess whether the transaction falls within the applicable competition-law notification requirements.
The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism describes its economic-concentration process as involving the review of proposed acquisitions and mergers to assess whether they could result in dominance or control exceeding the applicable legal thresholds.
This means that competition-law analysis should not be treated as a final-stage formality.
Before completing a transaction, businesses should consider:
- whether the transaction constitutes an economic concentration;
- the relevant market in which the parties operate;
- the applicable market-share and other thresholds;
- whether notification or approval is required;
- the documents and information required for regulatory assessment; and
- whether the proposed transaction could materially affect competition.
The UAE has already established applicable thresholds through Cabinet Decision No. (3) of 2025, which includes a market-share threshold relevant to the assessment of dominant position.
Accordingly, businesses should undertake a competition-law assessment during the transaction-planning stage rather than waiting until the transaction documentation has been finalised.
2. Assessment of a Dominant Position
Holding a strong market position is not, by itself, necessarily unlawful.
The key legal concern is whether a business with a dominant position engages in conduct that amounts to an abuse of that position and thereby restricts or distorts competition.
The UAE's applicable framework uses market-related criteria in assessing dominance. Cabinet Decision No. (3) of 2025 provides that a dominant position may be deemed to exist where an establishment's market share, independently or jointly with other establishments, exceeds 40% of the total transactions in the relevant market, subject to the applicable legal framework.
Businesses with significant market shares should therefore pay particular attention to their commercial practices.
This may include reviewing:
- pricing policies;
- exclusivity arrangements;
- distribution agreements;
- rebates and discounts;
- contractual restrictions;
- refusal-to-deal practices;
- access arrangements; and
- other practices that could potentially disadvantage competitors or restrict market access.
A competition-law review is particularly important where a company has substantial market power or operates in a concentrated market.
3. Anti-Competitive Agreements and Commercial Arrangements
The UAE Competition Law framework also addresses agreements and practices that may restrict competition.
Businesses should exercise particular caution regarding arrangements involving competitors or commercially sensitive information.
Potential competition-law risks may arise from practices such as:
- price-fixing;
- market or customer allocation;
- restrictions on competition;
- coordinated commercial behaviour;
- certain forms of exclusive dealing; and
- other agreements or practices that may restrict or distort competition.
This makes competition-law review particularly relevant when businesses negotiate distribution agreements, agency arrangements, franchise agreements, joint ventures and strategic partnerships.
A contract should therefore not be reviewed only from a commercial and contractual perspective. Where the arrangement has potential competition implications, a competition-law assessment should also be undertaken.
4. Relevant Market Assessment
Determining the relevant market is an important part of competition-law analysis.
Market definition can influence the assessment of market share, dominance and the competitive effects of a transaction or commercial practice.
The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism has published guidance concerning the definition of the relevant market, reflecting the importance of this assessment within the competition framework.
In practice, businesses should carefully consider both the relevant product or service market and the relevant geographic market when assessing competition risks.
An overly broad or narrow understanding of the market can significantly affect the legal analysis of a transaction or commercial practice.
5. Exemptions and Regulatory Relief
The competition framework also provides mechanisms concerning exemptions from certain competition-law restrictions where the applicable legal requirements are satisfied.
This is particularly relevant for businesses whose commercial arrangements may otherwise raise competition concerns but may qualify for an applicable exemption.
The UAE has also issued sector-specific and temporary exemption decisions in 2026, demonstrating that competition regulation may operate alongside specific regulatory measures designed to address particular market circumstances.
Businesses should therefore avoid assuming that every restrictive-looking arrangement is automatically prohibited or automatically exempt.
Instead, the relevant agreement, market circumstances and applicable statutory conditions should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
6. Complaints and Competition Investigations
The UAE competition framework also establishes procedures through which competition concerns can be raised and investigated.
The Ministry of Economy and Tourism has published guidelines concerning the submission of competition complaints, providing businesses and other stakeholders with greater procedural clarity.
For businesses, this highlights the importance of maintaining appropriate records and having internal procedures for responding to competition-related complaints or regulatory enquiries.
A company that receives a competition complaint should treat it as a potentially significant legal and regulatory matter and obtain appropriate legal advice before responding or providing documents to the relevant authority.
Practical Impact on Mergers and Acquisitions in the UAE
The introduction of the Executive Regulations is particularly relevant to the UAE's growing M&A market.
When reviewing a proposed acquisition or merger, legal advisers should consider competition law alongside corporate, commercial, employment, tax, regulatory and foreign-investment issues.
Competition due diligence should ideally begin before signing or, where appropriate, before the transaction structure is finalised.
The parties should assess whether the proposed transaction could trigger notification obligations and whether the transaction documentation should contain appropriate conditions precedent dealing with regulatory approvals.
This is particularly important where completion of the transaction depends on obtaining regulatory clearance.
What Businesses Should Do Now
Businesses operating in the UAE should consider taking a proactive approach to competition-law compliance.
Review Existing Commercial Agreements
Companies should review agreements with competitors, distributors, suppliers, customers and strategic partners to identify provisions that could create competition-law concerns.
Particular attention should be given to pricing restrictions, exclusivity, territorial restrictions, customer allocation and information-sharing provisions.
Assess Upcoming M&A Transactions
Companies considering acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures or other changes of control should conduct a competition-law assessment at an early stage.
Waiting until shortly before completion may create unnecessary regulatory delays and transaction risk.
Review Market Position
Businesses with significant market shares should periodically assess whether they may be considered dominant within the relevant market and whether any of their commercial practices could potentially amount to an abuse of that position.
Introduce Competition Compliance Policies
Larger businesses and companies operating in highly concentrated markets should consider implementing internal competition-law compliance policies.
Employees involved in sales, procurement, pricing, business development, strategic partnerships and senior management should understand the competition-law risks associated with their functions.
Obtain Legal Advice for High-Risk Arrangements
Competition-law issues can arise from seemingly ordinary commercial decisions.
Before entering into arrangements involving competitors, market restrictions, exclusivity, sensitive pricing information or significant corporate transactions, businesses should consider obtaining specialist legal advice.
What Does This Mean for Legal Professionals?
For UAE legal professionals, the development reinforces the importance of incorporating competition-law considerations into broader corporate and commercial advisory work.
Competition law is no longer an issue that should be considered only when advising large multinational corporations.
It can become relevant in:
- mergers and acquisitions;
- joint ventures;
- shareholder arrangements;
- distribution agreements;
- franchise arrangements;
- commercial agency structures;
- supply agreements;
- strategic partnerships;
- corporate restructuring; and
- other transactions capable of affecting market competition.
Legal advisers should therefore identify competition-law issues early and incorporate them into transaction due diligence, contract drafting and regulatory-risk assessments.
Competition Compliance as Part of Corporate Governance
Competition compliance should increasingly be viewed as part of good corporate governance.
Businesses that proactively identify competition risks can reduce the possibility of regulatory disputes, transaction delays, contractual problems and reputational damage.
A robust compliance programme may include internal policies, employee training, contract reviews, competition-law checklists and periodic legal audits.
For businesses operating in competitive or highly concentrated sectors, these measures can be particularly valuable.
UAE's Continued Development as a Competitive Business Hub
The development of the UAE Competition Law framework reflects the country's broader objective of maintaining an efficient, transparent and competitive business environment.
The Ministry of Economy and Tourism continues to develop the regulatory framework through legislation, thresholds, guidance and sector-specific decisions.
For international investors and multinational companies, greater clarity around competition regulation can provide additional predictability when assessing investments and corporate transactions in the UAE.
At the same time, businesses operating in the UAE should recognise that regulatory compliance is becoming increasingly important as the country's commercial and investment environment continues to mature.
Conclusion
The UAE Competition Law Executive Regulations 2026 represent an important development in the country's competition-law framework.
Together with Federal Decree-Law No. (36) of 2023 and the applicable thresholds and guidance, the Executive Regulations provide businesses and legal professionals with a more detailed framework for assessing economic concentrations, dominant positions, anti-competitive practices, exemptions and competition-related regulatory procedures.
For businesses, the key lesson is clear: competition law should be considered before entering into significant commercial arrangements or completing transactions that may affect market competition.
Companies should review their existing agreements, assess proposed M&A transactions, monitor their market position and establish appropriate internal compliance procedures.
Competition-law compliance is no longer simply about avoiding regulatory penalties. It is becoming an essential element of corporate governance, transaction planning, legal risk management and sustainable business growth in the UAE.
Businesses that identify competition risks early and obtain appropriate legal advice will be better positioned to navigate the UAE's evolving regulatory landscape with confidence.
