The Council of Ministers passed an amendment to the Competition Law on Monday, which imposes a fine of up to SR10 million on violators of the law. It said repeated violators would face a double fine.

The Cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, adopted the decision upon the recommendation of the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, who is chairman of the Competition Council.

“Anyone who violates the law shall be fined a maximum of 10 percent of the total value of sales or not more than SR10 million,” the amended law said.

“If the violation is repeated following the issuance of the verdict, the (monitoring) committee may temporarily stop the firm’s activity for a maximum period of one month or revoke the license altogether,” the law said.

The committee’s decision or verdict shall be published at the expense of the offender.

“In all cases, the violator shall be asked to refund all the gains made as a result of the offense,” the law said.