The government has fined several rice companies SR40 million for breaking the country's competition laws, Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said.

This decision was made by a committee set up to settle disputes between businesspeople, a subsidiary of the Council for Competition Protection (CCP). Al-Rabiah, who is chairman of the council, endorsed the decision.

“The council strives to promote fair market competition and punish violators of the country's competition laws by publicizing their names. The aim is to rein in unhealthy monopolistic behavior that harms legitimate competition," Al-Rabiah said.

The rice companies were accused of hiking prices and reducing the weight and size of bags. They have filed an appeal at the Court of Grievances.

Clause 12 of the Kingdom's competition legislation stipulates that a violator could be fined up to SR5 million, which could be doubled for a second violation. The violator will also have to bear the cost of publishing his wrongdoing in local newspapers.

It has been proposed that the government should amend the law to allow legitimate competitors to get compensation from violating companies' sales turnover. Such a move would deter companies from violating the law, observers say.

Muhammad Al-Qassim, the CCP’s secretary general, said the council would clamp down on any company that breaks the law with anti-competitive practices. He said companies should check the CCP's website to get more information about competition regulations.

“The council is fully prepared to help companies by organizing orientation workshops at chambers of commerce across the Kingdom,” he said.

Arab News reported earlier this month that the CCP wants to have greater powers to investigate firms for anti-competitive practices including probing government entities and increasing fines to 10 percent of a company's sales.

Al-Qasim said the board of experts of the Council of Ministers and the Shoura Council have been asked to include government bodies under the jurisdiction of the CCP.