The Ministry of Commerce and Investment calls on all e-stores to implement and respond to the requirements of the E-Commerce Law and its Executive Regulations, and to ensure that their activities and offers are compatible with the said system. This is in conjunction with the enforcement and application of the E-Commerce Law starting from Sunday 20.10.2019 AD. This is after the expiration of 90 days of publishing the law and its Executive Regulations in the Official Gazette (Umm Al-Qura), as stipulated by the relevant Rules & Regulations.
It is worth mentioning that the Ministry had recently made a survey and called on those interested and the public to express their views and suggestions on the draft executive regulations of the said law, via e-mail. Taking into consideration the principle of transparency, and for giving those interested a chance to express their views and to share in the preparation of regulations and legislation governing the commercial sector in the Kingdom.
For more details on the executive regulations of the said law, please have access through the Ministry's website: click here.
Notably, the draft regulation of the E-Commerce Law aims to enhance the role of e-commerce and raise the proportion of e-commerce in the retail sector, besides ensuring credibility and transparency in e-commerce transactions.
Among the most prominent features of the draft regulation of E-Commerce Law is to organize practicing e-commerce through the place of residence, also identifying the cases of terminating the contract, as well as organizing the documentation or authentication of the e-stores, in addition to protecting the consumer data, and organizing the electronic advertisements and e-platforms that play the role of mediator.
The e-commerce proposal stipulates that the residence of the e-commerce practitioner, who bears the natural character, to be as his address, according to the registered national address. This is in case he does not have a business location inside the Kingdom.
The aforementioned draft regulation also specifies other cases, such as if the subject of the contract is a product containing several elements that have been merged together, and could not be returned to their original state when delivered, or if the subject of the contract is a product liable to damage during the allowed period of contract termination.
The E-Commerce Law and its draft regulations attach great importance to the protection of consumer personal data. Therefore, in case of personal consumer data being hackered, then the service provider must notify the National Cyber Security Authority and the consumer to take the necessary action.
The said proposal also includes organizing the activity of the documentation or authentication of e-stores, where the authentication parties adhere to provide a qualified and trained staff to provide the relevant authentication service in accordance with the provisions of the e-commerce Law and its executive regulations. These parties should publish on their websites the policy followed to deal and solve the complaints of consumers relevant to documentation or authentication.
In order to protect the consumer against misleading advertisements, the proposal requires that the electronic advertisement should bear what shows its real nature; that it is only an advertisement. This is during publishing or sending such adverts.
The said proposal also deals with e-platforms activity, which act as a mediator. Therefore, the e-platforms are committed to publish on their websites clearly the terms and conditions of using the e-platform, also the rights and obligations of users, as well as the methods of preserving and protecting their personal data, in addition to the restrictions relevant to using the e-platform, and the policy followed to receive and respond to the service providers and consumers complaints, also the policy to settle the dispute among the service providers and the consumers.