Retailers in the UAE will have 24 hours to clear counterfeit products under the recently passed Anti-Commercial Fraud Law

A total of 10,023 inspection rounds were held as part of the crackdown on commercial fraud in the first quarter of 2026

There is also a new rule requiring suppliers to recall any counterfeit product within one day. The rule states that suppliers must not sell or distribute counterfeit, deteriorated or adulterated products. They are required to remove such products from the market and from the warehouse within 24 hours of being notified by the Ministry or the concerned authority.

Suppliers must also inform all points of sale and recipients of such products to remove them from the shelves within 24 hours, and submit proof of this to the Ministry.

The details were disclosed during a media conference held on Thursday at the Dubai headquarters of the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) in DIFC.

If a supplier fails to comply with the timelines, action will be taken. The Ministry or the responsible authority will take the necessary steps to remove the products from the markets and warehouses at the supplier’s expense within the next 48 hours.

It was only last month that the Ministry began enforcing the new executive regulations of the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law, introduced through Cabinet Decision No. (107) of 2026. The regulations provide the necessary framework for dealing with improper commercial practices, including the importation, production, storage, transportation, promotion, sale and trading of fake, adulterated or deteriorated commodities.

Notice to the public

The regulations also require a public announcement about the withdrawal of counterfeit products. The announcement must be made within 48 hours of the notice being issued, through media specified by the Ministry or the concerned authority, and must include all product details in both Arabic and English.

This period may be shortened if there is a danger to human or animal life or to the environment.

Other key elements of the regulations include:

• Ongoing market surveillance through regulated inspection mechanisms and procedures for handling counterfeits.
• Destruction of counterfeits within 15 business days of the court’s or the Supreme Committee’s decision.
• Cooperation and data sharing between the Ministry and the competent authorities.

Inspections

During the first quarter of 2026, 10,023 inspection rounds for commercial fraud cases identified 189 violations in the UAE, according to MoET. The rounds, carried out in coordination with local authorities, are part of intensified nationwide operations against fake and counterfeit products in the market.

Safeya Al Safi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Commercial Control and Governance Sector at MoET, stressed the UAE’s zero tolerance “towards any fraudulent acts in the commercial sector or dealing in counterfeit products.”

Efforts to improve compliance are continuing through legislative and supervisory measures as well as new technology. According to Al Safi, the authorities are now using artificial intelligence to monitor the market for violations.

“We use [AI] for open-source and electronic sources,” she said. “We have many electronic transactions; therefore, we monitor them through our intelligence system.”

The Ministry also continues to monitor the prices of basic commodities through its price monitoring system.

Given the growth of online shopping, the authorities have stepped up cooperation with e-commerce platforms. According to Al Safi, e-commerce platforms are covered by the law, and most of them are cooperative.

“If they do not know about the law, we will inform them, but we also take action, either withdrawing the product from sale or sending a clear message to the customer,” she said. “We have direct communication, especially with those who operate in the UAE.”

Protection of consumers and markets

Al Safi said that “the fight against commercial fraud is one of the basic pillars to build a national economy that is efficient and clear and encourages investments and innovations.”

She added that “issuing the executive regulations is a new milestone to develop market control mechanisms according to best practices, protect consumers from counterfeit products, and control inspection procedures.”

The Ministry urged traders, trading companies, distributors and suppliers to abide by the provisions of the regulations. Consumers are encouraged to report violations, as they are seen as “key partners in protecting the market and efforts to fight commercial fraud.”

Conciliation proceedings

The law also offers traders an alternative that spares them the full penalty procedure. Any trader, or anyone acting on their behalf, can apply for conciliation proceedings within 10 working days of being notified of the breach and the penalty imposed, or within 10 working days of a rejection.

The Ministry or local authority will review the request and issue a decision within 15 working days. If no response is given within that period, the request is automatically deemed rejected. If the request is approved, an appointment will be set for signing the conciliation agreement, and the trader must pay the amount within five days of signing.

To qualify for conciliation, a trader must:

• Not have received any penalty under the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law in the past 12 months.
• Have committed the violation unintentionally.
• Have fixed the cause of the violation.

Even with conciliation, the violation will still stand on record. It will also not protect the trader from any litigation over damage caused by the counterfeit products. According to the Ministry, the motive behind the legislation is not only punitive but also preventive.