UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Saleh, Asad Ahmad, Khaled Abu Orabi and Khaled al-Khashab, GLA & Company
1.3 Enforcement Authorities The UAE Competition Legislation specifies that the responsibility for enforcement lies with the Compe - tition Department at the UAE Ministry of Economy (the “Competition Department”). The Competition Department is supervised by the Competition Regula - tion Committee, chaired by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy (the “Competition Committee”). Both the Competition Committee and the Competi - tion Department report to the UAE Federal Minister of Economy (the “Minister”), who heads the UAE Federal Ministry of Economy (the “Ministry”). Under the Competition Law, an application for approv - al of an economic concentration must be submitted to the Ministry at least 90 days before completion if either of the thresholds determined by the Cabinet is met. Cabinet Resolution No 3 of 2025 sets these thresholds as follows: • the total annual sales value of the relevant under- takings in the relevant market within the UAE dur - ing the last fiscal year exceeds AED300 million; or • the total share of the relevant undertakings exceeds 40% of total transactions in the relevant market within the UAE during the last fiscal year. Cabinet Resolution No 59 of 2026 now establishes the principal procedural rules for economic concentration applications, including the application form and sup - porting documents, filing responsibility, withdrawal, formal review, substantive assessment, interested- party participation, objections, reporting and post- filing monitoring. 2. Jurisdiction 2.1 Notification • the application must be made in the form prepared by the Ministry and supported by the documents prescribed by Article 10 of Cabinet Resolution No 59 of 2026; • formal examination is carried out within ten busi - ness days, subject to a similar extension and additional documents may be requested within a
period specified by the authority, not exceeding ten business days from notification; and • the Ministry, competent authority or sectoral regu - latory body may publish basic information, receive views or objections from interested parties within 15 business days and require responses to accept - ed objections within ten business days. The Competition Threshold Rules continue to set the notification thresholds. In practice, a filing is required if either of the following thresholds is met: • the total annual sales value of the relevant under- takings in the relevant market within the UAE dur - ing the last fiscal year exceeds AED300 million; or • the total share of the relevant undertakings exceeds 40% of total transactions in the relevant market within the UAE during the last fiscal year. For economic concentration operations meeting either of the above thresholds, filing an application for approval is compulsory. There is no express require - ment under the Competition Law or Cabinet Reso - lution No 3 of 2025 to make a voluntary notification where neither threshold is met. Applications for economic concentration approval are assessed following formal examination, any requests for additional information and a substantive review of the transaction’s effects on the relevant market. The reviewing authority prepares a report covering the facts, the parties, the transaction objective, the rel - evant market study, the legal and economic analysis, the competitive effects and the recommended deci - sion and submits it to the Minister or the competent decision-maker within ten days of completing the report. Failure to issue a decision within the statutory period constitutes a rejection of the economic concentration operation. On the other hand, no notification is required if the activity or transaction is related to specific sectors or exemptions ( see 1.2 Legislation Relating to Particu- lar Sectors ).
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