Moci Highlights Importance Of Adhering To Protection Of Competition Law

Doha, Qatar: To ensure a fair and competitive business environment, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) highlighted the importance of adhering to the Protection of Competition law and avoiding any practices that restrict the market.

The Ministry said in a post on its X platform, recently“To ensure a fair business environment, practices that harm the competition or restrict market freedom are prohibited including withholding a scarce product; price manipulation; placing restrictions on production, distribution or marketing operations; illegally preventing any entity from entering or exiting the market.”

Such practices also include creating a sudden surplus in the market to adversely impact competitors; dividing markets among competitors; and coordinating among competitors in tenders and bids to influence the market, it added.

The Ministry also shared a QR code to report a violation regarding the Protection Competition and Prevention of Monopolistic Practices Law.

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In an another post the Ministry stated that business owners can notify the Competition Protection and Prevention of Monopolistic Practices Committee about a request to complete a merger or acquisition via the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's website.

Regarding service to request an approval of an economic concentration process (mergers, acquisitions, and similar processes), it noted that an electronic services provided by the MoCI that allows businesses to notify the Competition Protection and Prevention of Monopolistic Practices Committee about a request to complete a merger or acquisition in order to obtain the required approval in accordance with Article (10) of the Law No. (19) of 2006.

According to MoCI website, in line with the efforts of the State of Qatar to protect economic competition and fight which interfere with the principles of a free market economy, Amiri Decree No. (19) was issued in 2006 with the aim of protecting economic competition and preventing monopoly practices which are defined in articles No. (3) and (4) of the aforementioned law.

Article No (7) of the same law stipulates the formation of a committee entitled 'Competition Protection and Antimonopoly Committee.' The committee includes economic, financial and legal experts.

The vision of the committee is to working towards free competition based on advanced rules far from monopoly practices. Also to promote economic competition and fight monopoly practices by taking the appropriate measures based on market research and available data concerning economic activity in Qatar.

Recently, MoCI announced the launch of the Sectoral Risk Assessment Survey Program which aims at enhancing measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

The objectives of the programme include supporting the development of the National Risk Assessment to combat money laundering and terrorist financing; classifying companies based on their institutional risk levels; promoting transparency and improving the efficiency of the regulated entities.

Qatar has carried out strategic, organisational and operational reforms to enhance the implementation and alignment of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework with the standards of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and in accordance with international best practices.

The country has spared no effort in recent years to enhance the system for combating money laundering by updating the legislative framework, establishing and bolstering specialised institutions, and enforcing intensive regulatory reforms to secure technical compliance with international standards.

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