Kuwait’s Delivery-Platform Rulebook: A Compliance Roadmap Before 1 September 2026

On 12 July 2026 the Official Gazette (Kuwait Al-Youm, Issue 1799) published Ministerial Decision No. 109 of 2026, the executive Regulation for intermediary electronic platforms — the operating rulebook for food, grocery and pharmacy delivery apps and marketplace intermediaries under Kuwait’s Digital Commerce Decree-Law No. 10 of 2026. It was signed on 8 July 2026 and repeals the narrower restaurant-and-ready-food delivery regulation (Decision No. 10 of 2026).

Why this matters

For the first time Kuwait fixes hard economic limits on what a delivery platform may extract from the two sides of an order, a 17% all-in ceiling on the merchant side and a one-dinar cap on the consumer’s delivery fee, and gives the market under two months to conform. Every platform, and every restaurant, cloud kitchen, pharmacy and retailer that sells through one, is affected. The switch from a food-only regime to an all-platform regime is the headline: the same ceilings now reach grocery, pharmacy and general-merchandise intermediation.

Who is caught

The Regulation governs any intermediary platform operating in Kuwait that brokers third-party purchase orders between a licensed merchant (the “client”) and consumers, manages collection of the order value, and coordinates delivery — whatever the merchant’s product line. It reaches the platform, the merchant and the consumer relationship. Platforms that sell only their own inventory, without displaying third-party goods, are outside scope.

The price controls (Article 7)

The all-in cap on the merchant side is 17% of order value (before delivery fee), per order, covering commission and any advertising, promotion, premium or paid placement, priority ranking and the platform’s own delivery service. Where the merchant fulfils delivery by its own means, the ceiling drops to 10%. Critically, the platform cannot tie the two: it may not force a merchant onto its delivery fleet, block self-delivery, or impose any direct or indirect penalty for choosing self-delivery. On the consumer side, the delivery fee is capped at KD 1 per order and no substitute charge is permitted under any name. Note the anti-avoidance breadth — “commission” is defined to capture any financial consideration however named or computed, whether per click, per impression or fixed per order — so re-labelling a fee will not rescue an above-cap arrangement. Medicines, once received, may not be returned or exchanged save for a clear dispensing error or damage/expiry on delivery, subject to Ministry of Health controls.

Transparency and dark-pattern rules

Beyond price, Article 3 imposes conduct duties. Platforms must clearly label paid placement (“advertisement”, “paid”, “sponsored”); may not display “best-selling”, “top-rated” or “trending” badges unless grounded in real, objective data, with paid prominence disclosed; must publish the factors that drive listing rank (without exposing algorithms, trade secrets, cybersecurity-sensitive information or a merchant’s IP); must give consumers a means to review and correct order errors before checkout; and must operate clear cancellation and refund policies, with full refunds — including the delivery fee and any tip — that cannot be forced into store credit. The platform is the guarantor before the consumer for fulfilment and must run a complaints channel, and must keep consumer records for at least five years.

The competition overlay

Article 4 hard-wires the Competition Protection Agency’s guidance manual (CPA Decision No. 1 of 2026) on prohibited practices into the Regulation. Conduct that clears the Ministry’s price rules can therefore still be challenged as an abuse or restrictive practice under Competition Law No. 72 of 2020 — so pricing-parity (MFN) clauses, exclusivity and self-preferencing in ranking deserve a fresh look. The Ministry may also demand pricing, service and commission data and order an independent audit (Article 8), and Article 15 sets a schedule of penalties layered on top of the criminal and administrative sanctions in the parent Decree-Law No. 10 of 2026, which reach substantial fines and, in serious cases, the blocking of the online store.

What to do before 1 September 2026

·       Reclassify the commercial-register activity to “Management of Delivery Services via Electronic Platforms” (international classification 532013).

·       Re-paper merchant agreements to sit within the 17% / 10% ceilings; agreements already within the cap may run to expiry, everything else must be amended before the deadline.

·       Rebuild the consumer checkout so the delivery fee never exceeds KD 1 and refunds are full, prompt and not confined to credit.

·       Audit ranking, badges and promotional mechanics against the transparency rules and the CPA manual; remove unsupported “best-seller” style claims.

·       Stand up five-year consumer record-keeping and a documented complaints and dispute channel.

WEFAQ advises: treat this as a board-level compliance sprint, not a tweak to the terms of service. Platforms running thin per-order margins should model the 17% ceiling against current take-rates immediately, and merchants should use the re-papering window to renegotiate rather than simply accept amended platform terms.

Source: Kuwait Al-Youm, Issue 1799, pages 17A - 24A, dated 12 July 2026 (Ministerial Decision No. 109 of 2026, signed 8 July 2026); Decree-Law No. 10 of 2026 on the Digital Commerce Sector; CPA Decision No. 1 of 2026.

This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your circumstances, please contact WEFAQ Law Firm.