Legal Update: Administrative Court Annuls Article 15 of the Delivery Platforms Regulation

The Administrative Court has annulled Article 15 of the delivery platforms Regulation, the provision that set out the Regulation's own penalties. Judgment was given on 27 September 2026 in a case brought by Talabat.

Background. Ministerial Decision No. 109 of 2026 was issued by the Minister of Commerce and Industry on 8 July 2026. It introduced the Regulation Governing the Sector of Intermediary Electronic Platforms and Applications for Displaying, Ordering and Delivering Products to Consumers. The Regulation caps platform commissions and delivery fees, regulates platform-merchant contracts and set a compliance deadline of 1 September 2026.

Article 15. Article 15 set a graduated scale of sanctions for platforms: a warning, administrative closure, suspension of activity, temporary blocking, licence cancellation and permanent blocking. Merchants faced a separate set of sanctions. The Decision made every breach of its provisions subject to Article 15, applied by the Minister on the recommendation of a Ministry complaints committee.

The Court's reasoning. The Court held that the Minister's regulatory power does not extend to creating punitive administrative sanctions without an express legislative basis. The legislature itself sets the penalties for breaching regulatory and pricing rules, and names the bodies that may impose them. By creating its own system of sanctions, Article 15 went beyond the competence the law confers on its issuer.

What it means

• The rest of the Regulation stands. As reported, the judgment is limited to Article 15, so the caps on commissions and delivery fees and the contractual rules still apply.

• Enforcement narrows if the judgment holds. The Ministry could not rely on the Regulation alone to warn, close, suspend or block a platform or merchant, or cancel its licence. Any sanction would need a statutory basis and would be imposed by the authority that statute designates.

• The judgment is not yet final. It is a first-instance ruling, open to appeal before the Court of Appeal and then the Court of Cassation. Once final, an annulment ruling has effect against all, not only the parties.

• The reasoning reaches beyond delivery. Any ministerial regulation that creates its own sanctions without an express statutory basis may face the same challenge.

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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.