Commerce Ministry bans auto distributor from imports, fines SAR 8.12M

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce suspended an automotive distributor and issued a ban against it from importing vehicles. The ministry also levied a fine of SAR 8.12 million for failing to comply with consumer protection requirements and violating the Commercial Agencies Law and its implementing regulations.

The violations also involved requirements related to maintenance services, spare-parts availability, manufacturing quality warranties, and after-sales services.

The ministry action followed 175 confirmed violations, including failure to provide spare parts and failure to provide customers with replacement vehicles during maintenance periods.

A special team reviewed the reported disputes and contacted affected consumers to ensure they received their rights, including due compensation and replacement vehicles.

The measures also included summoning the manufacturer, monitoring the distributor’s implementation of the required corrective actions and recall campaigns, and initiating the transfer of the brand to another distributor after verifying its readiness and ability to provide consumers with high-quality services.

The ministry stressed that it will not tolerate any distributor failing to meet its consumer obligations and will impose statutory penalties, including public disclosure of violations where permitted under applicable regulations and final court rulings.