UAE Consumer Protection Law for Ecommerce: What Online Stores Must Do

UAE shoppers spent about AED 42 billion online in 2025, and they buy happily from stores they've never heard of. One big reason: they know the law has their back.

That's good news for you, because if you follow a short list of rules, you look as trustworthy as the biggest names on day one.

Two laws set those rules. The Consumer Protection Law covers every sale, and the e-commerce law adds duties for anything sold online.

Below: what each one asks of your store, a worked example and a launch checklist. It's part of our UAE regulations guides.

Which laws protect UAE online shoppers?

Strictly, it's three texts, because the consumer law comes with its own executive regulations. Think of them as one rulebook in three chapters.

• The Consumer Protection Law (Federal Law 15/2020). It sets the core rights: true information, fair prices, Arabic paperwork and free repair of defects.
• Its executive regulations (Cabinet Resolution 66/2023, in force since October that year). They spell out the detail: invoices, warranties, harmful terms, discounts and a table of fines.
• The e-commerce law (Decree-Law 14/2023 on Modern Technology-Based Trade, in force since that September). It adds online duties: publish every fee, issue e-invoices, run a complaints channel and allow reviews.

The e-commerce law also has a wider reach. We cover its licensing and data side in our UAE ecommerce law guide.

Who do the rules apply to?

The Consumer Protection Law covers suppliers, advertisers and commercial agents on the mainland and in free zones. That includes goods sold through UAE-registered ecommerce platforms.

It doesn't cover sales between UAE shoppers and stores registered abroad. That's not a free pass, though. The e-commerce law reaches anyone trading with the UAE, including goods "received from outside".

Marketplaces carry responsibility too. If a third-party seller on a UAE platform ships a non-compliant product, the platform is answerable. So noon and Amazon.ae pass these rules on to you through their seller policies.

What must your store show before checkout?

The law wants shoppers to know exactly who they're buying from and what they'll pay. Here's the list:

• Who you are. Your legal name, trade licence number, issuing authority, address and contact details.
• Arabic product information. Specifications, contract terms, payment details and warranty terms must be available in Arabic. English can sit alongside.
• VAT-inclusive prices. Every consumer price includes the 5% VAT. Ex-VAT prices are only for B2B buyers and exports, clearly labelled.
• Every fee, up front. Delivery, COD and payment fees must show before checkout. You can't charge anything you didn't announce.
• Delivery time. Say when the order will arrive. That promise becomes part of the contract.
• Your terms and policies. Returns, refunds, warranty and a digital contract the shopper can read.

Not sure how much Arabic you need on an English-first store? Our guide to Arabic vs English for UAE shoppers covers it page by page.

Price shows AED 105 on the product page? That's AED 100 plus AED 5 VAT.

The checkout total must match it, plus only the fees you showed. The full display rules and platform settings are in our guide to VAT-inclusive pricing.

What must your invoice include?

Every sale needs a dated invoice in Arabic, and other languages can be added next to it.

The executive regulations ask the invoice to show:

• your trade name, commercial registration and tax registration (TRN) numbers;
• the date;
• a description of the goods, quantity and price;
• the warranty period, where there is one.

The e-commerce law adds one more thing. The invoice must be electronic and detailed, not paper only. Most store platforms can email one after each order, so set up an Arabic and English invoice template once.

What are the rules on returns, refunds and warranties?

UAE law has no general change-of-mind right, so a shopper who simply dislikes a product has no legal right to send it back.

But they can return or replace goods that are:

• defective;
• incomplete;
• not as described;
• delivered too late to be useful;
• in breach of the contract.

The right doesn't apply to used goods, perishables with a shelf life of three weeks or less, and single-use media such as books, films and software.

"No returns, no exchanges" is void

The executive regulations list harmful terms that are void and can be fined. A blanket "non-returnable, non-exchangeable" line is one of them.

Others include giving yourself the right to change terms whenever you like, or deciding alone whether goods conform. Rewrite these in plain, fair language.

Warranties and defects

You must repair or replace defective goods free of charge, and if you can't, refund the full price.

Publish your warranty on your website: how long it lasts, what it covers and what it excludes. For agency-brand products, spare parts must be available within 30 days of a request.

If a product turns out to be unsafe, the steps are fixed. Tell customers, stop selling it, recall it and replace, repair or refund at your cost.

Selling on noon? Its window and fees are in our noon returns guide.

What are the rules on delivery times?

There's no fixed legal deadline, such as 30 days. Instead, you must deliver within the time you announced at checkout.

Goods must match the specifications, timing and costs you showed on your store. If the order arrives too late to be useful, the shopper can return it and get their money back.

So promise what your courier can really do. Show the time per emirate, such as "Dubai next day, other emirates 2–3 days", and add holiday cut-offs before National Day and Eid.

Which sales practices are banned?

The core rule is simple: don't mislead anyone about the product, the price or the deal. The banned practices that trip up online stores most:

• Fake discounts. A "was" price you never charged, or a sale that never ends.
• Misleading descriptions. Claims about quality, origin or features that aren't true, including in photos.
• Hidden fees. Any charge that appears only at the last step.
• Unwanted marketing. Shoppers must be able to refuse marketing by calls, email and social media. Don't use their data for marketing without a proper basis.
• Treating shoppers differently. Unfair discrimination between consumers in price or service can be fined.

Discounts need real prices and, in Dubai, a permit

Show the price before and after the discount, the offer dates, and whether it covers all products. A Dubai-licensed store needs a DET (Department of Economy and Tourism) permit before it advertises a sale, online stores included.

There's one more rule to know. If you know a discount is coming within a week, tell shoppers who buy before it. Otherwise they can claim the difference.

Planning a sale? Our UAE National Day and DSF guide has the permit fees and timings.

Paying creators to promote it? Check the UAE advertiser permit rules too.

How do UAE shoppers complain?

The e-commerce law requires a complaints channel that's always open, with follow-up. A WhatsApp number plus an email that gets a reply within a day works well.

If you don't solve it, shoppers can escalate to:

Most complaints stay small if you reply quickly. Keep each order's invoice, tracking and chat history for when an authority asks.

What are the fines?

Penalties rise with how serious the breach is, from small e-commerce fines to criminal cases:

Breach	Rule	Fine
Hidden delivery or payment fees	E-commerce law (Cabinet Decision 200/2025)	AED 500–20,000
Other e-commerce law breaches	E-commerce law (Cabinet Decision 200/2025)	AED 500–100,000
Ex-VAT consumer prices	VAT law (Cabinet Decision 49/2021)	AED 5,000 per violation
Invoice, contract or ad data not in Arabic	Executive regulations	AED 100,000 per violation
Misleading price announcement	Executive regulations	AED 100,000
Harmful contract term, false description or ignoring defects	Executive regulations	AED 250,000
Misleading prices, unclear labels or refusing repairs (criminal)	Consumer Protection Law	Up to AED 2m and/or 2 years' prison

Fines aren't the first step for most stores. Under the e-commerce law, a first breach usually brings a written warning and 15 days to fix it. Closure is possible only from the third offence.

Worked example: a Dubai fragrance store

Take a small Dubai-licensed store selling oud and home fragrance on Shopify. It sells a gift set for AED 315, VAT included.

Here's how it lines up with the rules:

1. Product page. The Arabic and English titles, specs and ingredients match. The price reads "AED 315, VAT included". Its footer shows the trade licence number and DET as the issuer.
2. Fees. Delivery is AED 15 under AED 200 and free above. The cart shows it before the payment step, so the checkout total is AED 315.
3. Delivery promise. "Dubai next day, other emirates 2–3 working days" sits under the price.
4. Returns. Unopened items can come back within 15 days. Opened perfume counts as used goods, so it's excluded. Damaged or wrong items are replaced free at any time.
5. Invoice. A bilingual PDF goes out with the order email, showing the CR and TRN numbers.
6. National Day sale. The store gets its DET permit two weeks early, then shows "AED 315 → AED 260" with the offer dates.

Here's how the numbers work:

That AED 55 off (about 17%) nods to the National Day anniversary. Both prices stay above the free-delivery line, so the checkout total equals the shown price.

Each step takes an afternoon, not a legal team, and each one also lifts conversion.

UAE consumer protection checklist

Tick these off before launch, then check them again before every big sale.

Want help putting it in place? Our directory lists Arabic translation providers in the UAE for policies and invoices.

Notes for marketplace sellers

• Noon and Amazon.ae pass most of these rules on through their own policies. They handle checkout, invoices and the return window.
• You still own the listing: Arabic titles, true specs and honest "was" prices.
• Join the platform's own deal events instead of advertising discounts yourself, and you won't need a DET permit for them.
• Start with our guide to selling on Amazon.ae.

Notes for stores registered outside the UAE

• The federal consumer law may not cover you directly, but the e-commerce law, VAT and customs rules still apply.
• Shoppers expect the same things either way: AED prices, VAT included, no surprise duty at the door and an easy return.
• Ship DDP (delivered duty paid), so the shopper pays nothing on delivery.
• Thinking of a local company? See UAE ecommerce licences.

Notes for Saudi-based sellers

• The UAE has no blanket 7-day change-of-mind right like Saudi Arabia does. UAE returns depend on the product's condition and your policy.
• VAT is 5%, not 15%, so set prices per country.
• Dubai sales need a DET permit, not a Ministry of Commerce licence.
• Compare with our guide to Saudi consumer protection.