Draft Amendments to the Antitrust Law

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In early 2026, the government has proposed significant amendments to the Law on Protecting Competition and Preventing Monopolistic Practices No. 3 of 2005 (the “Antitrust Law”), introducing the addition of fifty (50) new Articles to the Antitrust Law (“the Draft Amendments”). The Draft Amendments aim at enhancing market performance and protecting consumers, in line with international standards. In early April 2026, the Senate has given its final approval to the Government proposed Draft Amendments to the Antitrust Law, pursuant to a statement issued by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Key Features of the Draft Amendments

The key features of the Draft Amendments include, inter alia, the following:

1. Independence of ECA: Transferring the affiliation of the Egyptian Competition Authority (“ECA”) to become an independent regulatory body with a public legal personality, reporting directly to the President of the Republic instead of the Cabinet as currently the case, thereby ensuring technical, financial, and administrative independence.

2. Management of Board of Directors of the ECA: Introducing Chapters Five and Six to the Antitrust Law to govern the ECA’s operations, objectives, board formation, membership requirements and powers, the executive body and its requirements, penalties and disciplinary procedures, and salaries. Accordingly, the new amendments reduce the current membership of the Board of Directors of the ECA from the current ten (10) members to seven (7) members, excluding government and union representatives to ensure impartiality and independence.

3. Authority to Impose Administrative Financial Penalties: Granting the Board of Directors of the ECA the power to impose direct administrative financial penalties on violating legal entities with increased prescribed fines, without having to wait to obtain a court ruling. Article 20 of the Draft Amendments includes a set of criteria that the ECA must consider when assessing the value of the administrative financial penalty within the prescribed scope, which includes, inter alia, the severity and duration of the violation, the nature of the violating activity, the amount of revenue generated by the violator or the value of its assets, and the circumstances surrounding the violation.

4. Increase and Introduction of Prescribed Fines as follows:

• Increasing the prescribed fines for the violation of Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Antitrust Law to range from (2%) to (15%) of the revenue of the product involved in the violation, instead of the current (2%) to (12%) currently prescribed. In cases where revenue cannot be calculated, the minimum fine has been raised from EGP 100,000 (one hundred thousand Egyptian pounds) (approx. $ 1,831) to EGP 1,000,000 (one million Egyptian pounds) (approx. $ 18,315), and the maximum to be raised from EGP 300,000,000 (three hundred million Egyptian pounds) (approx. $ 5,494,505) to EGP 2,000,000,000 (two billion Egyptian pounds) (approx. $ 36,630,036).
• Furthermore, Increasing the prescribed fines for the violation of Article 19 of the Antitrust Law due to failure to notify the ECA of an economic concentration to be increased to a fine ranging from (2%) to (12%) of the total annual turnover or value of assets of the violating person, instead of the (1%) to (10%) currently prescribed.
• Additionally, increasing the fines in cases of non-cooperation with the Authority, whereby the fines for refusing to provide data or providing incorrect data to the ECA have been increased, with fines reaching up to (1%) of annual turnover in some instances, with a maximum of EGP 100,000,000 (one hundred million Egyptian pounds) (approx. $ 1,831,501).
• Introducing a new fine of no less than EGP 20,000 (twenty thousand Egyptian pounds) (approx. $ 366) and no more than EGP 250,000 (two hundred fifty thousand Egyptian pounds) (approx. $ 4,578) will be imposed on anyone failing to appear before the ECA with an unacceptable excuse, as determined by the court, and a fine of no less than EGP 500,000 (five hundred thousand Egyptian pounds) (approx. $ 9,157) and no more than EGP 100,000,000 (one hundred million Egyptian pounds) (approx. $ 1,831,501) will be imposed on anyone who refuses to comply with the ECA’s decisions.

5. Formation of new Committee: Forming an independent committee, chaired by the Vice President of the State Council, to review appeals made against the ECA’s decisions, noting that the ECA’s decisions are considered enforceable and binding to parties, and appeals do not constitute a suspension of such decision unless ordered by a court.

6. Expansion of Definitions, Concepts and Scopes under the Antitrust Law as follows:

• Amending the definition of “control” in line with European law, to encompass the acquisition of (50%) or more of the relevant market share, or when a company has the ability to exercise significant influence on prices or supply volume. The Draft Amendments also grants a company the right to prove its inability to exercise control, even if its market share exceeds this threshold.
• Introducing the concept of economic efficiency, whereby certain agreements which may appear to restrict competition but provide clear technological or economic benefits to the consumer may be permitted.
• Expanding the scope of prohibited practices with respect to horizontal agreements as under Article 6 of the Antitrust Law, to include not only written agreements, but also coordinated practices including all forms of communication between two or more persons, even if no formal agreement exists, but which effectively coordinate their economic behavior in the market.
• Expanding the scope of prohibited practices by persons holding a dominant position to include practices related to any agreement or practice that limits a person’s ability to unilaterally set a resale price or establish a minimum resale price.
• Expanding the scope of the “exemption from penalty” system to include the first party to report monopolistic agreements to the ECA, while ensuring protection of the identity of whistleblowers.

In light of the above, it is worth noting that in early February 2026, the Senate’s finance, economic, and investment affairs committee (the “Committee”), chaired by Senator Ahmed Abou Hashima, approved “in principle” the new Draft Amendments to the Antitrust Law. The Committee meeting was attended by representatives from the Central Bank of Egypt, the Financial Regulatory Authority (“FRA”), and the ECA, as well as Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy, Minister of Parliamentary, Legal, and Political Communication Affairs. The Committee highlighted that the Antitrust Law is a fundamental pillar for improving the investment climate and establishing fair market principles, and that its ultimate goal is to enable the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) alongside large corporations, while protecting Egyptian consumers from unjustified price fluctuations resulting from monopolies, in line with global economic developments.

Furthermore, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs has emphasized that the amendments represent a strategic legislative step reflecting Egypt’s commitment to implementing the provisions of the Constitution. It guarantees the independence of regulatory bodies and achieves a delicate balance between the freedom to conduct economic activity and encouraging investment, as stipulated in Article 27 of the Constitution. The Antitrust Law therefore aims to solidify the principles of a regulated free market and promote a fair and competitive environment characterized by transparency and equal opportunities, in line with the state's policies to achieve sustainable development and safeguard the rights of both investors and consumers.