Promotions · Ministry of Commerce
Discount and National Day promo ads in Saudi Arabia: the Ministry of Commerce rules
Every September the Saudi feed fills with عروض اليوم الوطني — 25% off, buy one get one, free gift with purchase. Most of those ads are missing the one thing the Ministry of Commerce looks for first: a permit number. Here is what the rules require, why it matters more for paid social than for a shop window, and a checklist you can run before the campaign goes live.
The four rules
- Get the permit before you announce. Price reductions, sales and clearance offers require a Ministry of Commerce discount permit beforethe announcement is published — the ad, the story, the WhatsApp broadcast. The permit is issued through the Ministry’s e-services; the number is what inspectors and platform reviewers ask for.
- Show both prices.A discounted item must display the original price and the reduced price together. “Up to 25% off” on its own, or a single new price with a strikethrough that never existed, is the classic violation.
- Show the discount rate. The percentage (or the amount) must be stated, and it must be true for the items the ad points to.
- Prize draws and giveaways need their own permit.“Buy X and enter to win”, “free gift for the first 100 orders” — promotional competitions are licensed separately from discounts. Bundled “free” items also need their conditions stated in the ad, not behind a link.
Why this bites harder on Meta, Snapchat and TikTok
A poster in a mall is seen by inspectors who walk past. A paid ad is a permanent, timestamped record with your business name on it, searchable by anyone in the Ad Library. The Ministry has announced prosecutions of dozens of businesses in a single sweep for unlicensed discounts and giveaways under the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law — and the evidence in those cases is the ad itself.
The second cost is quieter: platform review. Meta and Snapchat reviewers in the region are used to seeing a permit line in Saudi promo copy. Ads without one are more likely to be flagged as misleading pricing, which pauses the ad set mid-campaign — usually on the busiest day.
Sector overlays
- Clinics, dental and aesthetic centres.Promotions on medical services are governed by the Ministry of Health’s health-advertising rules on top of the commerce rules. A “National Day Botox offer” is the highest-risk creative in the September feed.
- Cosmetics, supplements, skin-lightening.The discount is a Ministry of Commerce matter; the claim (“whitening”, “treats”, “cures”) is an SFDA matter. Both are checked.
- Real estate.“Discount on the first ten units” still needs the REGA advertising licence in the ad. See the REGA guide.
National Day / Founding Day checklist
☐ Permit number in the ad text or creative · ☐ Original price and reduced price both visible · ☐ Discount % stated and true · ☐ Giveaway has its own permit and its conditions in the ad · ☐ “Free” items list their conditions · ☐ Prices marked VAT-inclusive · ☐ No “today only” pressure lines unless the offer really ends today · ☐ End date of the offer stated.
One more thing about the flag: the national emblem and the National Day identity are published by the government for use within its brand guidelines. Using the identity is fine; altering it, or placing it on a product as if endorsed, is not.
Run your National Day ad through the checklist
Paste the copy, upload the creative, and FormicGuard flags the missing permit line, the single-price discount, the unconditioned “free”, and the sector overlays — each with the rule it comes from. Free, no card.
- Ministry of Commerce — consumer guidance on discounts and promotional offers (ضوابط الإعلان الإلكتروني), mc.gov.sa.
- Ministry of Commerce enforcement announcements on unlicensed discounts and prize draws under the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law (as reported by Arab News).
FormicGuard is a pre-publication risk check, not legal advice or regulatory clearance. Regulations change; confirm against mc.gov.sa. Guide index: all guides.