The Commercial Compliance Manual (PDF,  29.3 MB), launched by Commercial Compliance and Commercial Protection Sector (CCCP) of the Department of Economy & Tourism, Dubai, contains guidance on conducting business in Dubai in compliance with the laws with an aim to protect them from causing violations that may expose them to financial fines or complaints from consumers or merchants.

The manual seeks to be a reference for traders on:

• laws, regulations, and requirements enforced in Dubai
• creating a premium business environment for merchants and consumers
• reducing the number of violating commercial establishments.

The manual provides information in the areas of:

• protection of IP rights
• protection of commercial agencies
• business protection
• practising commercial activities
• providing offers and sales
• conducting raffles and offering prizes.

The manual further provides detailed information on the steps to file a complaint by one business against another violating business. Traders can file complaints against any commercial establishment in Dubai’s mainland by providing the necessary evidence and documents through the Consumerrights.ae website or through the Dubai Consumer app, available on App Store and Google Play.

For the complaint to be accepted, the violator must be licensed by the Department of Economy & Tourism, Dubai, and the applicant must provide supporting documents with his complaint submission. The Department also accepts business complaints it receives from outside the UAE.

The Business Protection Department at the Department of Economy & Tourism, Dubai, handles business complaints raised against other businesses (B2B) and tries to resolve the dispute amicably. It accepts only commercial types of disputes which include:

• complaints against additional fees on a service or a product
• non-compliance of a store’s policy with the law
• non-compliance with the business’s after-sale services, activity, price list, terms of the contact and warranty.

The Department does not accept complaints in tourism, real estate, insurance and banks or cases related to cheques and fraud.

Read more about the Business Complaint (B2B) service and how to protect your business (PDF, 327 KB)-(DED).