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The Administrative Court headed by Counselor Mohammed Jassim Bahman issued its decision in a lawsuit filed by Talabat Company against Ministerial Resolution No. 109 of 2026 issued by the Minister of Commerce and Industry. According to the ruling the minister’s authority to regulate services does not extend to establishing a system of administrative penalties that carry a punitive character without explicit legislative authorization. The court ordered the administration to pay the case expenses and KD 10 in legal fees while dismissing the company’s remaining demands.
Article 15 had laid out a sequence of measures that began with a warning and could escalate to temporary closure of a platform suspension of its activity blocking of its services license cancellation or permanent prohibition. The court determined that the legislature had already defined penalties for breaches of regulatory and pricing provisions and identified the bodies responsible for applying them. Kuwait Times reported that the annulment has raised fears of weak enforcement of the rules that took effect on Sept. 1.
Ministerial Resolution 109 caps delivery fees charged to consumers at one dinar per order and limits commissions paid by merchants to 17 percent of order value when platforms handle delivery or 10 percent when merchants use their own services. The regulations also prohibit platforms from forcing merchants to use their delivery fleets or penalizing those that choose independent options according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry announcement. Existing contracts had to be aligned with the new limits by the start of September or face potential sanctions that are now partly unavailable.
Central Bank of Kuwait data shows electronic purchase transactions reached KD 7.1 billion through more than 155 million operations in the first five months of 2026 with local platforms accounting for the vast majority of activity. The Delivery Company Owners Committee placed the value of the electronic delivery market at between KD 250 million and KD 300 million in the first quarter alone with daily orders ranging from 450,000 to 550,000. These figures illustrate the rapid expansion that prompted the original regulatory overhaul.
More than 250 delivery firms had lodged formal grievances with the commerce minister shortly after the resolution was published in July seeking a temporary suspension and further economic study of its effects. The committee representing small and medium enterprises argued that the caps could disrupt investments based on earlier feasibility calculations and lead to financial losses or staff reductions. A meeting between the parties in July had aimed to address those operational concerns before the rules entered force.
The ruling arrives as Kuwait’s e-commerce sector continues to mature with platforms required to reclassify their commercial activity under the code for management of delivery services via electronic platforms. According to industry assessments the decision does not affect the core fee limits or consumer protections embedded in the remaining articles of the resolution. Legal experts anticipate that authorities may now pursue legislative amendments to restore a clear penalty framework for future compliance monitoring.
