Kuwait tightens rules on food delivery apps, fixes fees, bans exclusivity

Dubai: Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued a binding decision regulating restaurant and ready-made food delivery services, fixing fees and commissions, cancelling side agreements and banning monopoly practices, in a move authorities described as unprecedented at the Gulf level.

The decision marks the first comprehensive regulatory framework of its kind in the Gulf Cooperation Council, targeting one of the fastest-growing digital sectors in Kuwait’s economy, state news agency KUNA reported.

The ministry said the measures reaffirm the government’s commitment to consumer protection, support for the national commercial sector and the creation of a fair and transparent competitive environment in the digital economy, in line with the maturity of the Kuwaiti market and its long-term investment attractiveness.

Officials said the decision followed extensive monitoring and economic analysis of the food delivery market, which they described as technologically and operationally advanced and among the region’s most attractive for investment and innovation.

Field inspections and studies uncovered monopolistic practices and unfair conduct by some operators that disrupted competition and harmed merchants and consumers, the ministry said. These included unjustified commission increases, the imposition of exclusive arrangements, opaque fee calculations and discriminatory technical mechanisms that affected visibility on delivery applications.

The framework was developed after three months of consultations with electronic platforms, restaurant owners and delivery companies, with consumer protection and market sustainability prioritised, the ministry said.

Under the decision, all licensed companies operating food delivery platforms must amend their licence activity to “Management of Delivery Services via Electronic Platforms”, in line with international classification 532013, within two months of the regulation taking effect.

Platforms are required to fix the fees and commissions charged to restaurants and ready-made food outlets for a period of three years, a measure aimed at restoring market stability, enabling financial planning and protecting small and medium-sized businesses from unfair pressure.

Companies must submit their 2026 fee structures to the ministry within one month. Service providers are required to adopt a single annual tariff approved by the ministry, detailing fees, commissions, maximum limits and calculation methods. Any charges, discounts or parallel agreements outside this framework are prohibited and deemed void.

The rules ban forced exclusivity, discriminatory algorithms and unjustified preferential treatment between customers of the same category. Platforms must document all fees in clear written contracts, publish annual price lists and refrain from changing prices during the year.

Restaurants and food outlets are granted the right to obtain their data free of charge and to contract with more than one platform. Consumer protections include full price transparency before order completion, a ban on hidden fees, price parity with in-store menus and clear responsibility for order fulfilment and delivery safety.

The regulations also introduce defined complaint-handling, cancellation and refund mechanisms, setting out financial responsibilities among platforms, restaurants, consumers and delivery representatives. The ministry said the framework is enforceable, with penalties ranging from warnings to closure and licence revocation, positioning Kuwait as a regional leader in digital economy regulation.