The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is expected to release a new set of merger regulations, implementing the competition law amendments that were implemented last year, the CCI chair said on Monday.
According to Kaur, CCI has been working for the past year to prepare a regulatory framework under the Competition Amendment Act, 2023, which introduces best international practices for addressing new threats to market competition.
The new regulations cover a number of topics, such as regulated mergers and acquisitions based on deal value, negotiated settlements with businesses regarding anti-competitive practices, and an expanded program on leniency designed to persuade cartels to come clean.
R. Venkataramani, Attorney General of India, was also present for 15th foundation day of Competition Commission of India (CCI)
According to Venkataramani, the CCI must choose between two courses of regulatory action: investigations and sanctions, or outright bans and prohibitive rules. This is the issue that is currently being debated in India regarding the draft Digital Competition Bill.
The proposed regulations will make it clearer how to determine a transaction's value and whether or not CCI approval is needed. The rules will also detail how CCI will expedite merger control by reducing the maximum period of time permitted for a transaction decision from 210 days to 150 days, a provision that was also included in the legislation last year.
Additionally, Kaur clarified that the advent of new-age markets has resulted in a global reworking of competition laws, with the digital economy adding to their complexity. Indeed, traditional frameworks for competition law have faced challenges from the digital economy all over the world.
In response, nations have either modified domestic laws or enacted new ones that are especially directed at the digital market. Globally, there has been a noticeable uptick in the examination of digital technology companies.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is set to put forth a bill for a digital competition that will explain the dos and don'ts for systemically significant digital economy entities.
