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Print articleRevision of the Merger Control Regulations Under the Indian Competition Act
July, 2015 - Piyush Gupta, Partner
The Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) has revised the
Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of
business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011 (Combination Regulations),
making them more forward looking, in keeping with some of the best practices in
other jurisdictions. The instant revision is the fourth instance in the four
years since the introduction of the merger control regime in India.
The changes to the to the Combination Regulations, which draw heavily from CCI’s experiences thus far under the merger control provisions of the Indian Competition Act (“Act”), are founded on the principles of transparency, flexibility and simplicity. The revised Combination Regulations are intended to make the paperwork for Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) simpler by providing "flexibility to parties regarding signing of the notice" and deciding to invite public comments for all transactions under its review.
This article reviews the impact of the key revisions to the Combination Regulations going forward.
(a) Transparency
The revised Combination Regulations provide that a brief summary of every combination that CCI is reviewing will be put up on the CCI’s website to ensure greater transparency. Such an initiative will also allow stakeholders to submit their comments on the same to the regulator.
The changes to the to the Combination Regulations, which draw heavily from CCI’s experiences thus far under the merger control provisions of the Indian Competition Act (“Act”), are founded on the principles of transparency, flexibility and simplicity. The revised Combination Regulations are intended to make the paperwork for Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) simpler by providing "flexibility to parties regarding signing of the notice" and deciding to invite public comments for all transactions under its review.
This article reviews the impact of the key revisions to the Combination Regulations going forward.
(a) Transparency
The revised Combination Regulations provide that a brief summary of every combination that CCI is reviewing will be put up on the CCI’s website to ensure greater transparency. Such an initiative will also allow stakeholders to submit their comments on the same to the regulator.
Footnotes: About The Author Piyush Gupta is a partner at Kochhar & Co. and heads the competition advisory practice group of the firm. Piyush has more than a decade of trans-national experience in the competition law regimes across India and Singapore. Piyush is well-versed with the complexities of this relatively new entrant in the Indian legal arena and has drafted the competition law compliance manuals and guidelines for companies across various industries. Piyush has also conducted competition law compliance audits for various corporates, in addition to providing training and holding workshops on identification of issues pertaining to competition laws for the purposes of various companies’ in-house legal counsels, as well as for various operational personnel, such that competition law issues can be highlighted and dealt with on an immediate basis. In this regard, you may contact Piyush Gupta at +91.124.454.5222 Disclaimer The contents of the above article are intended to provide a general guide to the subject-matter and should not be treated as a substitute for specific professional advice for any particular course of action as the information above may not necessarily suit your specific business and operational requirements. It is to your advantage to seek legal advice for your specific situation. The firm has a team of lawyers with knowledge and experience in this area, and who are able to help analyse the clients’ competition law queries, conduct competition compliance audits as well as draft competition law compliance manuals for the clients’ internal purposes. |
