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.