CCI in process of notifying new merger control regulations: CCI Chairperson 

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is in the process of notifying the new merger control regulations, CCI Chairperson Ravneet Kaur said on May 20. 

Addressing the 15th Annual Day of CCI, Kaur said that in the past year, the competition regulator was engaged in preparing the regulatory framework to operationalise the Competition Amendment Act, 2023, which was conceived by the need to address emerging challenges and align our framework with international best practices. 

“To operationalise the amendments, the CCI, after extensive public consultations, has introduced several detailed regulations. These include regulations on settlement and commitment mechanism; turnover and income and leniency plus,” she said, adding that it is in the process of notifying revamped merger control regulations.  

“Additionally, we have issued penalty guidelines,” she said. 

The merger control regulations, which are a part of the Competition Amendment Act 2023, will lay out the new provisions about deal value threshold as well as the reduced timelines for approval of mergers. 

The amendment makes it mandatory to report all merger and acquisition-related transactions, including acquisitions, mergers and amalgamations exceeding Rs 2,000 crore and involving a target enterprise in India to be notified to the CCI for approval.  

According to sources, the new merger control regulations will be put into force after the general elections and will include the deal value threshold as well as the provisions for faster approvals. While the rules will be notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the regulations will be brought out by the CCI. 

Meanwhile, the competition regulator is also looking to increase its staff strength and is expected to advertise for more positions once the Model Code of Conduct ends. “There is a need for overall capacity building and one more round of vacancies will be advertised after the MCC comes to an end,” said a source, adding that already posts for the Director General’s office have been advertised. 

The CCI is understood to be keen on an overall enhancement of its staff strength given its additional roles as the authority to hear anti-profiteering cases about the Goods and Services Tax as well as the setting up of the Digital Markets and Data Unit. 

Sources indicated that it would need further enhancement of its staff strength in case the Digital Competition Bill is taken forward. A separate proposal for that would be sent to the Union Cabinet along with the Bill, as and when it is taken up.