Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 as passed by Lok Sabha – Highlights

The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeks to amend the Competition Act, 2002, to regulate mergers and acquisitions based on the value of transactions. The bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha on 29th March, 2023.

This includes several key amendments to the existing framework, such as an expansion of the scope of cartel prosecution, the introduction of a deal value threshold for mergers and combination, and the modification of ‘turnover’ to mean global turnover, among others.

The key highlights of the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 are as follows:

1. Deals with a transaction value of more than Rs 2,000 crore will require CCI’s approval.

2. The scope of the definition of ‘relevant product market’ and ‘relevant geographical market’ has been enhanced.

3. Bill provides a framework for settlement and commitment for faster resolution of investigations.

4. Proposal to decriminalises certain offenses under the Act.

5. Definition of the term “party” proposed to be added.

6. Expands the powers of the Director General for investigating contraventions under the Act.

7. Bill mandates depositing 25% of any amount levied by CCI prior to filing an appeal against a CCI order.

8. Bill allows the use of intellectual property rights as a defence in cases of anti-competitive agreements.

9. Intimation about combinations shall be made before consummation of the combination rather than earlier prescribed timeline of 30 days.

10. Bill reduces the time limit for approval of combinations from 210 days to 150 days.

11. An enterprises or persons not engaged in identical or similar businesses shall be presumed to be part of the anti-competitive agreements, if they actively participate in the furtherance of such agreements.

12. The bill proposes to impose penalties on entities based on their global turnover instead of the current practice of considering only relevant market turnover.

13. Recovery of legal costs along with penalties by Commission should also be credited to Consolidated Fund of India.

14. Modifies the definition of ‘control’ as the ability to exercise material influence over management, affairs, or strategic commercial decisions.

15. Submission of information after 3 years cannot lead to the initiation of Inquiry into certain agreements and dominant position.

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