The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is examining 10 key amendments to the Competition Act 2002, and this is likely to have an impact on the merger and acquisition norms of the CCI, reports CNBC-TV18’s Malvika Jain.
A panel which has been formed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has suggested these amendments, the key being that even joint ventures will require a nod from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and from the Competition Commission of India before being formulated. According to the CCI, this is required because even joint ventures in the areas of production or marketing could have an adverse impact on competition.
Remember that currently Section 5 and 6 of the Competition Act dealing with combination regulations apply only to mergers and acquisitions.
The panel, which comprises of the former chairman of the CCI, Dhanendra Kumar, Pradeep Mehta of CUTS International and the additional secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Sudhir Mittal, has also recommended that all sectoral regulators like TRAI, DGCA should consult the Competition Commission before finalization of norms. It has also recommended that a similar amendment be made in the act of all the regulators so that everybody is on the same page on this issue.
A recommendation has also been made to use the penalty money recovered by the CCI for the promotion of competition in the country, as it is still in its nascent stages.
The Minister and Secretary of Corporate Affairs are scheduled to meet the panel on the 20th of December to discuss the proposed amendments