The Competition Commission of India must “fairly and squarely” address issues arising out of cross-country mergers and acquisitions, according to the finance minister.
“As we evolve to be a digital economy, the challenges that digitization brings are also very important for us to address, we can’t ignore them,” Nirmala Sitharaman said at an event organised by the competition regulator on October 6.
“The multi-national nature of activities… where companies are seeking to have interlocking positions in global value chains. There are holding companies, there are new acquisitions, there are mergers happening across the globe.”
The Competition Commission should keep one eye on Indian law and the evolution of the law as regards fair trade and competition. It should also be cognisant of what is developing in different parts of the world and benchmark against best practices that can be brought to India’s advantage, the minister said.
The Competition Commission must be more proactive in using its powers in areas which are posing some questions of fair competition, instead of waiting for people to approach it, the minister added.
The Competition Commission of India is a statutory body set up under the Competition Act, 2002 with the primary purpose of regulating competition in the market and protecting the interests of consumers.
The body has assumed great significance amid the rapid growth of technology and e-commerce domains as well as increasing mergers and acquisitions across industries.
The CCI, which became functional in 2009, is required to protect the Indian markets against activities among players which may have appreciable adverse effects on competition. It is also empowered to act against any entity that abuses its dominant market position to its undue advantage.
The Competition Commission may act on a complaint filed by an informant pertaining to an anti-trust activity or may take action suo moto. CCI may ask its Director General to conduct an investigation to probe the alleged activity and hold a hearing on the findings of the probe report thereafter.
The competition law also requires for M&As between entities to obtain regulatory approval from CCI, provided such combinations satisfy the monetary threshold mentioned in the law.
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