Dissecting The Competition Commission Of India’s Regulatory Framework For Combination Approval

Hrishi Kapadia, BBA LLB (Hons.), MIT WPU School of Law, Pune

ABSTRACT

Combinations, also known as amalgamations, refers to the process of enterprises being acquired by other entities or the process of two or more enterprises merging. The nature of such transactions is that the acquirer or the new combined enterprise, as the case may be, expands into a larger enterprise either through market share, product offerings, geographical presence or any other relevant factor. The role of “the Competition Commission of India” in such transactions is to authorise or reject the proposed combination, in light of the effect it would have on competition in the market. To that effect, “the Competition Commission of India” regulates combinations in the Indian market, mainly under the provisions of “the Competition Act, 2002” and “the Competition Commission of India” (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011. This paper shall detail the regulatory framework and procedure in regard to seeking the approval of combinations from “the Competition Commission of India”. By highlighting the nature of transactions which require approval, detailing the disclosure requirements and elaborating the procedure and various options / avenues to obtain approval in a speedy manner; this paper shall go through the beats of the entire process to give a detailed insight into “the Competition Commission of India’s” approvals for Combinations in India.