Government to modify Competition Amendment Bill based on Parliamentary panel report

The parliamentary panel led by BJP’s Jayant Sinha had made several recommendations for changes to the bill.

The bill seeks to fine tune the regulatory framework in line with the changes in business models that have emerged over the last two decades. It proposes global best practices like settlement and commitment and enhanced leniency provisions.

The standing committee had recommended expanding the scope of settlement and commitment scheme proposed in the Bill to include cartels as well. This scheme is meant to allow settlement of cases with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) by paying a settlement fees to the government.

The original Bill had covered only offences like entering into anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance in the scheme. The panel also said that CCI’s existing merger approval timelines should be retained and need not be further curtailed as had been suggested in the original bill. The panel shot down a provision in the bill allowing the director general of investigation to examine on oath stakeholders like legal advisers to parties, saying it would breach the attorney-client privilege and the Indian Evidence Act.