Competition Amendment Bill, 2023

Why in news?

• The Rajya Sabha approved the Competition Amendment Bill, 2023, aimed at modernizing the two-decade-old anti-trust law to align with changes in the economy.
• The Competition Amendment Bill, 2023 aims to modify the Competition Act, 2002.

Key changes made by the Competition Amendment Bill, 2023:

• The bill extends Competition Commission of India (CCI) regulatory reach to transactions valued at more than Rs.2,000 crores even if they do not meet the conventional criteria for merger regulation based on assets and sales.
• Proposes greater deterrence by way of higher penalty provisions based on the global sales of corporations.
• It introduces a ‘leniency plus’ scheme to encourage entities facing cartel investigations to disclose information about other cartels.
• It proposes to expedite CCI clearance of mergers and acquisitions to within 150 days, down from a maximum of 210 days now.

About Competition Commission of India (CCI):

• The Competition Commission of India is a statutory body established by the Competition Act, 2002.
• Evolution:
  • A need was felt to promote competition and private enterprise especially in the light of 1991 Indian economic liberalisation.
  • Hence, based on the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was repealed and replaced by the Competition Act, 2002.

About Competition Act:

• The Competition Act was passed in 2002 and has been amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007. It follows the philosophy of modern competition laws.
• The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.
• In accordance with the provisions of the Amendment Act, the Competition Commission of India and the Competition Appellate Tribunal have been established.
• Government replaced Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in 2017.
• The objectives of the Act are sought to be achieved through the Competition Commission of India, which has been established by the Central Government with effect from 2003.

Composition of CCI:

• CCI consists of a chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.
• The commission is a quasi-judicial body which gives opinions to statutory authorities and also deals with other cases.
• The Chairperson and other Members shall be whole-time Members.
• Eligibility of members:
  • The Chairperson and every other Member shall be a person of ability, integrity and standing and who, has been, or is qualified to be a judge of a High Court, or, has special knowledge of, and professional experience of not less than fifteen years in international trade, economics, business, commerce, law, finance, accountancy, management, industry, public affairs etc.

Functions:

PRACTICE QUESTION

Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Competition Commission of India?

1. The Chairperson and 6 Members of CCI appointed by the Central Government.

2. CCI is required to give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from a statutory authority established under any law

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

 (a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer