Karan Singh Chandhiok
Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Competition Bill
Updated: Dec 15, 2022

In 2018, the process of amending the Competition Act, 2002 (Competition Act) was initiated with the setting up of the Competition Law Review Committee (CLRC). Based on the CLRC’s report (released in July 2019), a draft amendment bill was released for public comments in March 2020. In August 2022, the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in the Indian Parliament (2022 Bill). The 2022 Bill was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance (Committee) for examination. The Committee's current agenda includes examining issues related to “anti-competitive practices by big tech companies.” The Committee released its report on the 2022 Bill on Tuesday (13 December 2022) (Report). The Report is a mixed bag with some laudable recommendations and some of that merit a more nuanced assessment and re-look. We provide a snapshot of the hits and misses and an overview of the recommendations.
Snap Shot
Hits
• Effects-based analysis for abuse of dominance
• DG cannot depose or procure information from lawyers
• Greater clarity on the “Deal Value Threshold” and local nexus requirement
• Parties permitted to withdraw settlement offers
• Parties allowed to offer settlements in cartel proceedings
• IPR defence introduced in abuse of dominance cases
• Reprieve for “innocent” hubs in the hub and spoke cartels
• No changes in the approval timing for mergers
Misses
• No clarity on admission for settlements and commitments
• Compensation claims will be permitted in cases of settlements
• No clarity on the status of an informant in consultations during settlement and commitments
• Appeals from settlements and commitments permitted in certain situations
• No provision to make the presence of a judicial member mandatory for final hearings
• Material influence prevails as the standard of control, but the scope may be defined by regulations
• No comments on some concerning provisions THE HITS