The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has given its final judgment on the toolkit, reinforcing the findings of the competition regulator, which held that Goggle had abused the technology company’s market dominance in Android ecosystem. As a result, the Lok Sabha passed legislation related to competition. This law poses new challenges for Google along with many other global technology companies.
The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed by Lok Sabha recently on Wednesday. The bill intends to amend the Competition Act, 2022. One of the key changes introduced in the law is that it gives the Competition Commission of India (CCI) the ability to penalize entities for anti-competitive behavior compete on the basis of their global revenues.
Until now, penalties were determined as a percentage of the relevant turnover of the criminal units. This usually implies their annual domestic revenue.
Let us begin the story of the Competition Amendment Bill from the beginning.
Competition Law, 2002
In the Indian market, the Competition Act, 2002 regulates competition. It also prohibits practices of an anti-competitive nature such as abuse of dominant market positions, cartels and mergers and acquisitions that may negatively affect competition.
This Act was previously amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act 2007.
New changes proposed
There are quite a few changes proposed by the Bill. Let’s discuss them one by one.
First is the punishment!
Yes, in case of violation of the Competition Law, there are many sanctions imposed. The bill proposes to change the meaning of the term “revenue” to incorporate global revenue derived from all products and services of a business or an individual.
Therefore, the proposed amendment would introduce penalties in cases of competition law violations on the basis of a business’s global turnover, rather than its domestic turnover.
Time limit for CCI to approve combinations
The Bill provides a time limit for the CCI to take a view and approve or disapprove the combination. The deadline will be changed from 30 working days to 30 days.
This change in deadline simply speeds up the approval process for domestic mergers and acquisitions.
CCI gives approval for transactions with transaction value greater than Rs 2,000 crore
The main purpose of the Bill is to regulate mergers and acquisitions in India on the basis of transaction value. All transactions with transaction value greater than Rs 2,000 crore will require CCI approval.
Additionally, the Bill intends to reduce the time period for the CCI to pass orders for such transactions from a period of 210 days to just 150 days.
Furthermore, the Bill decriminalizes a multitude of offenses under the Act by changing the form of punishment. Such violations include failure to comply with directions of the Director General or directions of the CCI in relation to anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position.
What good does the Bill have to discuss?
The bill comes with a myriad of changes aimed at enhancing the functioning of the market in many ways.
First of all, the Bill clearly improves transparency. The bill seeks to change the definition of “revenue” and include “global revenue” within it. This step will promote accountability and transparency in the market. Such amendments would ensure that companies cannot escape penalties related to competition law violations by shifting their revenues to other countries.
Don’t forget, the Bill also enhances ease of doing business. The amendment to the Act aims to reduce legal obstacles and facilitate the practice of doing business in the country. The amendments aim to bring greater clarity to business in India. Furthermore, such changes will also reduce the compliance burden on companies.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: pagasa.edu.vn