CCI amends rules on withdrawal, refiling of notices for clearance

To provide faster disposal of merger and acquisition cases, the Competition Commission Wednesday amended the combination regulations with regard to withdrawal and refiling of notices seeking approvals.

The combination rule pertains to mergers and acquisitions.

In July this year, the fair trade regulator had invited comments for the amendments in the Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) "amends the Combination Regulations vide notification dated October, 9 2018 to provide certainty & transparency and to expedite faster disposal of combination cases", the watchdog tweeted.
 

According to the notification, the CCI may on the request of parties would allow withdrawal and refiling of a combination notice.

Besides, in case the notice is withdrawn, the fee already paid would be deducted from the amount payable in respect of the new notice given by the parties to the combination provided the new notice is given within three months from the date of withdrawal.

With amendments coming into effect, the parties now can offer modifications to the combination even while responding to the show cause notice.
 

Previously, combination rules allowed parties offer modifications before CCI forms a prima facie opinion regarding the proposed merger and issues show cause notice.

Combinations beyond a certain threshold mandatorily require approval from the regulator.