Competition Commission amends filing norms for M&A deals

To make procedures more user-friendly, the Competition Commission has notified a slew of changes to filing requirements for entities seeking nod for merger and acquisition deals.
The latest amendments come against the backdrop of concerns about certain aspects of the procedural norms. Besides, there has been a rise in the number of notices seeking approval for M&A transactions.
The Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Amendment Regulations, 2016, has been notified.
Following the changes, CCI will now give an opportunity to the parties concerned before deciding on invalidating a notice.
The watchdog has powers to reject an application if it is found to be incomplete.

With regard to signatories of a notice, the word 'board of directors of the company for the said purpose' has been substituted with the word 'company'.

There have been concerns about authorised signatories who can sign the application seeking nod for M&A deals on behalf of foreign companies, especially since there is also a provision for invalidation of such notices.
Last year too, the regulator had revised its Combination Regulations making certain procedures easier with regard to entities seeking approval for M&A deals.
In 2015, the watchdog received 127 merger and acquisition cases, the highest registered in a calendar year.

Last October, it had received 21 filings seeking approval for mergers, the highest for any month in the past four years.
Besides, CCI announced that it had given decisions on 29 combination cases during December, the highest ever during any given month.
M&As beyond a certain threshold require CCI approval.
So far, the Commission has dealt with more than 300 cases related to mergers and acquisitions.