Latest MCA move to pave the way for competition regulator to soon issue much awaited penalty guidelines, say experts.
The Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) has paved the way for the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to issue guidelines on various provisions of the Competition law.
The format in which such guidelines need to be published on the website of the CCI has been specified by MCA in new notifications issued recently. Moreover, even individuals and corporates can write to CCI seeking guidelines on certain provisions of competition law.
The latest MCA move is expected to lead the competition watchdog to soon issue the much-awaited penalty guidelines, said experts.
Anshuman Sakle, Partner, Khaitan & Co, said that the latest MCA notifications allow the CCI to introduce penalty guidelines in the near future. The Central Government has provided an overarching structure of what the guidelines should contain, he said.
Introducing the penalty guidelines would allow parties to have clarity on the principles the CCI would apply while penalising any violations of the Competition Act and is a welcome step in adding stability and certainty to the principles the CCI uses, Sakle added.
Samir Gandhi, Co-founder & Partner, Axiom5 Law Chambers, a law firm, said that the MCA notifications essentially prepare the ground for the CCI to publish its much-awaited penalty guidelines for public comment.
These guidelines will be non-binding explanations on the methodology used by the CCI to compute antitrust penalties. These guidelines will be particularly important since the CCI now has even greater powers to impose penalties that go up to 10% of a company’s global turnover, Gandhi added.
The notifications operationalize the provisions of Section 64B, which permit the CCI to frame penalty (and other) guidelines and prescribe the form and manner in which such Guidelines will be published.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
