Notification dated June 29 2017

This piece was first published in the September 2017 issue of The Practical Lawyer [(2017) PL (Comp. L) September 82]


The Indian merger control regime has evolved substantially over the years since its introduction in June 2011. The preceding six years have seen a steady series of five amendments to the Combination Regulations[1], the primary regulations which supplement the merger control provisions under the Competition Act, 2002 (Act), to bring greater certainty, transparency and ease in relation to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) filing processes. In line with this trend and overarching objective of promoting the ease of doing business in India, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, recently issued a notification dated 29 June 2017 (Notification) which has done away with the strict filing timeline of 30 calendar days from the date of the trigger document. The Notification is applicable for a tenure of 5 years until 28 June 2022. This piece briefly examines issues with this strict statutory timeline and the welcome ramifications that ensue this policy change.

A proposed acquisition of shares, voting rights, control or assets or a merger/amalgamation which satisfies the pecuniary statutory thresholds set out under the Act and is unable to benefit from applicable exemptions under the Act or the Combination Regulations is reportable to the CCI. Such a pre-merger notification was required to be filed within the timeline as set under the Act. Originally, parties to a notifiable transaction were required to notify the CCI within 7 days of receiving board approval for a merger or amalgamation, or pursuant to the execution of any agreement or other document in case of an acquisition (Trigger Document). Subsequently, by way of an amendment in 2007, the filing timeline was extended from 7 to 30 days.Continue Reading India Bids Adieu to 30 Day Notification Regime