The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday notified regulations that require corporates to seek its approval before going in for high-value mergers and acquisitions (M&As), while CCI will take a view on the proposed merger deals within 180 days of the filing of notice by the companies.
The new regulations — Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011 — will come into effect from June 1.
According to the regulations, CCI can either approve the merger proposal or reject it or modify it. Companies would have to submit a fee of up to Rs.1 lakh for getting the CCI approval. Companies with a turnover of over Rs.1,500 crore will have to approach the CCI for approval before merging with another firm. Only those proposals would need the CCI's nod where the companies have combined assets of Rs.1,000 crore or more, or a combined turnover of Rs.3,000 crore or more.
“Due care has been taken to ensure that regulation lead to certainty in regulatory framework and become a tool to economic growth of our economy.
“An attempt has been made to address the various concerns expressed by stakeholders during different stages of framing of these regulations and the final outcome is the result of marathon exercise of consultation with all the stakeholders,” said CCI Chairman Dhanendra Kumar.
