Competition Commission Of India Starts Work

Almost six years after the enactment of the Competition Act 2002 ("Competition Act"), India's competition regulator - the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has finally become operational. The Competition Act aims at facilitating competition in the Indian market, through prohibition of anti-competitive agreements, cartels and abuse of domination positions.

Legal wrangle over the structure of the CCI had caused much delay in the activation of the Indian competition law regime and kept the CCI in abeyance. While the substantive provisions of the Competition Act relating to (i) prohibition of anti-competitive agreements and (ii) abuse of dominance were finally notified in May, the provisions with respect to regulations of combinations (mergers, amalgamations and acquisitions) are expected to be notified soon.