Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2020

The Competition Law Review Committee (CLRC) was set up on October 1st, 2018 to review the Competition Act, 2002 (Act) and other incidental rules thereunder. The need for a robust framework due to the growth of newer and disruptive models of business, the CLRC released its report in July 2019. 

• After incorporating certain reforms suggested by the CLRC, the draft Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Bill) was released in February 2020 for public comments. 
• The Bill contains certain groundbreaking amendments which could completely revamp the competition regime in India. With this background, this article aims to analyze the key changes suggested under the Bill and its impact on the stakeholders at large.
• The Act mandates that the CCI should comprise of one chairman and six members (all whole-time members). However, in practice, the government had restricted the strength of the CCI to only four members. In light of the same, the Bill proposes that the CCI must comprise of one chairman and six members.

• The Bill proposes to include an entity regardless of its legal form or status, also including units, divisions and subsidiaries under the purview of an ‘enterprise’. Such an amendment will bring all types of enterprises under CCI thereby making its regulatory mechanism more extensive.
• The Bill proposes to expand the definition of ‘relevant product market’ to comprise of all products or services wherein the production or supply are regarded as interchangeable or substitutable by a supplier.
• The Bill has plugged the loopholes which existed under the previous regime in order to establish a robust framework. However, Bill’s stance on the omission of the constitution of a separate NCLAT bench for adjudication of competition cases suggested by the CLRC must be reconsidered since it can reduce the burden of NCLAT.

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