CCI Signs MoUs With Global Regulators To Boost Cooperation
CCI Signs MoUs With Global Regulators To Boost Cooperation
The collaboration will help in tackling anti-competitive practices across borders
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) announced signing several bilateral and multilateral Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with global regulators to enhance cooperation in competition law enforcement.
These include authorities in Egypt, Mauritius, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Australia, the European Commission, and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
The agreements include provisions for enforcement cooperation, subject to the legal and regulatory frameworks of each country.
India is part of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, where competition law cooperation plays a key role in ensuring fair market practices.
The Indian government has also incorporated competition-related provisions in 14 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with trading partners. This will ensure that participating countries take appropriate measures against anti-competitive activities to facilitate smooth trade and investment.
Over five financial years, the CCI has investigated 35 cartel cases across various sectors.
To enhance its enforcement, the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023, introduced the 'lesser penalty plus’ mechanism, encouraging whistleblowers within the cartels to disclose additional information about other cartels.
It aims to break the network and improve transparency in the market. The amendment also introduced the 'hub & spoke mechanism', expanding the scope of cartel investigations.
The provision facilitated the CCI to act against businesses or individuals not directly engaged in similar trade but played a role in anti-competitive agreements.
The competition watchdog regularly conducts market research and advocacy programs to prevent unfair practices. It five years, it conducted 1,446 programs, promoting awareness about competition laws among businesses and stakeholders.
Recently, while speaking at the 10th National Conference on Economics of Competition Law in New Delhi, the Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Harsh Malhotra, praised the CCI for its efforts in curbing unfair business practices by dominant companies.
The minister remarked, "It is important to watch the interest of the stakeholders, including the MSMEs, to provide them with fair opportunities to compete and innovate.”
