The Competition Commission of India (CCI) can now appoint monitoring agencies to oversee the implementation of its orders such as those relating to mergers & acquisitions (M&As), commitment and settlement, according to the latest General Regulations 2024.
The monitoring agencies can be accounting firms, management consultancy or any other professional organisation, chartered accountants, company secretaries, or cost accountants.
“Where the Commission is of the opinion that the implementation of its orders passed under Section 31 or Section 48A or Section 48B or any other provisions of the Act and regulations made thereunder, needs monitoring, it may appoint agencies to oversee such implementation, on such terms and conditions as deemed fit by the Commission,” as per the new Regulations released on Tuesday.
Section 48A and 48B relate to commitment and settlement, respectively. Section 31 refers to orders on M&As.
Companies can, without admission of guilt, opt for the settlement or commitment option and provide a full and true disclosure of facts in respect of the alleged contraventions of the Competition Act.
The monitoring agencies, according to amended regulations, will be required to inform the CCI about any non-implementations or non-compliance, and submit reports at periodic intervals while maintaining highest standards of confidentiality, the latest Regulations said.
The Regulations provide for some limitation — if an information is filed three years from the date of cause of action, it would have to be accompanied by a condonation of delay application. An affidavit is also mandatory to verify the contents of the information.
The new Regulations, seeking to overhaul the regulatory framework of the CCI introduced in 2009, to bring it up to speed with the latest changes in the Competition Act, have been issued after a public consultation process held in June.
On April 11, 2023, the Competition (Amendment) Act was passed by the government incorporating certain new provisions, including settlement and commitment, and leniency plus, among others, in the Act and amending certain previously existing ones.
“This created a need for amendment/repeal/overhauling of the various regulations framed by the CCI as well as for introduction of certain new ones,” the Commission had said.
Various other changes have also been made in the Regulations, including introducing a time period of 180 days for passing a final order from the date of issuing an interim order.
First Published: Sep 18 2024 | 6:15 PM IST
