Industry body CII today said competition watchdog CCI’s approval should not be made mandatory for mergers and amalgamations between group companies. “While acquisitions of control or shares or voting rights or assets within the same group have been exempted from the notification requirement, mergers or amalgamations have not been specified, which appears to be an oversight,” CII said in a statement.
Such mergers do not change the competitive landscape of a market, and “being incapable of causing an appreciable adverse effect on competition should not be subjected to a pre-notification regime”, the industry body added.
The Competition Commission of India recently released the new Combinations Regulations paving the path for a full-fledged merger regime in India.
Accordingly, all high-value merger and acquisitions with combined turnover of Rs 4,500 crore or more will require approval of competition watchdog CCI from June 1.
