Discuss the major amendments in the competition bill 2019 which would significantly alter the enforcement of competition law in the country. (200 Words)
Refer - Financial Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 5 years
KEY POINTS
· The Bill proposes to increase the scope of agreement by including enterprises that, though not engage in identical or similar trade, act in furtherance of any anticompetitive agreement.
· This proposed amendment would cover enterprises facilitating the operation of cartels, too. By way of this proposed amendment, the jurisdiction of the CCI would extend to hub-and-spoke arrangement.
· A key takeaway of this proposed amendment is that companies would have to ensure that not only their employees and personnel but even the channel partners are well-trained on competition law principles.
· The Bill proposes a clause which states that the CCI would not inquire into agreements referred to in Section 3 or into conduct of an enterprise or group under Section 4, if the same or substantially the same facts and issues raised in a previous information have been decided by the CCI in previous orders.
· This provision seeks to ensure that similar information(s) are not filed which requires the CCI to intervene, but it fails to take into account that market dynamics and state of competition keep on evolving.
· The CCI, based on the market dynamics and evidence on record, has adopted a different approach than earlier. This flexibility should be there since competition proceedings are proceedings in rem and there is no lis that is decided between the parties.
