NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary committee on Tuesday recommended several changes to a bill to amend the competition law, including bringing cartels under the scope of settlements as a “pragmatic recourse.”
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, in its report tabled in Lok Sabha, also said the “current prima-facie opinion timeline and that of passing the order for approval of combinations, should remain unchanged.”
In the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022 introduced in Parliament on August 5, the corporate affairs ministry has proposed reducing the timeline for the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to form a prima-facie opinion on a case to 20 days from 30 days.
Also, it has proposed cutting down the timeline for approval of combinations to 150 days from 210 days.
The panel said apprehensions were raised by the CCI and stakeholders that it will put the authority in a difficult and onerous position. “The committee is of the opinion that reducing the timeline can be burdensome for an already understaffed commission,” it said in the report.