The Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023 introduced a deal-value notification threshold of ₹2,000 crore for transactions where the target has substantial business operations in India. This was a significant departure from the pure asset/turnover thresholds that previously governed merger notification — and aligns Indian competition law more closely with EU and US frameworks.
The traditional Section 5 thresholds remain in force: combined assets in India of ₹2,500 crore (or worldwide assets of $1.25 billion with at least ₹1,250 crore in India), or combined turnover in India of ₹7,500 crore (or worldwide turnover of $3.75 billion with at least ₹2,250 crore in India). These thresholds cumulatively trigger CCI Form I or Form II notification.
The Green Channel route remains available for transactions with no horizontal, vertical or complementary overlaps — providing deemed approval upon filing. We routinely use Green Channel for portfolio-company acquisitions by PE funds, IP-focused acquisitions, and pure financial investments. Eligibility analysis at the LOI stage saves weeks in regulatory timeline.
Standstill obligations bite from signing — gun-jumping penalties under Section 43A can be steep. The CCI has been increasingly aggressive on integration steps, information exchange and management board changes pre-clearance. Deal teams should structure HSR-style 'clean teams' for sensitive information sharing during the regulatory wait.
The 2023 amendment also tightened informant pathways and expanded CCI's investigation powers. For deal teams, this means more rigorous internal documentation requirements and pre-empting CCI scrutiny of competitive overlaps that previously would have escaped review.
Looking forward, expect continued harmonisation with global standards — including potential expansions to non-controlling minority investments, broader 'killer acquisition' triggers, and increasingly sophisticated economic analysis at the Phase II review stage. M&A counsel should build CCI strategy into deal structuring from term-sheet onwards.