Competition / Antitrust

The case finds genesis in the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) order of investigation against Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Private Limited’s (Mahyco Monsanto) conduct in relation to the sub-licensing of a patented gene. The patent, Bt Cotton Technology, is a technology that consists of two genes to make cotton seeds resistant to bollworms. The technology was patented by Monsanto Company under the Patents Act, 1970 (Patents Act) and licensed to Mahyco Monsanto. Mahyco Monsanto, in turn, sub-licensed the technology to various seed manufacturers in India.

Soaring high-value M&A deals in the digital space that skip antitrust merger review have spurred a global debate on how fitting merger control thresholds really are

The Competition Act, 2002 (“Competition Act”), which codifies Indian competition law, has now been enforced for over a decade (since May 2009). While we are witnessing the progressive evolution of Indian competition law, consumer claims for compensation for damages for anticompetitive conduct remains uncharted territory. There have been no judgments to date on any compensation claims by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”).

The coming decades of antitrust markedly belong to e-commerce, leaving the antitrust regulators across the globe grappling with novel issues. Concerns like monopoly and duopoly, self-preferencing and leveraging, big data and network effects, dual pricing and deep discounting dominate their list. The unique characteristics of e-commerce mean the development of antitrust jurisprudence will remain in flux, and the recent spate of antitrust cases globally as well as in India evidences that.

Volume 2 Issue 1 April 2020

In August 2019, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) amended the Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011 (Combination Regulations) to: (i) introduce an automatic approval route for transactions where there is absence of any horizontal, vertical or complementary overlaps between businesses of the parties (Green Channel Route or GCR); and (ii) provide a substantially revised Form I format with incremental queries (Revised Form I).

As COVID-19 continues to induce turbulence in our lives, infrastructure and economies, India continues to show its resilience, strength and unity. However, despite best efforts, our daily lives, working patterns, regulatory and legal structures are constantly facing renewed challenges. However, competition rules continue to apply and thus far, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has not issued any relaxation in any spheres unlike some of its international counterparts.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), in its judgment dated 12 March 2020, has set aside the order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposing a penalty of INR 10,000,000 (Indian Rupees Ten million) on Eli Lilly and Company (Eli Lilly) for not notifying the acquisition of Novartis Animal Health business in India (NAH) (a business division of Novartis India Limited) to the CCI or what is popularly known as ‘gun jumping’.