NAVIGATING INDIA’S EVOLVING MERGER CONTROL LANDSCAPE: ANALYZING THE EVOLUTION OF MERGER CONTROL AND ITS REGULATORY IMPACT

AUTHOR – SARA CHARAN, STUDENT AT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW AND LEGAL STUDIES

BEST CITATION – SARA CHARAN, NAVIGATING INDIA’S EVOLVING MERGER CONTROL LANDSCAPE: ANALYZING THE EVOLUTION OF MERGER CONTROL AND ITS REGULATORY IMPACT, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (13) OF 2025, PG. 649-656, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344

Abstract

The Competition Commission of India was established in the year 2003 as a critical regulatory body for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002, aimed at controlling anti-competitive practices, especially in mergers and acquisitions. This paper discusses the development of India’s merger control regime, with a focus on recent amendments that have brought significant changes aimed at enhancing regulatory efficiency and responding to the emerging dynamics of the market. It introduces, inter alia, a deal value threshold and a substantial business operations test to capture high-value transactions from the technological vertical, which were otherwise escaping scrutiny under traditional asset and turnover metrics. The study thus looks at the tightrope walk that the CCI has to do in balancing the facilitation of business operations with the preservation of competitive integrity in the market. It also discusses the streamlined timelines for CCI review, which, although statutorily shortened, may not necessarily result in quicker times due to the procedural complexities inherent in the process. It examines the formalization of exemptions regarding ordinary course and investment-based transactions, offering greater predictability and clearer guidelines for businesses. Taken together, these reforms reflect a transformation of the Indian Merger Control Regime in a progressive direction towards international best practices, while also addressing public interest and market competition. The findings highlight the need for businesses to actively adapt to these regulatory changes in order to navigate the evolving landscape effectively.

Keywords:  Competition Commission of India, Deal Value Threshold, Substantial Business Operations in India, De Minimis Exemption, Regulatory Amendments, Appreciable Adverse Effects on Competition, Green Channel Approval, and Exemptions