India’s competition law prohibits anti-competitive agreements (including cartels) and abuse of dominant positions vide the Competition Act, 2002. It regulates merger control transactions or combinations of enterprises which makes it difficult for the small players to enter the market. The hefty fines, prosecution and damages likely to be levied by the Appellate Tribunal, constituted under the law (at the initiation of third parties) can potentially imply dire consequences impacting reputation and sustainability of enterprises. Financial thresholds, under the Competition Act, require detailed information on worldwide turnover and assets and seem complicated to analyse, in practice.
With rise in the number of start-ups in India the knowledge and compliance with the Competition Laws is the need of the hour. Failure by any company to adhere to the competition laws can result in unwanted litigation by any budding start-up and that may cause unbearable burden on the start-up. We assist our clients on various laws pertaining to competition and anti-trust including merger control, restrictive practices, market dominance and cartel investigations. We regularly represent our clients before the Competition Commission of India and are actively involved in advising on issues in a range of commercial transactions. We also run bespoke competition compliance programs for our clients that are specifically designed to meet industry requirements.
Our team is well experienced and equipped to handle complexities involved in the litigation involving competition laws at all levels and before the respective adjudicating authorities, tribunals and courts.
