CCI releases draft regulations to bust cartels
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has released the draft of revised lesser penalty regulations that provides for introduction of a “leniency plus” programme, a new cartel detecting tool, and sheds light on how the competition watchdog intends to operationalise it. The draft lesser penalty regulations 2023 would among other things encourage companies already under investigation for one cartel to report other cartels unknown to the competition regulator. Under the existing leniency (lesser penalty rule) framework, CCI may impose a lesser penalty on a person involved in a cartel if such person has made a full and true disclosure in respect of alleged violations and such disclosure is vital. Under ‘Leniency Plus’, a cartelist who is cooperating with CCI for leniency, can disclose the existence of another cartel in an unrelated market in the course of original leniency proceedings in exchange for an additional reduction in penalty.
Coupled with an increase in overall penalties that the CCI can now levy on global turnover and an attractive settlements & commitments mechanism, the CCI will now have all the tools that are available globally to competition regulators to ensure quick and effective market correction.
