The Government, vide notification dated 08.01.2013 has already exempted a banking company in respect of which a notification under section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 has been issued for its amalgamation with any other banking institution, from the provisions of section 5 and 6 of the Competition Act, 2002. Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Shri Sachin Pilot, Minister for Corporate Affairs, said that these provisions deal with jurisdiction of Competition Commission to regulate acquisition, amalgamation and mergers. He further informed the House that the amalgamation of Global Trust Bank with Oriental Bank of Commerce took place with effect from 14th August, 2004 when section 5 and 6 of the Competition Act dealing with acquisition, amalgamation and mergers were not in force. These sections have come into force only from 01st June, 2011.

Exemption from Competition Act: banks notified for amalgamation exempted from merger jurisdiction under competition law. The Government has exempted a banking company notified for amalgamation under the Banking Regulation framework from the application of sections 5 and 6 of the Competition Act, which confer merger-control jurisdiction on the Competition Commission. The exemption removes those merger-control provisions for banks in the specified amalgamation context, and the Global Trust Bank-Oriental Bank of Commerce amalgamation occurred before those Competition Act provisions were in force.