Competition law exemption: banking company notified under banking law exempted from Sections 5 and 6 of Competition Act.
Central Government grants a targeted, time bound exemption in the public interest to a banking company notified under the national banking regulatory regime, removing application of Sections 5 and 6 of the Competition Act to that company and limiting the relief to a fixed five year period from publication in the Official Gazette.

Director General report content requirement clarified: report must present findings with evidentiary materials gathered during investigation.
The amendment to regulation 20(4) of the Competition Commission of India (General) Regulations, 2009 requires the Director General's report to contain his findings together with all evidences, documents, statements or analyses collected during the investigation, replacing the prior requirement to state findings on each allegation in the information or reference.

Informant identity disclosure and confidentiality rules tightened, with hearing rights and fixed timelines for confidential treatment.
Amendments require informants to disclose details of any litigation or dispute related to the information. The Commission may disclose an informant's identity when expedient for the Act after giving the informant an opportunity to be heard, and confidential treatment requests must be addressed within thirty days of the Director General's order. A substituted regulation establishes a tiered fee schedule for submissions under section 19(1)(a), differentiating fees by class of informant and by turnover bands for firms and companies, with a residual fee for other cases.

Merger filing fees increased as prescribed combination filing charges are raised under competition procedure rules.
The amendment substitutes the amounts in regulation 11, clauses (a) and (b), increasing the prescribed filing fees for combinations by replacing the prior specified sums with higher fixed sums; the change is effected under the Competition Act authority and comes into force on publication in the Official Gazette.

Member appointment under Competition Act confirms tenure limits and rule-governed service conditions with statutory safeguards.
The Central Government appointed a Member of the Competition Commission of India under section 8(1) read with section 10(1) of the Competition Act, 2002, for a term of five years subject to earlier cessation upon attaining age 65 years or until further orders; the appointee's terms and conditions of service are governed by the Competition Commission of India (Salary, Allowances and other Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and other Members) Rules, 2003.

Green Channel approval for eligible combinations via certified Form I filing permits deemed clearance, subject to verification and voidance.
A voluntary Green Channel allows parties listed in Schedule III to file Form I with a Schedule IV declaration and obtain deemed approval on acknowledgement, subject to the Commission voiding such approval if the combination falls outside Schedule III or the declaration is incorrect after affording an opportunity to be heard. The amendment also replaces Form I with expanded disclosure requirements, limits the public summary to 1000 non-confidential words, and prescribes Schedule III and IV criteria and attachments.

Appointment of Member: Member appointed to Competition Commission under Competition Act for fixed tenure subject to age limit and service rules.
The Central Government appointed Ms. Sangeeta Verma as a Member of the Competition Commission of India under the Competition Act, effective from the stated date, to serve for the prescribed tenure or until attainment of the statutory age limit or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Her remuneration, allowances and other terms and conditions of service are governed by the Competition Commission of India (Salary, Allowances and other Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and other Members) Rules, 2003.

Appointment of Chairperson: Central Government appointed Ashok Kumar Gupta to lead Competition Commission of India with fixed tenure.
Central Government appointed Shri Ashok Kumar Gupta as Chairperson of the Competition Commission of India effective 12th November, 2018 under powers in section 8(1) read with section 10(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 by notification S.O. 28(E). His service is to continue until 25th October, 2022 (the date he attains age sixty five) or until further orders, and his terms and conditions of service are governed by the Competition Commission of India (Salary, Allowances and other Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and other Members) Rules, 2003.

Legal representation during DG summons: advocates may accompany summoned persons under strict procedural limits and misconduct sanctions.
Regulation 46A permits an Advocate to accompany a person summoned by the Director General only upon prior written request with a Vakalatnama or Power of Attorney, and subjects the Advocate to restrictions on proximity and communication during the person's examination; misconduct may be reported by the DG to the Commission, which may debar the Advocate and direct referral of a complaint to the relevant State Bar Council.

Combination procedure amendments permit withdrawal and refiling of notices and allow excluded time for evaluating offered modifications.
Amendments substitute the Companies Act, 2013 reference, convert specified timeframes to working days, create a withdrawal and refiling mechanism allowing fee adjustment for refiling within a limited interval, permit parties to offer post filing modifications with a limited additional evaluation period excluded from statutory deadlines, and empower the Commission to appoint agencies to supervise implementation of modifications.

Selection Committee term extension expands the allowable timeframe for preparing the panel of names under competition rules.
The amendment replaces the specified timeframe in rule 4(3) of the Competition Commission of India (Term of the Selection Committee and the manner of selection of panel of names) Rules, 2008, extending the period allowed for the Selection Committee to complete its process and prepare the panel of names. It is issued by the Central Government under the Competition Act and comes into force on its publication in the Official Gazette.

Selection Committee term extended to lengthen panel selection period under the Competition Act, amending timing for selection.
The amendment extends the timeframe in rule 4(3) of the 2008 Selection Committee rules, lengthening the period within which the Selection Committee must complete preparation of the panel of names; the change is made under the Competition Act and comes into force on publication in the Official Gazette.

Exemption of vessel sharing agreements from competition prohibition allows monitored liner shipping cooperation subject to withdrawal on anti-competitive complaints.
Exemption of Vessel Sharing Agreements from the prohibition in section 3 is granted for a limited period for carriers of all nationalities operating from Indian ports, subject to withdrawal if complaints of price fixing, capacity limitation, or market/customer allocation arise. The Director General, Shipping will monitor operations and submit annual reports. Operators must file copies of existing or new vessel sharing agreements and any other documents specified by the Director General within thirty days of publication or ten days of signing, whichever is later.

Remuneration adjustment for Competition Commission members enacted, raising prescribed salary and applying from early 2016.
The amendment increases the salary specified in rule 3 of the principal rules by substituting the earlier figure with a higher figure, pursuant to the rule making power under the Competition Act, and declares the change effective from 1 January 2016, amending the terms of service for the Chairperson and other Members of the Competition Commission of India.

Combination exemption for CPSEs in oil and gas removes sections five and six application for a limited period
The Central Government uses its power under clause (a) of Section 54 of the Competition Act, 2002 to exempt all combinations involving CPSEs operating under the Petroleum Act, 1934 and the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948, including their wholly or partly owned subsidiaries in the oil and gas sector, from the application of the statutory provisions governing combinations for a limited period from publication in the Official Gazette.

Competition exemption for bank reorganisations excludes sections five and six, effective for a ten-year period.
Central Government exempts reconstitution, transfer (whole or part) and amalgamation of nationalized banks under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Acts, 1970 and 1980, from the application of Sections 5 and 6 of the Competition Act, 2002. The exemption is granted under clause (a) of Section 54 of the Competition Act and is effective for ten years from the notification's publication in the Official Gazette.

Competition law exemption for notified regional rural banks suspends application of anticompetitive provisions for a temporary period.
The Central Government, under clause (a) of section 54 of the Competition Act, 2002, exempts Regional Rural Banks notified under sub-section (1) of section 23A of the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 from the application of the provisions of sections 5 and 6 of the Competition Act, by ministerial notification in the public interest for a temporary period from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Lesser penalty framework updated to allow full reduction for first vital disclosure and tiered reductions for subsequent disclosures.
The regulations establish a tiered lesser-penalty mechanism: first applicants who make a vital disclosure backed by evidence enabling a prima-facie view, or establishing contravention where the Commission lacks sufficient evidence, may receive reduction up to one hundred percent; subsequent applicants providing "added value" evidence may receive reduced penalties, with second-in-priority applicants eligible for up to fifty percent reduction and third-or-subsequent applicants up to thirty percent. Applicants who are enterprises must name individuals involved for whom lesser penalty is sought.

Exemption from merger notification delays filing obligation under Section 6, subject to Section 6(2A) and Section 43A.
Exemption under Section 54(a) relieves every person or enterprise party to a combination under Section 5 from the requirement to give notice within the period specified in Section 6(2), subject to the provisions of Section 6(2A) and Section 43A; the exemption is time limited from the date of its publication and was subsequently amended by notification.

Vessels sharing agreement exemption allows liner carriers relief from competition prohibition subject to no price fixing and monitoring requirements.
The Central Government exempts Vessels Sharing Agreements in the liner shipping industry from the Competition Act prohibition for a one year period from 20th June 2017 provided the agreements do not include price fixing, capacity limitation or sales restriction, or allocation of markets or customers; the Director General, Shipping will monitor such agreements and persons responsible for ship operations in India must file copies of existing or new agreements and related documents with the Director General, Shipping within the prescribed timeframes.