The framework of agreement and commitment has been guided by the best international practices of the EU, the United States and Singapore | Photo credit: chairmpoj pimpisarn
Since its inception, it generally has tasks of approximately three years for the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to conclude consultations in anti -competitive behavior cases. Last year, to reduce the load, and to achieve the completion of the cases, the CCI introduced the liquidation and commitment framework (S&C) for cases of application of the law without brief. A year since his introduction, India witnessed his first decision of ‘Agreement’ on April 21, 2025, in the case of Google TV Android, without decisions of ‘commitment’ so far.
The S&C frame allows the investigated part to offer and negotiate a solution to the issue of the Competition Law. If accepted, the CCI investigation will be closed (since no appeal is allowed for an order of commitment or liquidation). This framework was adopted after the Competition Law Review Committee (an established committee to review and recommend changes to the Competition Law, 2002).
The S&C frame encourages the parties to approach the CCI before with a solution. There is no penalty in case CCI’s investigation is closed through a commitment. An agreement offers a fixed discount of 15 percent penalty, calculated after considering the mitigation and agra dation factors. However, the NCLAT can grant compensation in cases of liquidation.
This framework has been guided by the EU international best practices, the United States and Singapore. Now it agrees globally that such efficient alternatives are preferable to prolonged application. In the United States, settlements were introduced in the 1990s, and the success of this framework is obvious; Approximately three quarters of their competition cases have been resolved.
Special in technical digital markets, as in other jurisdictions, the CCI must also provide comments and allow exchanges with the parties that allow the issue to adapt its comments and settlements to relieve CCIS concerns.
Alternative tools
Part of the success of CCIS also expresses its ability to sacrifice alternative tools for faster repair. The S&C frame is also aligned with the general tendency to resolve disputes in India, where the resolution of alternative disputes to reduce the loading of litigation and the facilitation of timely justice is preferred. This marks a paradigm shift in the CCI approach to the application of the No Beatel law. The CCI is moving away from an adversary approach to a more collaborative and trust -based one.
It is worth drawing an analogy with the existing merger control framework in India. Initially, in merging control, the CCI could ask the parties to deflate or adopt behavioral remedies once it formed a preliminary opinion that the transaction under review could have anticompetitive effects on Indian markets.
To facilitate faster approvals, the CCI introduced a system where both the CCI and the parties can propose remedies or modifications before the CCI forms a preliminary opinion. This allows the CCI to address the competition refers to the mood of the transaction, while providing rapid approvals.
This process is an advisory mechanism based on trust. It is not surprising that, of the 1,254 combination notifications received by the CCI as of March 2025, 1,233 the CCI has already decided, which reaches an excessive elimination rate of 98 percent. Of the 1,233, in 30 cases, the CCI has been able to negotiate remedies with parts, as a result of which, not a single transaction has blocked by the IC so far.
The CCI can adopt the same cooperative approach based on confidence in the S&C framework. It will be interesting to see if the first liquidation decision incites more parties to resolve cases in the future. The open dialogues where the parties get involved with the regulator and negotiate solutions considering trade goods will be welcome. Responsibility is also at parties to present themselves with the appropriate remedies. This improves predictability, since CCI orders on settlements and commitments will increase transparency in acceptable types of remedies.
Writers are respectively, partners, lawyers and associated with the practice of competence in Trilegal. The opinions expressed are personal
Posted on May 13, 2025