Centre eases pre-merger filing norms:

Centre eases pre-merger filing norms: (The Hindu)

Context:

• In order to boost mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the center removes 30-day notice rule.

Introduction:

• According to a notification on June 29 by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the government, in public interest has done away with the thirty-day time period to submit an application for pre-merger clearance before the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
• This new provision (exemption from the 30-day time period) will be valid for five years starting June 29, 2017.

Merits:

• Now, the parties can make a CCI application at any time in course of an acquisition.
• The new notification provides the parties with liberty and flexibility to decide at what stage they want to make the CCI filing, depending on the deal parameters and commercial terms.
• This initiative will be beneficiary for multi-jurisdiction transactions where parties may be burdened with regulatory requirements in several jurisdictions and, for which, they need more time to assess the Indian law implications and prepare a comprehensive CCI application.