India: Entry into force with grace period of Competition (Amendment) Bill 2023 including changes to anti-competitive agreements regulation

On 11 April 2023, the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2023, amending the 2002 Competition Act entered into force following its signing into law and publication in the official gazette. The Bill defines anti-competitive agreements as any agreement that could negatively impact market competition, including accords on the production, storage and supply of goods and services. Furthermore, the Bill outlines several criteria for determining the "adverse effect on competition" and notes that the criteria will be applied to agreements between entities involved in similar or different business activities. Finally, the Bill expands the applicability of the regulations to include in the scope of investigations into anti-competitive agreements the parties that facilitated an unlawful agreement and gives the Competition Commission of India (CCI) the power to impose penalties based on global turnovers of firms instead of solely on annual domestic turnover. The Central Government is required to issue a decree specifying the implementation date of the Bill.