CCI to ink pact with EU' Competition regulator this week

NEW DELHI: Competition Commission of India (CCI) will this week ink a pact with its counterpart in the European Union (EU) to strengthen international cooperation and share information related to fair trade practices.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed between the countries in the forthcoming 'Third BRICS International Competition Conference' to be held in Delhi during November 20-22.

The CCI, which keeps a tab on anti-competitive practices in the country, has already signed similar MoU with its peers in the US, Australia and Russia in the past.

"During these two days we will sign a MoU with EU on competiton laws, competition development and to cooperate and learn from each other," Minister of Corporate Affair Sachin Pilot told reporters here.

He added that the conference being hosted by CCI would enable exchange of ideas on issues and challenges in competition enforcement in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries.

"...this is a good opportunity to showcase what we have learnt so far and it will also help us know what are the expectations from the Indian economy," Pilot said.

During the conference, the fair trade regulators in BRICS countries will sign the 'Delhi Accord' that would show their unanimity in development and cooperation with each other.

Besides, the conference will provide a knowledge sharing platform between BRICS countries and other global competition regulators. As many as 100 foreign delegates from various competition authorities like US and EU are participating.

Asked about the draft National Competition Policy, Pilot said that the consultation with stakeholders is being held and the policy is almost ready for adoption.

"We have a done a lot of work on National Competition Policy...it will require more consultations...there is whole gamut of entities that needed to be consulted but the government is working on it," Pilot said.

Meanwhile, he also said that the government is aiming to bring down the time for CCI to decide on combinations (M&A deals) to 180 days from the present 210 days.