The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has released a series of notifications on the deal value threshold test for combinations in the market. The new rules state that any combination transaction that exceeds INR20 billion (USD267 million) requires prior approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
The states that sections 6-8, 21-24, 28, 30, 34 and 38 of the , take effect from 10 September 2024.
The CCI must be notified when the company has substantial business operations in India. Another bringing into effect the Competition Commission of India (Combinations) Regulations, 2024, defines substantial business operations in India:
- For digital services, the number of users in India is 10% or more of the global total;
- The gross merchandise value in India for the past 12 months is 10% or more of its total global value, which is more than INR5 million; and
- The turnover for the last financial year is more than 10% of its total turnover from all its operations globally, which is more than INR5 million.
The notification of such transactions must be filed with the CCI using form I of schedule 1 of the regulations. However, where the parties’ combined market share in India is more than 15% (in the same market) or more than 25% (in different markets), the notification is to be made as using form II of the same schedule.
Exemption on what is considered a combination has also been . The notification states that if a company being acquired does not have assets of more than INR4.5 million and turnover of more than INR1.24 billion, this is deemed as not a combination.
