Gun jumping in India: lessons from Competition Commission of India’s enforcement activities

Abstract

This article discusses the jurisprudential practice of the Competition Commission of India (CCI/‘Commission’) when it comes to the issue of gun-jumping. Although the Indian merger control regime has only been in effect for half a decade, the CCI has found the parties guilty of violating the standstill obligation imposed by India’s competition law. These decisions have clarified the Commission’s view with respect to issues such as the target exemption, trigger document, interconnected transactions, and control and penalty imposition. This article also compares the Indian experience to the decisions of more mature competition law institutions such as the European Commission/General Court/European Court of Justice (ECJ), where necessary, to compare their approaches.