EU and India sign cooperation agreement in the field of competition law

• United Kingdom

• Competition, EU and Trade - Competition e-briefings

28-11-2013

On 21 November 2013 the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission (“DG COMP”) and the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) to improve cooperation between the two competition authorities.

Under the MoU, the DG COMP and CCI have agreed to exchange non-confidential information on competition policy / legislation and enforcement, multilateral competition initiatives, competition advocacy and technical cooperation in relation to competition law enforcement.

The framework under the MoU also allows one competition authority to request the other authority to carry out enforcement activity in its territory under its applicable competition law, if the requesting competition authority believes that anti-competitive actions are being carried out in the territory of the other. The MoU also provides a mechanism by which the two authorities can avoid conflicts of their respective enforcement activities.

Please click here to read the DG COMP’s announcement.

Comment

The Indian competition regime is relatively new and still in its nascent stage. The Indian Competition Act entered into force in 2007 and the same year the CCI became operational.

The MoU is an important step in improving dialogue and understanding of competition law and practice between India and the EU. Cooperation agreements between the CCI and mature competition authorities, such as the DG COMP, also provides the CCI with access to best practices and resources of an advanced competition regime, which can play a significant role in the development and enforcement of competition law in India.