Alerted by the rising disapproval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the Government has stated that CCI will approve 90% of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals within two months as against 210 days allowed in the Act.

A senior Corporate Affairs Ministry official stated, “We are determined to address the concerns of the industry regarding possible delays in clearing of M&A deals by the Competition Commission. We’ll ensure that about 90 per cent of the deals are cleared within two months.”

He also said that only in 5-10% of the cases, CCI would need extra time to examine the anti-competitive practices in the larger economic interests of the country.

Previously, the industry chambers showed worries that the new readjustments to the Competition Act would hinder M&As.

The new Act makes it compulsory for companies to ask for prior authorization from regulative authorities before entering for any M&A that can take up to seven months.

The representative also revealed that the administration could also launch a threshold limit, of Rs 1,000-3,000 crore turnover, where the transaction would get sanction within 30 days.