A Long Arm of Indian Competition Law: Examining the Effectiveness of Extraterritorial Jurisdiction of CCI & the Effects Doctrine

Law

The aim of Competition Act, 2002 (the “Act”) is to prevent any unfair trade practice taking place within India. But the enterprises especially the MNCs have opted a method of involving in unfair trade practices by entering into agreements with foreign companies, thereby causing appreciable adverse effect on competition (AAEC) in India. To address the broader aspect of cross-border anti-competitive practices, the Competition law in India allows the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to exercise its power extraterritorially. Additionally, the Effects Doctrine, as recognized by various countries, provides extra-territorial application of the Act, ensuring to regulate any unfair trade practices taking place within Indian & outside India as well. Despite existing legislative provision, CCI faces challenges in exercising its power over extraterritorial practices. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the CCI’s extraterritorial reach. The paper aims to understand the role of CCI in combating unfair trade practices taking place even outside India & analyzes the long arm of Indian Competition law to foreign countries through Effects Doctrine. Furthermore, the paper seeks to evaluate the efficacy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) that the Indian CCI signs with the Anti-trust authorities from other nations.

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