Competition Bill: Panel asks for explicit definition of material influence

The parliamentary standing committee on finance in its report has asked the corporate affairs ministry (MCA) to clarify the definition of material influence threshold — which has been introduced in the Competition Amendment Bill to ascertain who has control over an enterprise. 
 

MCA has talked about positive and negative control — the latter is about the ability to block special resolution, which would determine the material influence. The committee has also said intellectual property rights (IPR) should be included as a defence against abuse of dominant position. 
 

“In order to ensure ease of doing business, the Competition Commission of India needs to clarify through guidelines or FAQs as to what amounts and does not amount to control,” said G R