CCI’s antitrust plan: Select staff to view competitor’s confidential info

Experts were divided on the proposal, with some noting that the move was in line with processes in international jurisdictions. Others, however, said the move might lead to further delays as new jurisprudence is developed around confidentiality regulations.

“This is an excellent process and is also how some other jurisdictions are dealing with the sharing of confidential information in antitrust cases. This is also something that the CCI has used in practice in some recent matters, where counsels and a select few officers handling non-commercial roles, usually legal and compliance officers, are able to look at the unredacted version of filings,” said Rudresh Singh, partner at L&L Partners.

Anu Monga, partner at AnantLaw, however, said current regulations on confidentiality under the Competition Act and general regulations were sufficient, and allowed all parties to question the regulator on any orders regarding sharing of confidential information. Monga also said the regulations did not mention what penal action a party could be exposed to if they did not adhere to the CCI’s norms in their self-certified filings. There was no clarity on how the system would deal with any leaks of information from the confidentiality ring to the public, added Monga.