Naval Satarawala Chopra is a partner in the competition law practice at Amarchand & Mangaldas (New Delhi offices). Naval focuses on contentious cases covering the entire range of competition law, including cases on abuse of dominance, cartel investigations and merger control in India. He regularly represents clients before the Competition Commission of India and the Competition Appellate Tribunal and is a frequent commentator on competition law issues in India. Prior to joining Amarchand & Mangaldas, Naval was an associate at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, in London for over four years. Naval is qualified to practice in New York, England & Wales and India. He holds an LL.B. from ILS Law College, Pune, and an LL.M. from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
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In a welcome move, on 13 August 2019, amendments to the Combination Regulations were published in The Gazette of India. With effect from 15 August 2019 (India’s Independence Day), parties to notifiable acquisitions, mergers and amalgamations (collectively referred to as “combinations”) will, if (...)
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In a case with important implications for the budget hotel sector, the CCI rejected at prima facie stage a complaint by RKG Hospitality, a hotelier, that Oravel Stays (OYO), which provides budget accommodation through online booking, had abused its dominant position by imposing one-sided, (...)
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The CCI rejected at prima facie stage a complaint by the Indian Chemical Council (ICC) that a leading reinsurer, the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), had abused its dominant position. The ICC alleged that GIC was, with its very high market share, dominant in the overall (...)
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The CCI rejected at prima facie stage a complaint by Unilazer Ventures (Unilazer), a film content creation company, that a number of multiplex cinema operators and their association had colluded in relation to the imposition of a Virtual Print Fee (VPF), revenue sharing arrangements, delays in (...)
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In April 2019, a Division Bench of the High Court of Delhi had declared two provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 unconstitutional and void. All other provisions of the Competition Act were held to be valid subject to a number of orders including that “the Central Government shall take (...)
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In a case against the Jalgaon District Medicine Dealers Association (Association), the CCI found that the Association had collected Product Information Service (PIS) charges from manufacturers of pharmaceutical products. The CCI found that payment of the PIS charges was mandatory and, (...)
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The CCI cleared the acquisition by Kedaara Capital Fund (Kedaara), a private equity fund, of an approximately 7.98% stake in Ajax Engineering (Ajax), a manufacturer of concreting equipment. Since there were no horizontal overlaps or vertical relationships, the CCI concluded that the proposed (...)
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The CCI closed at prima facie stage a case against Vivo Mobile (Vivo), a supplier of mobile handsets, finding that its distribution arrangements raised no concerns under Section 3(4) of the Competition Act which prohibits vertical agreements with an appreciable adverse effect on competition (...)
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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) found that two chemist associations and two pharmaceutical companies had engaged in a system of no-objection certificates (NOC) under which the associations prescribed which stockist could stock a company’s products.1 The associations and certain of (...)
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India Competition Law Roundup : June 2019 The Competition Commission of India (CCI) found that two chemist associations and two pharmaceutical companies had engaged in a system of no-objection certificates (NOC) under which the associations prescribed which stockist could stock a company’s (...)
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The CCI cleared the proposal by GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer to combine their global consumer healthcare businesses into a joint venture. The CCI considered overlaps in three product segments ; non-narcotics/anti-pyretics, antacids/anti-flatulents and calcium preparations. In all three segments (...)
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The CCI cleared the proposed acquisition of the electrical and automation business of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) by Schneider Electric and MacRitchie Investments (the Acquirers) on foot of a package of behavioural remedies proposed by the Acquirers. After a lengthy investigation, the CCI (...)
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Following a complaint made by a number of users of smartphones using the Android operating system, the CCI prima facie found that Google was dominant in the market for licensable smart mobile device operating systems in India and had abused its dominant position by requiring device (...)
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On 6 November 2018, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found that four manufacturers/traders of flashlights and their trade association (the Opposite Parties) were not involved in cartelisation as, despite an information exchange, there was not enough corroborating evidence to suggest a (...)
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In an order dated 14 June 2018, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved Bayer AG’s (Bayer) acquisition of Monsanto Company (Monsanto) (together, the Parties) subject to certain modifications. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. represented Monsanto and assisted in seeking the CCI’s (...)
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On 10 May 2017, the Supreme Court of India published its judgment dated 8 May 2017 in Excel Crop Care Ltd. v. Competition Commission of India & Anr . This judgment deals with important issues on the applicability of the Competition Act, 2002 (Competition Act) to conduct prior to its coming (...)
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Introduction The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in the first ever decision involving leniency in a cartel case (Suo Moto Case No. 03 of 2014 – In Re : Cartelization in respect of tenders floated by Indian Railways for supply of Brushless DC Fans and other electrical items), published on (...)
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The Indian merger control regime under the Competition Act, 2002 (Competition Act) has been in force for nearly five years. The provisions of the Competition Act are to be read together with the notifications issued, from time to time, by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India (...)
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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has recently imposed a penalty of INR 5 crores (approximately USD 750,000) on GE for its failure to notify the proposed acquisition of Alstom companies within 30 days of the trigger date. The penalty imposed on GE is the highest penalty for late filing (...)
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The Indian merger control regime under the Competition Act, 2002 has been in force for nearly five years. In addition to the statutory provisions, the Combination Regulations were introduced by the Competition Commission of India in 2011 . These Regulations contain detailed rules on (...)
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SUMMARY In tendering to the Food Corporation of India, three manufacturers of Aluminium Phosphide Tablets were found to have quoted the same rates, to have reduced rates by the same margin in negotiations, and to have collectively abstained from bidding. The CCI fined the parties 9% of average (...)
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The Curious Case of Compulsory Licensing in India* In a move that has alarmed the pharmaceutical industry, in March 2012 the Indian Patents Office granted its first compulsory licence, for the manufacture and sale of Bayer’s patented drug Nexavar, in Natco Pharma Limited v Bayer Corporation (...)
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