A cross-border merger above the CCI threshold requires a merger filing. A new fintech product requires RBI approval. A telecom service launch requires TRAI licensing. An insurance joint venture requires IRDAI clearance. A foreign investment in a sensitive sector requires FIPB/government approval. And increasingly, the Competition Commission of India is examining not just merger filings but market behaviour — investigating dominant companies for abuse, examining digital platforms for anti-competitive practices, and imposing penalties that are calibrated to global turnover. India's regulatory landscape has never been more consequential or more complex.
Goldschmidt Pallonji's Regulatory & CCI practice is built on the understanding that regulatory engagement is a commercial function, not merely a legal one. The companies that navigate India's regulatory environment most effectively are those whose lawyers understand the commercial imperatives behind every regulatory decision — what the regulator is trying to achieve, what flexibility the framework actually offers, and how regulatory strategy can be used to create competitive advantage rather than merely avoiding penalty.
For international companies entering India, GP's five international corridors provide an additional dimension — understanding how India's regulatory requirements compare to, interact with, and sometimes conflict with the regulatory requirements of the home jurisdiction. An Australian company's India acquisition must navigate both CCI merger control and FIRB (Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board) simultaneously. A Singapore fintech entering India must understand both MAS requirements and RBI licensing. GP bridges these dual regulatory worlds from within a single team.
Competition law, sector regulation, and government approvals — the full regulatory spectrum for Indian and international businesses.
Phase I and Phase II CCI merger filings for transactions above the threshold. Jurisdictional analysis, deal timeline management, remedies negotiation, gun-jumping compliance, and coordination with overseas competition filings in Australia (ACCC), Singapore (CCS), UK (CMA), and GCC jurisdictions. Pre-notification consultation with the CCI where appropriate.
Learn More →Advisory on dominant position, abuse of dominance, anti-competitive agreements, and vertical restraints under the Competition Act. Defence in CCI investigations — response to information filings, DG investigation response, submissions before the CCI, NCLAT appeals. Dawn raid response and leniency applications.
Learn More →RBI licensing and regulatory approvals for banks, NBFCs, payment aggregators, and fintech companies. SEBI registration for intermediaries, asset managers, and investment advisers. IRDAI approvals for insurance companies and brokers. PFRDA registration for pension fund managers. Regulatory interface and ongoing compliance advisory for all supervised financial entities.
Learn More →TRAI licensing, spectrum advisory, interconnection regulations, and broadcasting regulatory compliance. Digital market regulation under India's emerging framework — significant platforms, data protection obligations under DPDP Act, and the intersection of competition law with digital platforms. OTT, gaming, and ed-tech sector regulatory advisory.
Learn More →FDI structuring under automatic and government approval routes across all sectors. DPIIT approval applications for restricted sectors, press note compliance, downstream investment structures, and prior approval requirements for investments from land border countries. Coordination with overseas approvals — FIRB (Australia), MAS (Singapore), DFSA (Dubai) — for dual-regulatory transactions.
Learn More →CERC and SERC tariff regulatory proceedings, power purchase agreements, renewable energy regulatory framework, open access advisory, and transmission licensing. PNGRB regulatory compliance for natural gas pipelines. Infrastructure sector licensing and concession agreement regulatory interface with NHAI, AAI, and port authorities.
Learn More →The Competition (Amendment) Act 2023 introduced significant changes to India's competition law framework — new deal value thresholds (₹2,000Cr) that capture high-value technology acquisitions previously below the CCI radar, a 30-day Phase I review timeline, settlement and commitment mechanisms, and enhanced digital market provisions. Companies that structured transactions to avoid CCI notification under the old thresholds may now be notifiable. GP advises on the new framework and its implications for pending and future transactions.
India's startup ecosystem faces regulatory complexity that is disproportionate to its stage of development — fintech startups need RBI licensing before they can launch, edtech platforms face consumer protection obligations, gaming companies face GST and skill-chance classification disputes, and crypto platforms face PMLA and SEBI overlap. GP's regulatory team provides startup-specific regulatory strategy — getting the licensing right the first time, avoiding the regulatory missteps that have derailed better-funded companies.
A CCI investigation — whether triggered by an information filing from a competitor, a consumer complaint, or the CCI's suo motu action — is one of the most commercially disruptive regulatory events an Indian company can face. The DG investigation, once commenced, has broad information-gathering powers and can last years. GP's response strategy combines regulatory expertise with commercial judgment: ensuring the investigation does not consume more management bandwidth than the underlying conduct warrants, while building the strongest possible substantive defence.
The most common regulatory failure in Indian M&A is treating CCI filing as an administrative step rather than a strategic decision. At GP, our regulatory team assesses every transaction for competition implications before signing — not after. CCI timeline, remedies risk, and multi-jurisdictional filing requirements are factored into deal structure and deal timeline from the term sheet stage. The regulatory analysis does not arrive as a surprise after the deal is announced.
Cross-border transactions requiring CCI notification often simultaneously require competition filings in two or more other jurisdictions. Most Indian law firms coordinate with external international competition counsel — creating timeline risk and strategy inconsistency. GP's international corridors allow us to coordinate the CCI filing strategy with the ACCC, CCS, DFSA/competition, and CMA approach through our own team — ensuring that the positions taken in each jurisdiction are consistent and that no filing creates a liability in another.
The best regulatory advice in India goes beyond telling clients what the regulations require. It tells them how to use the regulatory framework strategically — to accelerate market entry, to delay or block a competitor's regulatory approval, to structure commitments that satisfy the regulator without giving away competitive advantage, and to engage with regulators proactively before they engage with you. GP's regulatory advice is commercially calibrated — because we work alongside M&A, banking, and tax teams on the same transactions and understand what the business is actually trying to achieve.
Complete confidentiality maintained. These matters illustrate the nature of our regulatory and competition practice.
Indian counsel on a cross-border acquisition requiring concurrent CCI (India) and ACCC (Australia) merger filings. Coordinated the two filings to ensure consistent market definition, competitive effects analysis, and remedies proposals across both jurisdictions. Both clearances obtained within the deal timeline with no conditions requiring divestiture.
Advised a major Indian digital platform in a CCI DG investigation into alleged abuse of dominance through preferential listing and self-preferencing. Managed the information production process, prepared the factual and economic response to the DG's preliminary findings, and represented the company before the CCI in the final hearing. CCI issued a narrowly scoped order with significantly reduced penalties from the DG's recommendation.
Advised a Singapore-licensed payment aggregator on its RBI payment aggregator licence application for Indian market entry. Provided dual regulatory advice — ensuring the India application was structured to be consistent with and complementary to the company's MAS licensing in Singapore, avoiding conflicts between the two regulatory regimes that had caused previous applicants' India applications to be rejected.
The practice is led by the Managing Director, with dedicated competition law specialists for CCI merger filings and investigations, sector regulatory specialists for financial, telecom, and energy regulation, and our international corridors team for dual-regulatory advice. The practice works in constant coordination with our M&A team — because competition and regulatory clearance is not a standalone function but an integral part of every significant transaction.
The new ₹2,000Cr deal value threshold, the 30-day Phase I timeline, and the digital market provisions — what has changed and which transactions now require CCI notification that previously did not.
Read Bulletin →How to coordinate CCI and ACCC merger review timelines for India-Australia transactions — jurisdiction analysis, filing sequencing, and consistent market definition across both authorities.
Read Guide →