CCI to engage CS, CA, CWA, MBA, Lawyer & Economists specialising in Competition law with good academic record for sound packages

The Competition Commission of India (Procedure for Engagement of Experts and Professionals) Regulations, 2009 ( No1 of 2009) through Notification No R-40007/6/ Reg- Expert/ Noti/ 04- CCI dated 15th May 2009 with an immediate effect.  Let us understand the said regulation.

 

Reg 2(1)(e) –> “expert or professional” for the purpose of these regulations means a person of integrity and outstanding ability having special knowledge of, and experience in, economics, law, business or such other discipline related to competition as the Commission deems necessary to assist it in discharge of its functions under the Act.

 

Reg 5(1) - The experts and professionals to be engaged shall be classified on the basis of their qualifications and experience in the respective fields of specialization and/or the eminence in their professions as given in Schedule I, which lists qualifications such as Company Secretaries (with PMQ- Corporate Governance- Details - Brochure), Chartered Accountants with Post qualification course in International Trade Laws & WTO), Cost Accountants, Post Graduate in Economics (with Ph.d), B.L/LL.B (law graduate specailising in IPR, Competition & Trade Laws), MBA or post graduate diploma in business management (specialising in finance), engineering or medical or sciences with excellent academic record.  It aims at inducting professionals with sound knowledge in Mergers, Amalgamations & such other Corporate Restructuring matters.

 

Reg 5(2) - Subject to Reg 5(1) and depending upon the qualification, specialization and experience in respective disciplines, the experts shall be categorized into four levels as given in Schedule II, which is as follows:

 

Category of expert and professional	Preferred experience in years
Level I	UPTO 3 years
Level II	3 – 5 years
Level III	5 – 10 years
Level IV	10 – 15 years
Level V	15 – 30 years

 

Reg 6 - The remuneration to be paid by the Commission to different categories of experts and professionals shall be in accordance with Schedule III, which is as follows,

Level of expert and professional	Lumpsum monthly remuneration
I	Rs. 30,000 with 10% increase on completion of each year
II	Rs. 50,000 with 10% increase on completion of each year
III	Rs. 75,000 with 10% increase on completion of each year
IV	Rs. 1,00,000 with 10% increase on completion of each year
V	Rs. 1,25,000 with 10% increase on completion of each year

 

The experts and professionals shall ordinarily be engaged by the Commission (CCI) on contractual basis (with Confidentiality clause) for 3 months to 5 years as per Regulation 8 by sending offer letters for engagement by giving a time period of atleast 10 days to accept the offer and thereafter letter of engagement shall be issued by giving a time period of atleast 30 days to join.  CCI has the power, in addition to other remedies, to terminate the engagement as per Regulation 9 and may debar the expert from future engagement of the Commission.

 

As per Regulation 11, in the matter of implementation of these regulations, if any doubt or difficulty arises, the same shall be placed before the Commission and the decision of the Commission (CCI) shall be final.