Competition Act, PMLA, Benami Law and Foreign Trade Policy — Practice

Question 1

What deal-value threshold did the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023 add, and from what date is it effective?

Accepted Answer

Rs. 2,000 crore, effective from 10 September 2024.

Question 2

Which agency receives suspicious-transaction reports from PMLA reporting entities?

Accepted Answer

The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND).

Question 3

Which authority administers India's Foreign Trade Policy?

Accepted Answer

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Question 4

State the current penalty for entering a benami transaction under the 2016-amended Act.

Accepted Answer

Rigorous imprisonment of 1 to 7 years, together with a fine of up to 25% of the property's fair market value.

Question 5

Sequence the five stages of the Benami Act's enforcement machinery from initial attachment to appeal.

Accepted Answer

Initiating Officer (provisional attachment) -> Approving Authority (reviews the attachment) -> Adjudicating Authority (final determination of benami status) -> confiscation of confirmed benami property -> Administrator (manages confiscated property), with an Appellate Tribunal available to hear appeals against the Adjudicating Authority's order.

Question 6

Explain why money laundering is described as a 'continuing offence' under Indian case law.

Accepted Answer

Courts have held that the offence is treated as ongoing for as long as the tainted property continues to be possessed, concealed or enjoyed, rather than being complete at the single moment of the original tainted transaction — meaning liability can attach to conduct occurring well after the original transaction.

Question 7

Explain the policy gap the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023's deal-value threshold was specifically designed to close, using a technology-acquisition example.

Accepted Answer

Before the amendment, combination notification turned solely on the parties' asset and turnover figures. A target with high strategic or market value but comparatively low current assets or turnover — typical of many digital and technology start-up acquisitions — could complete a large-value deal without CCI scrutiny, since it would not cross the traditional thresholds. The Rs. 2,000 crore deal-value threshold closes this gap by making a transaction notifiable purely on deal value, independent of the target's current asset/turnover profile.

Question 8

An exporter wants to both import machinery duty-free for its factory and import raw materials duty-free for the specific export order. Identify the two applicable schemes and explain why a single scheme cannot cover both needs.

Accepted Answer

The EPCG Scheme covers the duty-free import of capital goods (machinery) used in production, against an export obligation, with the authorisation valid 24 months from issue. The Advance Authorisation Scheme separately covers duty-free import of inputs physically incorporated into the specific export product. These are two distinct schemes with different subject matter (capital goods versus incorporated inputs) and different conditions, so a single scheme cannot cover both needs — the exporter must use each scheme for its respective purpose.

Practice — Competition Act, PMLA, Benami Law and Foreign Trade Policy

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