Sweeter carrots, same stick: transplanting leniency plus into Indian competition law

ABSTRACT As a modification on the general system of cartel leniency, leniency plus allows a cartelist who failed to secure complete immunity under the general leniency programme to obtain further reduction in sanctions in exchange of information regarding the operation of another anticompetitive agreement. Leniency plus originated in the US and has since been transplanted into various jurisdictions with a variety of modifications. Recently, the Indian government proposed the introduction of leniency plus into the Indian competition law framework with a view to to enhancing the efficiency of the Indian cartel leniency programme. This paper argues that the transplantation of leniency plus into the Indian competition regime might not yield the desired benefits, and might be counterproductive. It goes on to propose an increase in individual sanctions and introduction of clear guidelines as more apt remedies to help the Indian leniency regime.