Competition Law In India Research Articles

Competition Law in India: Perspectives

Competition Law in India: Perspectives

Genesis of Competition Law in India

After the advent of Independence in 1947, India, for the better part of half a century thereafter, adopted and followed policies comprising what are known as “Command-and-Control” laws, rules, regulations and executive orders.The Competition law of India, namely, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was one such. It was in 1991 that widespread economic reforms were undertaken and consequently the march from “Command-and-Control” economy to an economy based more on free market principles commenced its stride. As is true of many countries, economic liberalisation has taken root in India and the need for an effective competition regime has also been recognized.In the context of the new economic policy paradigm, India has enacted a new competition law called the Competition Act, 2002 (Act, for brief). The MRTP Act has converted into the new law, Competition Act, 2002. The new law has repealed the extant MRTP Act. This paper, therefore, addresses both the enactments and also outlines the logic behind the development.

Regulation of Combinations Under the Competition Law in India

What is the meaning of the term Combination in regards to the Competition Act, 2002? How combinations can be regulated in terms of powers and authority expressly granted to the CCI? How appreciable adverse effect on competition can be evaluated in regards to combinations? What is the procedure of inquiry as so undertaken by the CCI when market competitiveness of a Combination is evaluated? What is the jurisprudential basis of Section 5 & 6 of the Competition Act, 2002, as also of Section 20(4) read in terms with the Combination Regulations 2011? What are the relevant merger thresholds in practice at present? These are some of the moot questions, which the Researcher attempts to answer in this research paper.

Combating Cartels in India

While the Competition Law is still evolving in India, we often come across Cartelisation across all market sectors - oil, gas, potash, cement and so on. Cartelisation refers to the process of forming Cartels which is a group of independent companies engaged in similar business that join together to fix prices, limit production or share consumers. The Competition Act, 2002, a part of which came into effect in 2009 prohibits “Cartels”. However, this prohibition is not sufficed to put deal with the problems that such cartels pose for the economy and ultimately, the consumers. The paper studies the reasons why the present competition law in India is not adequately competent in dealing with prohibition of cartels and penalising the corporations involved in such unfair trade practices. It further discusses plausible amendments that can be made to the current legislation so as to ensure effective application of the same by way of comparing the competition laws across different nations.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India & Competition Commission of India: Jurisdictional Conflicts

The interface between sector-specific regulation and competition law in India is unique. In the immediate past, the Indian economy has witnessed a massive growth spurt. While the fast-paced development has lifted millions of people up from poverty levels, it has also led to concomitant challenges. India has seen several economic scandals and other crises during the period of economic boom. A significant feature of the Indian economic and legal regime during this period has been a mushrooming of innumerable regulatory authorities. With several regulatory authorities cropping up simultaneously, it is natural that they might end up having overlapping jurisdictions. Therefore, it is critical to appreciate the genesis of the Indian strand of regulatory jurisprudence. The recent controversy regarding the conflict of jurisdiction between Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other sectoral regulators like Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has generated a lot of interest in public. It has been reported that Government is considering ‘clipping the wings’ of CCI. In this work an attempt is made to provide the overview of two regulators of telecom industry which are TRAI and CCI and discussion is done about the conflicting issues between both these regulators. It is also discussed whether telecom industry need both the regulators simultaneously and finally conclude the work with some suggestions.

Competition Commission of India and Consumers’ Welfare: An Analysis

After globalization of economies around the world, markets became more and more competitive. International players also jumped into the field called local or national market of a country. Entry of so many players gives birth to unfair means and malafide practices which leads to unhealthy competition and only big players have chance to win the game. In the pursuit of globalization, India has also responded to opening up its economy, removing controls and resorting to liberalisation. The natural corollary of this is that the Indian market should be geared to face competition from within the country and outside. Hence, the Competition Act, 2002 has been enacted replacing the MRTP Act, 1969, with the purpose of providing a competition law regime that meets and suits the demands of the changed economic scenario in India and abroad. The purpose of formulating a competition law in India was to shift the focus from curbing monopolies to promoting competition. Competition in a market contributes to the progress of an economy because it ensures better products and services, offers wider choice, promotes efficiency and increases consumer welfare. Competition eliminates the poor performing products or services and leaves only good and outstanding products for the general masses to consume. Consumers need good quality products at lower prices. If there is competition in the market, the market players in order to survive will be compelled to bow down to the demands of the consumer, i.e. quality products at lower prices. Competition law, therefore, is designed for the regulation of competition, thereby ensuring economic growth.

'A Barking Dog that Never Bites - Not Really!' - Competition Commission of India and Its Recent Orders

Competition Commission of India (CCI) was established on 14th October, 2003 as the primary enforcement agency of the Competition Act, 2002. The functions of CCI can be broadly categorized into legislative, adjudicatory and advocacy. As far as the adjudicatory functions are concerned, CCI forms part of a three tier hierarchical structure. From 2009, when the adjudicatory functions of the CCI were notified, it has passed a large number of final orders under the Act. An analysis of these orders shows that a vast majority of them were issued under section 26 (2), which empowers the CCI to reject an information at the preliminary stage itself on the finding that no prima facie case was made out. But two recent orders imposing huge penalty on industrial houses stand out and have generated a renewed interest in competition law in India. In the backdrop of these two orders, this article attempts to analyze the new competition jurisprudence emerging in India. Though two years is a short period of time to infer any definite trends, the analysis shows that certain features stand out. These are: development of ‘desi’ competition jurisprudence; carving out an impartial adjudicatory role; and the existence of space for dissent.

Regulations of Combinations by Competition Law in India

Firms seek to grow by acquiring others with objectives such as improving efficiency and achieving economies of scale. Sometimes an enterprise facing closure ('failing firm') could avoid that fate by merging with a more efficient firm. The Indian Competition Act, 2002, also has provisions for regulating mergers – these are known as 'combination's' which include mergers and amalgamations, acquisition and acquisition of control. However, the merger regime is liberal (due to high threshold levels). Sections 5, 6, 20, 30 and 31 of the Indian Competition Act, 2002 are relevant section with regard to combination's. The Competition Act does not seek to eliminate combination's and only aims to eliminate their harmful effects.

Shifting Paradigms, Changing Contexts: Need for a New Competition Law in India

This paper is set against the backdrop of the formulation and adoption of a new, modern competition law in India. The paper argues that, unlike the old enactment, which was enacted way back in 1969, the new competition law is arguably robust and takes care of several consumer protection concerns. The paper analyses the socio-economic background of adoption of the old competition law and compares the older enactment with the new legislation. Besides delineating the need for a new competition law, the paper deals with concomitant changes needed along with competition law and policy in order to sustain high economic growth. In conclusion, the paper notes that, in spite of the passage of half a decade since the new competition law was enacted, it is not yet in force. The paper calls for early implementation of the new competition law so that the avowed purpose of consumer welfare can be achieved.