Law Project

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MRTP Act: Rise, Fall and Need for Change:

Eco-Legal Analysis
INTRODUCTION

The Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969, was enacted
1. To ensure that the operation of the economic system does not result
in the concentration of economic power in hands of few,
2. To provide for the control of monopolies, and
3. To prohibit monopolistic and restrictive trade practices.
The MRTP Act extends to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir.

Overview of Topic

India, in its formative years of freedom, laid down the seeds of socialistic
approach towards economic development. Five-year plans were designed
with the aim of self-rebalance and self-sufficiency of the Indian industry
and in this process of indignity, focus was laid on strong governmental
regime to ensure equal and prosperous distribution of resources. One
such attempt of the state resulted in the enactment of the MRTP Act,
1969 with the basic aim of comprehensive control over direction, pattern
and quantum of investment to ensure that wealth is not concentrated in
the hands of the few.
However, with the emergence of the new Industrial Policy statement of
1980, a need was felt for promoting competition in domestic market,
technological up gradation and modernization which was then followed by
the massive New Policy Reforms of 1991 which emphasized attainment of
technological dynamism and international competitiveness, by opening up
the Indian economy to foreign investment. This could not be met by the
Indian industry since it was not in competitive terms with the rest of the
world and operated in an over-regulated environment. Hence, as was
concluded in the Raghavan Committee Report, 2000 changes were sought
in the competition policies of India and thus, the MRTP Act was laid to
rest.
This project will trace the performance of the MRTP and point out the
faults that led to its failure and thus its repeal by the Competition Act.

Objective of Project

This project is aimed at advocating and analysing the performance of the

Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practice Act, 1969 (henceforth, MRTP
Act) in the Economic-Legal aspect. The project will primarily analyse the
performance of the MRTP Act over the various Industrial development
phases (From 1951 to post-1991 Reforms) and then try to establish how
and why it paved the way for Competition Act, 2002.
Thus, the basic aim is to establish the reasons for the failure of the MRTP
and the subsequent reasons for the establishment of the Competition Act.

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MRTP: WHY IT WAS ENACTED

Post-Independence: Socialistic Industrial Regime Structure

In the years preceding the enactment of the MRTP Act, 1969, India had
only been a free nation for a little more than 15 years. Following
independence, it had laid down the formative structure of its governance
and organization on the touchstone of socialism. The socialist approach
was inherent in the functioning of the government as it preached social
and economic equality, which was later adopted in the Preamble to the
Constitution of India [2] by the 42nd Amendment. In this process, the
concept of planned economic development started since the early 1950s.
However, this approach did not yield the desired result of socio or
economic equality. The initial industrial licensing policies had not borne
the planned results- instead, the market and the industries were showing
negative trends and wealth was getting concentrated in the hands of the
few. This was observed by the Hazari Committee in its 1967 Report on
Industrial Planning and Licensing Procedure, 1955 where it found that
working of the licensing system had resulted in disproportionate growth of
some big industrial house.
Similarly, the Mahalanobis Committee Report (1964) on Distribution and
Level of Income reported that the top 10% of the population cornered
40% of the income while the 20 of the largest firms in India owned 38%
of the total built up capital of the private sector.

Emergence of MRTP

The previous industrial policies had clearly not worked in the direction the
state had hoped for since, post independence many new and big firms
had entered the Indian market and they had little competition and thus,
were trying to monopolize the market.
Hence the need for a stricter policy regime was realised to safeguard the
welfare of the consumers by removing barriers to competition in the
Indian economy, and this resulted in the enactment of the MRTP Act, 1969
which came into force in June 1970. The primary objectives of the Act
were listed down in the Preamble as follows:
i) Regulate the concentration of economic power to the common
detriment,
ii) Control monopolies and monopolistic trade practices,
iii) Prohibit restrictive trade practices, and
iv) Regulate unfair trade practices.

Primary Concepts

To understand the objectives of the MRTP and for the understanding of

this project, we will first proceed to discuss the primary concepts related
to the project topic:
1) Monopolistic Trade Practices
Section 2(i) of the MRTP Act, 1969 defines Monopolistic Trade Practice as
trade practices that have the effect of preventing or lessening competition

in the production, supply or distribution

of any goods or in the supply of
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any services- by misusing ones power to use the market conditions, in
terms of production and sales of goods and services, and thus abuse its
market position- are called monopolistic trade practices.
Firms involved in monopolistic trade practice try to eliminate competition
from the market by taking advantage of their monopoly and charge
unreasonably high prices. This in effect leads to deterioration in the
product quality and limits technical development. Thus, such practices are
anti-consumer-welfare.
2) Restrictive Trade Practices
Activities that firms indulge in that tend to block the flow of capital into
production, in order to maximize their own profits and to gain control over
the market- such activities are termed as Restrictive Trade Practices. Such
firms also control conditions of delivery to affect the flow of supplies
leading to unjustified costs of production and distribution- while
establishing their monopoly in the market.
3) Unfair Trade Practices
Section 36-A of the MRTP Act, 1969 which was inserted on the
recommendation of the Sachar Committee Report, laid down as to what
may be termed as Unfair Trade Practices:
i)
False representation and misleading advertisement of goods and
services.
ii)
Misleading representation regarding utility, quality and standard
of goods and services.
iii)
Giving false guarantee or warranty on goods and services
without adequate tests.
iv)
False claims or representation regarding price of goods and
services.
v)
Giving false facts regarding sponsorship, affiliation etc. of goods
and services.
vi)
Making false or misleading representations of facts.

Doctrine of the Act

The MRTP Act, 1969 had its origin in the Directive Principles of State
Policy embodied in the Constitution of India. Article 39[(b) and (c)] of the
Constitution lay down that the State shall direct its policy towards
ensuring:
(i) that the ownership and control of material resources of the community
are so distributed as to best serve the common good; and
(ii) That the operation of the economic system does not result in the
concentration of wealth and means of production to the common
detriment.
Thus, the doctrine behind the MRTP Act, 1969 was based on the concept
of planned economic development that had started since early 1950s. The
Public Sector Industrial (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951 and
Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 together commanded
a comprehensive control over direction, pattern and quantum of
investment. However, despite such control that the state exercised
through these Acts, these did not entirely benefit the consumers rather,

these complex network of controls and regulations fettered the freedom

of the enterprises and yielded negative
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FUNCTIONING AND PERFORMANCE: THE MRTP

COMMISSION
Functions

The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC), a

quasi- judicial body, was established under Section 5 of the MRTP Act,
1969 to take up action against companies that indulged in monopolistic
and unfair trade activities. It discharged functions as per the provisions of
the Act.
The main functions of the MRTP Commission being:
To enquire into and take appropriate action in respect of unfair trade
practices and restrictive trade practices.
In regard to monopolistic trade practices, to enquire into such practices:
Upon a reference made to it by the Central Government, or
Upon its own knowledge or information;
Submit its findings to Central Government for further action.
The Office of the Director General of Investigation & Registration was
created in the year 1984 to perform certain statutory functions and duties
under the MRTP Act, 1969 so as to subserve its objective to protect the
interests of the consumers in the [Link] Act was amended from time
to time and major amendments took place in the years 1984 and 1991
and these reforms shall be discussed later in this project.

Mechanism
The working of the MRTP Commission can be put down in the following
steps:
1) As discussed above, the MRTP Commission was empowered under
section 10 of the Act to take either suo motu action or action upon
reference by the government, against companies that were deemed to be
adopting restrictive, monopolistic or unfair practices.
2) All such trade practices were considered to be prejudicial to public
interest. Hence, the onus was on the entity, body or undertaking charged
with the perpetration of such trade practices, to plead under the MRTP Act
to avoid being indicted.
3) If the pleadings were satisfactory to the Commission and if it was
further satisfied that the restriction is not unreasonable, the Commission
would arrive at the conclusion that the trade practice is not prejudicial to
public interest and discharge the enquiry against the charged
party. Furthermore, if a trade practice was expressly authorised by any
law for the time being in force, the Commission was barred from passing
any order against the charged party.
4) Otherwise, if the Commission deemed it to be fit, it could either:
a) Give temporary injunction, or
b) Award compensation.

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CASES UNDER MRTP ACT

A) Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd vs. M.R.T.P. Commission & Ors on
20 November, 2002
Author: S.B. Sinha
Bench: S Sinha.
CASE NO.: Appeal (civil) 891 of 1993
PETITIONER: Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd.
RESPONDENT: M.R.T.P. Commission & Ors.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 20/11/2002
BENCH: CJI. & [Link].
JUDGMENT: JUDGMENT WITH CIVIL APPEAL NOS.2446 OF 1993 AND
2965 OF 1989
S.B. SINHA, J:
Interpretation of Section 36A of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade
Practices Act, 1969 ('The M.R.T.P. Act') is in question in this batch of
appeals which arise out of the judgments and orders passed by the
Monopolies

and

Restrictive

Trade

Practices

Commission

('the

Commission'), New Delhi whereby and where-under advertisements

issued by the appellant herein announcing a contest was held to be an
unfair trade practice within the meaning thereof.
The fact of the matter is being noted from Civil Appeal No.891 of 1993
Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd. vs. Monopolies & Restrictive Trade Practices
Commission & Ors.
The appellant had inserted an advertisement in several newspapers in
September, 1984 announcing a contest known as "Colgate Trigard Family
Good Habits Contest". 'Trigard' is the name of tooth-brush manufactured
by the appellant. By reason of the said advertisement, a contest
apparently for the purpose of educating the families for inculcating good
habit of taking care of dental health was announced.
The brief particulars of the contest are as under:- As a condition
precedent to participating in the contest each prospective participant was
required to send two upper portion of the cartons in which the Trigard
Tooth-brushes were sold. These two upper portions of the carton were to
be sent along with each entry form which was required to bear the

dealers' name and address duly rubber-stamped on the form. Obviously

this necessitated the purchase Pg.6
of two Trigard Colgate brushes by a
prospective participant in the contest. The entry form contained four
questions, each with two alternative answers which were also printed. The
contestant was required to tick mark the correct answer. By way of
illustration the appellant had already ticked the correct alternative in the
case of first question which was as follows:- "Brush in the morning;
(a) only in the morning;
(b) in the morning and after every meal"
In the form alternative (b) had been ticked. There were similar three
questions with alternative answers. Anyone with an ordinary knowledge of
dental health could tick mark the correct answer to those questions. But
this was not enough. In addition to answering the questions as mentioned
above, each contestant had to write a sentence not exceeding ten words
describing as to why the contestant's family used Colgate Trigard Toothbrush. The best entry in this regard would win the first prize. There were
several other prizes for second, third and fourth winners. In all there were
fifty prizes.
Appellant further offered 825 consolation prizes of Rs.100/- each and
1200 early bird prizes of Rs.50/- each to be awarded to those 100 entries
which were received first every week. The last mentioned prizes were
irrespective of whether the answers to the questions were correct or not
and irrespective of the merit of the slogan which was to be provided by
the contestant.
A complaint was made to the Commission alleging that the said contest
which was organised by the appellant for the purpose of promotion of sale
of its product was in its own interest and prejudicial to the interest of the
consumer generally as a result whereof serious injury or loss to the
consumer concerned was caused. The complainant alleged that such
contests fell within clause (b) of paragraph 3 of Section 36A of the
M.R.T.P. Act.
On receipt of the said complaint, an investigation was directed to be
made, pursuant whereto and in furtherance whereof, upon an enquiry, a
preliminary investigation report was submitted by the Director General,
who also came to the conclusion that the said contest was covered by
Section 36A(3)(b) of the M.R.T.P. Act.

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In terms of the recommendations made by the Director General, a notice
of enquiry dated 3rd December, 1984 was issued, the relevant portion
whereof reads thus :"AND WHEREAS on perusal of the abovesaid complaint and preliminary investigation report submitted by the Addl.
Director General, it appears to the Commission that the Respondent is
indulging in the Trade Practice of conducting a contest (Colgate Trigard
Family Good Habits Contest) for the purpose of promoting the sale of its
product (Tooth Brushes) and also for the purpose of indirectly promoting
its business interest;
AND WHEREAS it appears to the
Commission that such trade practice is an unfair trade practice causing
injury and loss to the consumers (of tooth brushes);
AND WHEREAS it appears that the said
contest is arbitrary in nature and eliminates competition among the
manufacturers of tooth brushes and thus amounts to a restrictive trade
practice:"
The appellant herein filed his reply pleading, inter alia, that such contest
did not cause loss or injury to the consumers by eliminating and
restricting competition or otherwise. It was contended that the contest
was educative inasmuch as by inducing the users of the tooth-brushes to
think upon the questions of the contest, they would be made aware of the
necessity to keep good dental health. It was pointed out that the best
answer to the question was to be judged by three eminent persons from
different fields being the Editor of Illustrated Weekly, the Editor of Eves
Weekly and a T.V. personality and thus there was no element or chance of
arbitrariness in the selection of the winning slogan.
A Bench of the Commission consisting of Mr. H.C. Gupta and Mr. D.C.
Aggarwal heard the said enquiry. Mr. Gupta came to the conclusion that
there was no loss or injury caused to the consumers; whereas Mr.
Aggarwal differed from the said view holding that the loss or injury was
inherent in the case of trade practices mentioned in paragraph 3 of
Section 36A of the MRTP Act.

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As the members of the Division Bench of the Commission did not
formulate any question to be decided by a third member, the matter was
directed to be heard by a Full Bench. By reason of the judgment under
appeal, the Commission, inter alia, agreed with the following findings of
Mr. Aggarwal :
".."and thereby causes loss or injury to the consumers" are words of
description which indicate that the trade practice described in Section 36A
of the Act are vehicles of loss or injury."
It was further held:
".The contest ceases to be innocent if it is held for the purpose of
promoting the sale or the business interests of the organiser of that
contest. Some of the features of the contest under examination may be
noted. The contest induces the consumer to buy minimum two tooth
brushes to enable him to participate in the contest. If he wants to send
more entries he is naturally required to purchase proportionately greater
number of tooth brushes. There is no ceiling on the number of entries to
be sent by the contestant. An obnoxious feature of this contest is about
the prizes which were awarded to the persons whose entries were
received early in the week. This aspect of the contest has nothing to do
with the skill and was based totally on chance. The number of losers in
terms of money in this part of the contest cannot be insignificant. The
early bird aspect of the contest was purely in the nature of lottery."
Mr. Ashok Desai, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the
appellant would, in support of the Appeal, urge that the Commission
committed a manifest error of law in arriving at the aforementioned
conclusion by misreading and misinterpreting the provisions of Section
36A(3)(b) of the M.R.T.P. Act. The learned counsel pointed out that the
Commission did not find any actual loss or injury caused to the consumers
by reason of the said advertisement nor any allegation in that behalf had
been made. It was submitted that in a case of this nature even no public
interest was involved. In support of this contention, the learned counsel
has placed strong reliance upon a judgment of a Division Bench of this
Court in H.M.M. Ltd. v. Director General, Monopolies & Restrictive Trade
Practices Commission [(1998) 6 SCC 485] , (wherein one of us Hon. G.B.
Pattanaik, CJI. was a member).
Section 36A(3)(b) as it stood at the relevant time reads as under :- "36A.
Definition of unfair trade practice, In this Part, unless the context

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otherwise requires, "unfair trade practice" means a trade practice which,
for the purpose of promoting the sale, use or supply of any goods or for
the provision of any services, adopts one or more of the following
practices and thereby causes loss or injury to the consumers of such
goods or services, whether by eliminating or restricting competition or
otherwise, namely:3(b) the conduct of any contest, lottery, game of chance or skill, for the
purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the sale, use or supply of any
product or any business interest;"
A bare perusal of the aforementioned provision would clearly indicate that
the following five ingredients are necessary to constitute an unfair trade
practice:
1. There must be a trade practice (within the meaning of section 2(u) of
the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act);
2. The trade practice must be employed for the purpose of promoting the
sale, use or supply of any goods or the provision of any services;
3. The trade practice should fall within the ambit of one or more of the
categories enumerated in clauses (1) to (5) of Section 36A;
4. The trade practice should cause loss or injury to the consumers of
goods or services;
5. The trade practice under clause (1) should involve making a
"statement" whether orally or in writing or by visible representation.
Causation of loss or injury thus is a sine qua non for invoking the
principles of Section 36A of the M.R.T.P. Act. The Commission, in our
considered opinion, committed a manifest error in holding that the actual
loss or injury is not an essential ingredient of the unfair trade practice. It
is now a well-settled principle of law that a literal meaning should be
assigned to a statute unless the same leads to anomaly or absurdity. The
terminology used in the provisions is absolutely clear and unambiguous.
As noticed hereinbefore, in terms of the aforementioned provisions not
only a trade practice is resorted to for the purpose of promoting sale or
use or supply of any goods or services, as specified therein but thereby
loss or injury to the consumers of such goods or services must be caused.

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The word 'thereby' must be assigned its plain meaning for interpretation
of the aforementioned provision.
In H.M.M. Ltd's case (supra), this Court has clearly held that for holding a
trade practice to be an unfair trade practice, it must be found that it had
caused loss or injury to the consumer.
We may notice that on or about 1993 an amendment has been made
whereby the words "causing loss or injury to the consumer" were omitted
which also goes to show the law as it stood thence, 'loss or injury to the
consumer' was a pre-requisite for attracting the provisions of Section
36A(3)(b) of the Act.
In interpreting the said provision, the 'Mischief Rule" should be resorted
to.
For the view, we have taken, the impugned judgments cannot be
sustained, which are set aside accordingly. The appeals are allowed but in
the facts and circumstances of the case, there will be no order as to costs.

B) Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited vs M/s. Hindustan Lever

The first respondent, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd. manufactures Colgate
Dental Cream. The appellant too has various brands of tooth paste but we
are concerned here with the New Pepsodent' toothpaste introduced by the
appellant recently into the market. The appellant had given advertisement
in the print, visual, and boarding media, claiming that its toothpaste "new
Pepsodent" was "102 % better than the leading toothpaste". The
advertisement contains a "schematic' picture supposedly of samples of
saliva It depicts on one side of the advertisement a pictorial
representation of the germs in a sample taken from the mouth of a
person hours after brushing with "the leading toothpaste." And another
pictorial representation is or the germs from a similar sample taken from
the mouth of another person using the "New Pepsodent". The former
shows large number of germs remaining in the sample of saliva where the
leading toothpaste is used and the latter shows almost negligible quantity
of germs in the sample of saliva where New Pepsodent' is used. The
advertisement also speaks of tests conducted at the Hindustan L ever
Dental Research Centre and says that the appellant's product is based on
a Germ check formula which is twice as effective on germs as the leading
toothpaste and that it was, in fact, 102% better in fighting germs. In the
TV advertisement of the appellant, two boys are asked the name of the
toothpaste with which they had brushed their teeth in the morning. The
advertisement shows Pepsodent 102% superior in killing germs which is

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being used by one of the by. So far as the other boy is concerned, who is
using another toothpaste which is inferior in killing germs, the lip
movements according to the respondents, indicated that the boy was
using "Colgate" though the voice is muted. Additionally, when this muting
is done there is a sound of the same jingle as is used in the usual
Colgate- advertisement, leaving, according to the complainants, doubts in
the minds of the viewers that "Pepsodent" was being compared with
Colgate.
On these and other allegations, the complaint was filed by the
respondents before the Commission relying upon Sections 10, 36A and
36B of the Act and in particular upon Section 36A (viii) and (x) of the Act.
Facts of the case

Plaintiff company: Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited, manufacturers

of Colgate Dental Cream.
Defendant : M/s. Hindustan Lever Limited manufacturers of New
Pepsodent dental cream

Allegation: Advertisement campaign of the defendant regarding its dental

cream New Pepsodent disparaging the leading toothpaste namely Colgate
Dental Cream manufactured by Plaintiff.

A jingle used in the background of the ad which closely resembled

that of Colgate Palmolive India's jingle.
In the ad when the child using the leading toothpaste is questioned,
he mouthed out the words Colgate which was clearly visible.
HLL claimed 102% anti-bacterial superiority over the leading brand,
however their

Advertisements gave an overall impression of being better than the

leading brand in dental care.
C) Shyam Gas Company Case
This was a case where the supply of cooking gas cylinders was in short
supply, which led to unfair exploitation of the situation. Shyam Gas Co.
was the sole distributor of BPCL for cooking gas cylinder at Hathras (U.P.)
which was allegedly engaging in the following restrictive practices:
giving gas connections to the customer only when he purchased a gas
stove or a hot plate from the company; and
charging customers twice the price for supply of fittings and appliances.
The MRTP Commission held that the company was indulging in a
restrictive trade practice that was prejudicial to the interest of the
consumers.
D) Bal Krishna Khurana Case
This was the first case where a sales promotion organizer was charged
under unfair trade practices. The respondent, Bal Krishna was famous all
over North India for his selling export quality hosiery at extremely low
prices wherein he sold goods worth Rs. 210/- for as low as Rs. 15/The Commission received complaints from consumers who reported that
they were being cheated into buying sub-standard goods. The
Commission then put a restraining order against Bal Krishna from

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organizing any such promotion ventures. In addition, the Commission also
advised newspapers against carrying any such misleading
advertisements.

Performance

The MRTP Commissions performance can be understood by looking at the

data which shows the functioning of the Commission in its last phase (till
2007), depicting the volume of inquiries commissioned and reliefs
awarded.
A) Under Restrictive Trade Practices
Figure 1: Enquiries Considered and Disposed of by MRTP Commission as
of 31.12.2004 (RTP)
SOURCE: Computed from data available at- Pradeep S. Mehta, CUTS
International, A Functional Competition Policy for India, p. 47, Academic
Foundation, New Delhi 2005.
B) Under Unfair Trade Practices
Figure 2: Enquiries Considered and Disposed of by MRTP Commission as
of 31.12.2004 (UTP)

SHORTCOMINGS OF MRTP

Continuing from the last chapter, we have observed by comparing the

industrial data that over the course of 4 decades from the time MRTP was
enacted, the industry reacted in manners not suitable to the consumer. In
this chapter, the researcher will discuss the other facets relating to the
problems associated with the MRTP.
Anti-Welfaristic Results
Though the MRTP was enforced with the aim of distribution of resources
and leveraging of competition in the market, the desired results could not
be obtained. Rather, the market conditions turned out to be hostile for the
consumer, and small-businesses and big-businesses alike, were subjected
to excessive control. The heightened governmental control, where new
undertakings and ventures were severely restrained by complex
procedures, created conditions wherein the firms, existing and new, found
it difficult to survive and thus, could not give back any benefits to the
consumer.
Stringent Provisions
The Act aimed at abolishing all acts which were anti-competition. The Act,
over the years became very active in taking on firms head-on to make
them stand in line with the provisions of the Act. The provisions, though
aimed at benefitting the consumers and the industrial growth, often
played out tough- and the stringent provisions did not benefit anyone.
For instance, the concept of Predatory Pricing, which is still a marketing
policy adopted by companies to have an edge over their competitors, was
handed down heavily by the MRTP Commission. Predatory Pricing is
defined as pricing a good or service below the cost of production of the
good or service, with the objective of driving a competitor out of trade or
to discipline him and thereby achieve elimination of competition. This is a
means for a firm with strong market power to eliminate other competitors
and then, dominate the market.

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This is effectively an anti-competitive mechanism, however, it can also be

used to drive competition i.e. it can be effectively used to establish a
strong competitive market. Examples are ripe in the current market
where there are strong competitive conditions for the firms- they have to
dole out quality at the best price to keep themselves established in the
market, otherwise other competitive firms will drive them out of business.
Examples being:
A) Tide, a detergent that was introduced in the Indian market in 2000 was
successful in breaking into a market which was strongly held by Surf (so
much so, that households used to use Surf as a generic term for any
kind of detergent). Tide used strong pricing, backed by its robust parent
company, predatory in nature, to quickly grab a large market share for
itself. It offered quality detergent at a price than the other existing
detergents. This in turn made the other companies lower their price and
offer better quality. Hence, the consumer emerged the winner from this
competitive trend between the detergent makers.
B) Tata Docomo, a mobile service provider that rolled out only 2 years
back in the Indian market, entered at a time when there were established
players in the market like Airtel, Reliance and state-run BSNL. But
Docomo with its pricing policy which was unlike the prevailing market
conditions, offered calling rates which changed the pulse. The market
prior to the arrival of Docomo was based on per/minute charges, but
Docomo came up with a per/second policy- thus, forcing other established
players to also offer similar rates. Though such strategy was predatory in
nature, but it helped in establishing a more competitive market which
only went onto help the customers.
Thus, the point that the researcher is trying to drive home is that such
predatory pricing is not necessarily anti-competitive but rather an agent
to bring about better options for the consumer. Hence, this is more
beneficial in terms of consumers welfare.
However, the MRTP Commission took up a strong case against such
pricing and though it aimed at benefitting the market by ensuring fair
competition, it instead closed down on the benefits to the customers.
Hence, what was then required is a strong, case-by-case basis of handling
and not absolute ban on predatory pricing.
Ambiguity in Law
The MRTP Act, 1969 contained only one particular section, Section 2(o) to
cover all anti-competition practices- defining Restrictive Trade Practice as
a trade practice which prevents, distorts or restricts competition and thus,
by defining it in such broad terms that it was then believed that there is
no need for a new specific law or provision to govern such
practices. While complaints relating to anti-competition practices could be
tried under the generic definition of restrictive trade practice, the absence
of specific identifiable anti-competition practices gave room to different
interpretations by different Courts of Law which resulted in the true
meaning getting lost. While a generic definition might be necessary and
might form the substantive foundation of the law, it is of great essence
that there be a stronger specific legislation to cover all possible aspects of
abuse of market position.

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Furthermore, some of the anti-competition practices like cartels, bid

rigging and other practices are not specifically mentioned in the MRTP Act
but the MRTP Commission, over the years, had attempted to fit such
offences under one or more of its sections by way of interpretation of the
language used therein.

International Norms

Post 1991 and the WTO Regime, the MRTP was exposed to lack the
resources to handle the incoming international investments or to meet the
trade requirements of the WTO. The Act was amended in many ways to
accommodate for the New Policy Reforms of 1991 however such
amendments could not bring it at par with the other anti-competition
regimes in the World.
Hence, the MRTP Act, 1969 was lacking and deficient in certain ways and
thus, need for a new, comprehensive law was recognized which gave birth
to the Competition Act, 2002 which is discussed in the next chapter.

EMERGENCE OF COMPETITION ACT, 2002

MRTP Act repealed and is replaced by the Competition Act, 2002, with
effect from September 1, 2009. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs,
Government of India has issued a Notification dated 28th August 2009,
whereby the most controversial the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade
Practices Act, 1969 (the MRTP Act) stands repealed and is replaced by
the Competition Act, 2002, with effect from September 1, 2009.
As the MRTP Act was a grim reminder of the licence-quota- permitraj of 1970s & 1980s. The Act had become redundant post July 1991
when the new economic policy was announced and Chapter III of the
MRTP Act dealing with restrictions on M&A activities was made
inoperative. The MRTP Commission will continue to handle all the old
cases filed prior to September 1, 2009 for a period of 2 years. It will,
however, not entertain any new cases from now onwards.
In October, 1999, the Government of India appointed a High Level
Committee on Competition Policy and Competition Law to advise a
modern competition law for the country in line with international
developments and to suggest a legislative framework which may entail a
new law or appropriate amendments to the MRTP Act.
The Committee presented its Competition Policy report to the Government
in May 2000. Subsequently, the draft competition law was drafted and
presented to the Government in November 2000. After some refinements,
following extensive consultations and discussions with all interested
parties, the Parliament passed in December 2002 the new law, namely,
the Competition Act, 2002.

Pg.15
The following transitional provisions would apply as provided in
Section 66 of the Competition Act, 2002:-

1.

MRTP Commission

a) The MRTP Commission will continue to exercise jurisdiction and power

under the repealed MRTP Act in respect of any case or proceeding filed
before 1 September 2009, for a period of two years. It will not, however
entertain any new case arising under the MRTP Act on or after 1
September 2009.
b) Upon the expiry of the specified two year period, the MRTP Commission
shall stand dissolved.
2.
Transfer of pending cases
Upon the expiry of two years from 1 September 2009, cases pending
before the MRTP Commission will be transferred as follows:a) Monopolistic or restrictive trade practice cases: All pending cases
pertaining to monopolistic or restrictive trade practices, including cases
having an element of unfair trade practice, shall stand transferred to the
Competition Appellate Tribunal, which shall adjudicate such cases in
accordance with the provisions of the repealed MRTP Act.
b) Unfair trade practice cases: All pending cases relating solely to
unfair trade practices shall stand transferred to the National Commission
as constituted under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, which may in
turn transfer such cases to a State Commission constituted under the said
Act under circumstances it deems appropriate. These cases will be dealt
with by them in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer
Protection Act.
c) Cases relating to giving false or misleading facts disparaging the
goods, services ortrade of another person under the MRTP Act: All such
pending cases shall be transferred to the Competition Appellate Tribunal
which will be dealt in accordance with the provisions of repealed MRTP
Act.
3.
Investigations/proceedings undertaken by the

Director General under the MRTP Act

With effect from 1 September 2009, all pending investigations and
proceedings by the Director General relating to:a) Monopolistic/ restrictive trade practices will be transferred to the
Competition Commission of India (CCI), who may conduct such
investigations/ proceedings in any manner it deems appropriate.
b) Unfair trade practices will be transferred to the National Commission
under the Consumer Protection) Act 1986.
c) Cases giving false or misleading facts disparaging the goods, services
or trade of another person will be transferred to the CCI.

Pg.16

MRTP v/s Competition Act

The two acts on competition policy of the Indian market, are based on the
same touchstone of facilitating competition. However, owing to the many

reforms in the industrial policy and the time-setup of the two legislations,
there are differences between the two which are enlisted below:

MRTP ACT, 1969

COMPETITION ACT, 2002

Based on the pre-reforms scenario.

Based on the post-reforms scenario.

Based on size as a factor.

Based on structure as a factor.

Competition offences implicit or not

defined.

Competition offences explicit and

defined.

Complex in arrangement and

language

Simple in arrangement and language

and easily comprehensible.

Frowns upon dominance

Frowns upon abuse of dominance.

Registration of agreements
compulsory.

No requirement of registration of
agreements.

Competition Commission appointed

by the Government.

Very little administrative and

financial autonomy for the MRTP
Commission.

Competition Commission selected by

a Collegium.
Relatively more autonomy for the
Competition Commission

Penalties for offences.

No penalties for offences.

Proactive and flexible.

Reactive and rigid.

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CONCLUSION

The primary objective of this project was to analyze the MRTP Act, 1969
and then to draw conclusions as to why there was a need for change in

the enactment. This has been attempted by first, looking at the need for
the enactment of the MRTP Act, then appreciating the functioning of the
MRTP Commission in terms of its functions and cases handled. Finally, we
looked at what aspects was the MRTP legislation lacking in and then,
talking about the new legislation, i.e. the Competition Act, 2002.
After undergoing this exercise of tracing the MRTP Act, 1969 from its
inception to the impact it has had on the market- the industrial
development and the welfare of the consumers- the researcher is now in
a position to affirm with the finding of the Raghavan Committee Report
(2000) that had first suggested the substitution of the MRTP Act with a
new competition regime, namely the Competition Act, 2002. Since then,
economists, lawyers and industrialists have hailed the decision of the
Ministry of Corporate Affairs to overhaul the MRTP and make way for the
legislation of the Competition Act, 2002 to bring Indias competition
regime in conformity with the international standards.
Having spanned the Industrial data, through the 50 year time-frame of
pre-1991 Reforms and post-1991 Reforms and having gone through the
competitive policies the MRTP lacked in, the researcher is content with the
replacement of the MRTP with the Competition Act.
The changes brought about in the 1991 Reforms opened up the market in
more ways than one. And hence, one can safely conclude that keeping
with Indias liberalization, MRTP had become undesirable, rather, an
obstacle to the growth story and thus, had to undergo multiple
amendments in the period following the 1991 Reforms.
Lastly, to drive the researchers observation home, it is imperative to say
that is that while the focus of the MRTP was on controlling the
concentration of economic power, the focus of the Competition Act on
ensuring free and fair competition in the markets. Moving away from the
MRTP ideology, the spirit of the Competition Act can be rightly captured in
what the economist Dr. S. Chakravarthy quoted: Big is no more bad,
hurting competition and interest is.
Hence it can be safely inferred that the toothless MRTP Act was laid to
rest by the Competition Act and, rightly so.