BARRIERS FACED BY MRTPC AND CCI IN BID RIGGING CASES IN INDIA

Abstract

Following independence, India created and implemented policies that included "Command and Control" laws, rules, regulations, and executive directives. In order to tackle the increasing complexity of the production and distribution system, greater levels of sophistication in selling and marketing, advertising and promotional practices, and increased mobility of consumers and sellers. The main issue occurs when the impacts of such rivalry become intangible and difficult to quantify.

To tackle these problems the enactment of competition law is the best suitable recourse. Taking into consideration the consumer needs and imbalances faced by them in economic terms, education levels, and bargaining power there are various guidelines that have been made in furtherance of consumer protection. Such guidelines were formulated and expanded to include ‘sustainable consumption’ as an important subject matter. These guidelines have been helpful in setting up an internationally accepted set of objectives particularly for developing countries in order to help them identify priorities and hence structure their consumer protection policies and legislation. The first competition law of India, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practice Act (MRTP Act), was introduced in 1969 following the recommendations of the Monopolies Inquiry Committee (MIC) and sought to provide structural solutions in its effort to eliminate monopolies conduct, as it suspected that size above a threshold would adversely affect competition. This was reflected in the law. A High Power Expert Committee (Sachar Committee) was formed in 1984 to investigate and report on the required improvements to the MRTP Act, of 1969, in order to make it more effective. The Raghavan committee Report, 2000 has rightly stated the interrelationship between consumers and the MRTP Act vis-a-vis Indian Competition laws.