MRTP Act - 1969
The MRTP Act, of 1969
is an important piece of socio-economic legislation. It has a significant
impact on the industrial structure and marketing practices of business firms in
India. Though the act is relatively a small enactment, yet it is considered to
be a complex one, and has far reaching consequences for the firms.
The Principal
objectives of this Act as spelt out in the preamble were:
i) Prevention of concentration of economic power to the common
detriment
ii) For the control of monopolies
iii) For the prohibition of monopolistic trade practices
iv) Prohibition of restrictive trade practices
Chapter 1 of the MRTP
Act, besides containing definitions of the
relevant terms deals with other preliminary provisions relating to the extent
and the applicability of the act. The main provisions are:
i)
Regulating expansions,
mergers and amalgamations and appointment of directors in respect of ‘dominant
undertakings' having assets of rupees one crore and more and of
undertakings which by themselves or with inter-connected undertakings have
assets of not less than Rs. 20 crores in value.
ii)
Regulating the
standing of new undertakings which would become inter-connected undertakings of
such existing undertakings the total assets of which exceed Rs. 20 crores.
iii) Control over and prohibition of monopolistic and restrictive
trade practices as are found to be prejudicial to public interest.
