The Competition Act, 2002 | |
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Parliament of India | |
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Citation | Act No. 12 of 2003 |
Enacted by | Parliament of India |
Assented to | 13 January 2003 |
Commenced | 31 March 2003 |
Introduced by | Arun Jaitley |
Repeals | |
The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 | |
Status: In force |
The Competition Act, 2002 was enacted by the Parliament of India and governs Indian competition law. It replaced the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969. Under this legislation, the Competition Commission of India was established to prevent the activities that adversely affected competition in India.[1][2] This act extends to whole of India.
It is a tool to implement and enforce competition policy and to prevent and punish anti-competitive business practices by firms and unnecessary Government interference in the market. Competition law is equally applicable on written as well as oral agreements and arrangements between or among enterprises and persons.
The Competition Act, 2002 was amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007 and again by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2009.
The Act establishes a Commission which is duty bound to protect the interests of free and fair competition (including the process of competition), and as a consequence, protect the interests of consumers. Broadly, the commission's duty is:-
In addition to this, the Competition Act envisages its enforcement with the aid of mutual international support and enforcement network across the world.