Table of Contents
Competition law’s role in promoting consumer safety
India’s response to the globalization movement has been to liberalize its economy, remove restrictions, and open up its market.
This has the obvious implication that the Indian market needs to be prepared to compete both domestically and internationally.
In view of recent worldwide economic changes, particularly those pertaining to competition laws,
the Monopolies & Restrictive Trade Practices Act of 1969 has become somewhat out-of-date,
and we now need to shift our attention from preventing monopolies to fostering fair competition.
Also,
A scenario in the market where businesses or sellers independently compete for the patronage of customers in order to accomplish a specific commercial goal is a broad definition of competition.
The goal of the law is to encourage fair competition.
It outlaws the use of a dominating market position for improper business purposes as well as anti-competitive agreements between companies, such as those to fix prices or slice up markets.
The interest of the consumer is the competition’s primary justification.
No other factor can negate a consumer’s entitlement to a free and fair marketplace.
In this framework, consumerism and competition law serve as tools to promote effective resource allocation, technological advancement, consumer welfare, and the regulation of economic power concentration.
The Competition Act of 2002 (the Act) forbids anti-competitive agreements between companies, such as those to fix prices or terms of trade,
restrict output to lessen competition, segregate markets or customers, or discriminate against different types of customers.
Therefore, there is a need to increase competition, particularly through adequate information dissemination across the market,
open and unrestricted communication, the ready accessibility of goods, liberalized trade policy, relaxed foreign investment,
and the avoidance of practices that could be considered abusive, such as setting unfair prices for goods or imposing other unfair terms on customers,
limiting production, or refusing to supply a current customer without a valid justification.
