In the wake of globalization, India has adopted revolutionary measures of opening up its
economy, removing controls and resorting to liberalization. It is but natural that in order to
cope up with these reformative changes, the Indian markets should be geared up to
face competition from within as well as outside.
With this background, the Competition Act, 2002 (hereinafter, referred to as `The Act')
has been enacted with the objective of preventing anti-competitive practices, promoting and
sustaining competition, protecting the interest of consumers and ensuring freedom of trade. Control of
anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant positions, regulation of combinations
and competition advocacy are the broad thrust areas of the Act. The Act has been recently
amended in 2007. For its purpose, a quasi-judicial body, called as Competition Commission of India
(CCI), has been established. Under the competition advocacy function, the CCI is organizing
various programs for creating awareness and imparting training on competition issues amongst
the various classes of the society. The advocacy function has already commenced and the
other provisions are likely to be enforced in the near future. In this context, it will be of interest
to understand exactly as to what constitutes Competition, Competition Policy, and the role of
the accountancy profession in this newly emerging field.
The term `Competition' refers to the economic rivalry amongst the suppliers and
service providers, present in the relevant market, who are engaged in similar trade or provision
of services and the policies implemented by the government for building up a market
structure, conducive to such rivalry. These measures are implemented in a systematic manner, so that
a level playing field is established, which helps regulate the market and ensures availability
of goods and services at reasonable prices, as compared
to the current level of costs. |
