Our Bureau

New Delhi , Nov. 18

THE Minister of State for Company Affairs, Mr Prem Chand Gupta, said on Friday that amendments to the Competition Act were expected to be finalised shortly.

When asked whether the amendments would also indicate the role of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) vis-à-vis the sector specific regulators, the Minister, while addressing the Economic Editors' Conference said, "A concept of coordination would be there. Besides, the sector specific regulators, if they want, could refer cases to CCI."

The Competition Act was introduced in 2002 with the objective of preventing anti-competitive practices, promoting and sustaining competition and protecting consumer interest while ensuring freedom of trade. However, some provisions of the Act were challenged in the courts.

In January this year, the Supreme Court closed the writ petition filed before it declining to pronounce on the matters that had been argued. It said all questions regarding the validity of the enactment could be taken up after amendments to the Act.

"Under the circumstances we do not want to rush with the amendments. The amendments to the Act are under examination and expected to be finalised shortly," Mr Gupta said.

SFIO: Regarding strengthening of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the Minister said his Ministry was in the process of constituting an expert group to look into the matter and that the Government had decided to strengthen SFIO to nail down corporate offenders. So far, 30 cases have been referred to SFIO, of which it has submitted reports on around eight.

The Minister also said the Government aimed at strengthening the enforcement mechanism through better scrutiny, inspections and investigations.

Further, it has decided to initiate action against companies that vanished after raising public money in the mid-nineties. "Our crusade against vanishing companies and defaulters continues. We are committed to the protection of small investors," Mr Gupta said.

About 115 first information reports had been filed against such companies and their directors, and 21 arrests had been made, he said, adding that "we have published names of such companies, their directors and promoters in the media so that there is better public awareness on their activities."

New Company Law: While stating that it would not be feasible to specify any definite date by which the new Bill would be introduced in Parliament, the Minister hoped to table it during the Budget session. "There are a few issues which still need to be resolved," he said.

Earlier, the Ministry was expecting to table it in the forthcoming winter session. The Government was also looking to improve the administration of `Nidhi' companies, he added.

On the issue of the strength of independent directors on the board of a company, the Minister said the Company Law would stipulate a minimum number and the sector specific regulators could specify any number of directors.

Volcker report: Asked whether the Ministry was looking at initiating probe against Indian companies named in the Volcker committee report, he said, "I have asked my officers to look if there have been any violation of Companies Act provisions. But on the face of it, this does not seem possible."

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