The Act provides for establishment of a Commission to prevent practices having adverse effect on competition and to enquire into anti-competitive agreements like Cartel, bid rigging etc., enquiring into abuse of dominant position like predatory pricing, regulate combinations like mergers, acquisitions etc and undertake competition advocacy including advise on policy issues, creating public awareness and imparting training on competition issues.

The Act was passed to (i) Provide for better protection of the interests of consumers, and (ii) Make provision for establishment of consumer council and other authorities for the settlement of consumer’s disputes. Insurance has been defined as a service for the purposes of the act. Every buyer of insurance is a consumer. The Act has been amended by the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002. The Act provides for the establishment of Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies at three levels viz., the District Forum at the District level to entertain a complaint if the value of the service and the compensation claimed is less than Rs. 25 lacs. ; the State Forum at State level who has original, appellate and supervisory jurisdiction. It would entertain appeals from the District Forum. It has original jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of service and compensation claimed exceed Rs. 25 lacs but does not exceed Rs. 1 crore. The Apex body viz., the National Consumer Forum is the final authority established under the Act. It will have the original, appellate as well as supervisory jurisdiction. It would hear the appeals from the order passed by the State Commission and in its original jurisdiction it will entertain disputes, where services and the compensation claimed exceeds Rs. 1 crore. It has supervisory jurisdiction over State Commission. An appeal shall lie with Supreme Court of India. The Forums have been vested with the powers of a Civil Court under the Civil Procedure Code, 1908.

Act provides various provisions for imposing of customs duty on goods being imported, situations where refund of duty is admissible due to goods found pilfered after unloading or goods lost or destroyed after import or importer relinquishes title or abandons goods before home consumption.

To provide social security benefits to the workers. The act and schemes thereunder provides for three types of benefits namely, contributory provident fund, pensionary benefits to employees and/or family members and insurance cover to the members of the Provident Fund and an insurance cover to the members of the provident fund in covered establishment. Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, 1976 came into effect. The Employees’ Pension Scheme provides pension to retiring employees on reaching 50/58 years of age, widow/s pension, children pension and nominee pension on death of the member to his eligible family members. The Act is applicable to establishments employing 20 or more persons with Central Government having residual powers to apply this Act to establishments employing less than 20 employees. Employees drawing a wages of up to Rs.15,000 per month are required to become a member. Both the employer and employee contribute 12% of the wages to the Provident Fund.

This is an Act to provide for certain benefits to employees in cases of sickness, maternity and employment injury and to make provision for certain other matters in relation thereof. Under the Act, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation has been set up to administer the Insurance Scheme. The scheme is applicable to industrial employees as defined.

It is a comprehensive legislation for enforcement of measures for protection of the environment and for co-ordination of the activities of Pollution Control Boards constituted under the Water and Air Acts.

Exchange control regulations governing general insurance business issued by Reserve Bank of India provide for circumstances when premiums and claims can be paid in foreign currency and prescribe the procedure for obtaining permission from Reserve Bank of India.

(Amendment Act, 1987): The Act has introduced special provisions relating to hazardous activities. For example, the “Occupier” of a factory involving a hazardous process shall disclose in the prescribed manner all information regarding the hazards and the measures to overcome such hazards to the workers, the Chief Inspector of Factories, the local authority and the general public in the vicinity.

The Act provides that, if the death of a person is caused by wrongful act neglect or default, an action for damages is maintainable by the legal heirs of the deceased against the party causing injury. Damages are awarded by the court in proportion to the financial loss resulting from such death to the survivors. The Act abolished the long standing rule of common law according to which a civil action for damages ends with the death of any of the person, on whom or by whom the tort was committed.

The Foreign Exchange Management Act (1999) or in short FEMA has been introduced as a replacement for earlier Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA). FEMA came into force on the 1st day of June, 2000. consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange [image file=Image00005.gif] facilitating external trade and payments [image file=Image00005.gif] promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India [image file=Image00005.gif] 49 sections in the Act [image file=Image00005.gif] The Act also provides provisions for payment of premium on marine policies covering exports, imports, shipments between countries outside India, claims on exports, claims on imports, and claims on policies covering merchanting trade (trade between two countries outside India) [image file=Image00005.gif] In addition the Rules provides for guidelines for settlement of Overseas Mediclaim by Overseas TPA/Service Provider in the currency of the respective country and its reimbursement by the Indian Insurer who had collected premium in Indian currency.Act: General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972 : This Act came into force on 1st January, 1973 with the following objective: To provide for the acquisition and transfer of shares of Indian Insurance companies and undertakings of other existing Insurers.To serve better the needs of the economy by securing the development of general Insurance business in the best interests of the community.To ensure that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth to the common detriment.For the regulation and control of such business and for maters connected therewith or incidental thereto.Act: Indian Contract Act, 1872 : A Contract of Insurance is an agreement whereby one party, called the insurer, undertakes, in return for an agreed consideration, called the premium to pay the other party, namely, the insured, a sum of money or its equivalent in kind upon the occurrence of a specified event resulting in loss to him. Insurance contracts like other contracts are governed by the general principles of the Law of Contract as codified in the Indian Contract Act, 1872. As in other contracts, the essential elements in a contract of insurance are (i) Offer and acceptance, (ii) Consideration (iii) Agreement between the parties (iv) Capacity of the parties, and (v) Legality of the contract. These are codified and governed by the Indian Contract Act.