MRTPC probe clears Jet-Sahara deal

DGIR finds nothing wrong with acquisition

BY A CORRESPONDENT
May 24, 2006

MRTPC, India's anti-trust body probing the acquisition of Air Sahara by Air Sahara by Jet Airways has given a clean chit to the takeover, reports said. According to the Director General (Investigation and Registration) of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission who had probed the deal, there was nothing of a monopolisitc nature in the takeover. This essentially means all green lights for the Jet-Sahara merger.

Earlier, the government's Aircraft Acquisition Committee and the Department of Company Affairs had cleared the deal. The MRTPC started investigating the case, following a complaint by a legislator from the opposition party, which prompted the prime minister's office to intervene.

However, the MRTPC mandate in probing deals of a potentially-monopolistic deal is limited. Some of the powers of MRTPC were taken away in 1991. The scope of the investigation was limited to the anti-competitive nature of the entity's trade practices. However, since the Jet-Sahara combine has not started operations as a single entity, the nature of the probe was quite limited. However, if anti-competitive tendencies are notices in the combine's trade practices, the MRTPC is free to investigate it again.

In fact, the authorised body to look into anti-competitive behaviors in India is the Competition Commission. However, the Commission is still a toothless tiger, and its powers are not clearly assigned. Since it remains largely on paper, its duties are performed by the MRTPC.