Prize Competitions Act, 1955
No: 42 Dated: Oct, 22 1955
THE PRIZE COMPETITIONS ACT, 1955
ACT NO. 42 OF 1955
An Act to provide for the control and regulation of prize competitions. 22nd October, 1955.
WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the control and regulation of prize Competitions;
AND WHEREAS the Legislatures of the States of Andhra, Bombay, Madras, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad, Madhya Bharat, Patiala and East Punjab States Union and Saurashtra have passed resolutions in terms of clause (1) of article 252 of the Constitution in relation to the above-mentioned matter and matters ancillary thereto in so far as such matters are matters enumerated in List II in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution; BE it enacted by Parliament in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:―
1. Short title, extent and commencement.―(1) This Act may be called the Prize Competitions Act, 1955.
(2) It extends to the territories which, immediately before the 1st November, 1956, were comprised in the States of Andhra, Bombay, Madras, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad, Madhya Bharat, Patiala and East Punjab States Union and Saurashtra and all Part C States.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.―In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,―
(a) “licensing authority” means any officer or authority appointed by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, for the purpose of granting licences under this Act;
(b) “money” includes a cheque, postal-order or money-order;
(c) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(d) “prize competition” means any competition (whether called a cross-word prize competition, a missing-word prize competition, a picture prize competition or by any other name) in which prizes are offered for the solution of any puzzle based upon the building up, arrangement, combination or permutation, of letters, words, or figures.
3. Interpretation.―For the purposes of this Act,―
(a) references to printing shall be construed as including references to writing and other modes of representing or re-producing letters, words or figures in a visible form; and
(b) documents or other matters shall be deemed to be distributed if they are distributed to persons or places within or outside the territories to which this Act extends and the word distribution' shall be construed accordingly.
4. Prohibition of prize competitions where the prize offered exceeds one thousand rupees a month.―No person shall promote or conduct any prize competition or competitions in which the total value of the prize or prizes (whether in cash or otherwise) to be offered in any month exceeds one thousand rupees; and in every prize competition, the number of entries shall not exceed two thousand.
5. Licensing of prize competitions where the prize offered does not exceed one thousand rupees a month.―Subject to the provisions of section 4, no person shall promote or conduct any prize competition or competitions in which the total value of the prize or prizes (whether in cash or otherwise) to be offered in any month does not exceed one thousand rupees unless he has obtained in this behalf a licence granted in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder.
6. Licences for prize competitions.―(1) Every person desiring to obtain a licence referred to in section 5 shall make an application in writing to the licensing authority in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
(2) On the receipt of such application, the licensing authority, after making such inquiry as it considers necessary, shall, by order in writing, either grant the licence or refuse to grant thelicence.
(3) Where the licensing authority refuses to grant a licence it shall record a brief statement of the reasons for such refusal and furnish a copy thereof to the applicant.
(4) The fees on payment of which, the period for which, the conditions subject to which, and the form in which, a licence may be granted shall be such as may be prescribed.