#THE PRIZE COMPETITIONS ACT, 1955 

##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 

###SECTIONS 

1. Short title, extent and commencement. 
2. Definitions. 
3. Interpretation. 
4. Prohibition of prize competitions where the prize offered exceeds one thousand rupees a 
month. 
5. Licensing of prize competitions where the prize offered does not exceed one thousand 
rupees a month. 
6. Licences for prize competitions. 
7. Promoters of prize competitions to keep accounts and submit the same to the licensing 
authority. 
8. Power to cancel or suspend licences. 
9.  Penalty for promoting or conducting any prize competition in contravention of the 
provisions of sections 4 and 5. 
10. Penalty for failure to keep and submit accounts. 
11. Penalty for other offences in connection with prize competitions. 
12. Offences by Corporations. 
13. Power of licensing authority to call for and inspect accounts and documents. 
14. Power of entry and search. 
15. Forfeiture newspapers and publications containing prize competitions. 
16. Appeals. 
17. Licensing authority and other officers to be public servants. 
18. Jurisdiction to try offences. 
19. Protection of action taken under this act. 
20. Power to make rules.

 
 
#THE PRIZE COMPETITIONS ACT, 1955 

##ACT NO. 42 OF 1955 
[^1]

[22nd October, 1955.] 

An Act to provide for the control and regulation of prize competitions. 

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. 



[^1]. Extended  to  and  brought  into  force  in  Dadar  and  Nagar  Haveli  (w.e.f.  1.7.65)  by  Reg.  6  of  1963,  s.  2  &  Sch.  I. 
Extended to Goa, Daman and Diu by Reg. 11 of 1963, s. 3 & sch. (w.e.f. 1-2-1965) Extended to the Union territory 
of Pondicherry by Act 26 of 1968, s.3 and Schedule. 2. 1st April, 1956, vide Notification No. S.R. O. 766, dated 31st 
March, 1956, Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3, 
 
 
 
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 the licence. 

(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. 

7. **Promoters  of  prize  competitions  to  keep  accounts  and  submit  the  same  to  the  licensing 
authority.**―Every  person  who  promotes  or  conducts  a  prize  competition  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder shall keep accounts relating to such competition 
and  submit  to  the  licensing  authority a statement of accounts in such form and at such intervals as 
may be prescribed. 

8. **Power to cancel or suspend licences.**―(1) The licensing authority may, after giving the 
holder of any licence under this Act a reasonable opportunity of being heard, cancel or suspend the 
licence on any one or more of the following grounds, namely:― 

  (a) that  there  has  been  a  breach  of  any  of  the  conditions  subject  to  which  the  licence  was 
granted; 

  (b) that the holder of the licence has contravened any of the provisions of section 7.

(2)  Whenever  a  licence  is  cancelled  or  suspended  the  licensing  authority  shall  record  a  brief 
statement of the reasons for such cancellation or suspension and furnish a copy thereof to the person 
whose licence has been cancelled or suspended. 

9. **Penalty for promoting or conducting any prize competition in contravention of the 
provisions of sections 4 and 5.**―If  any  person  promotes  or  conducts  any  prize  competition  in 
contravention of the provisions of section 4 or section 5, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for 
a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or 
with both. 

10. **Penalty for failure to keep and submit accounts.**―If any person liable under section 7 to 
keep accounts or to submit statements of accounts fails to keep accounts or to submit statements of 
accounts as required by  that section or keeps accounts or submits statements of accounts which are 
false  and  which  he  either  knows  or  believes  to  be  false  or  does  not  believe  to  be  true,  he  shall  be 
punishable  with  imprisonment  for  a term  which  may  extend  to  one  month,  or  with fine  which  may 
extend  to  five  hundred  rupees,  or  with  both,  but  nothing  contained  in  this  section  shall  affect  the 
provisions contained in section 8. 

11. **Penalty for other offences in connection with prize competitions.**―If  any  person  with  a 
view to the promotion or conduct of any prize competition except in accordance with the provisions 
of a licence under this Act or in contravention of the provisions of this Act or in connection with any 
prize competition promoted or conducted except in accordance with such provisions― 

  (a) prints or publishes any ticket, coupon or other document for use in the prize competition; 

or 

  (b) sells or distributes or offers or advertises for sale or distribution, or has in his possession 
for the purpose of sale or distribution any ticket, coupon or other document for use in the prize 
competition; or 

  (c) prints, publishes or distributes, or has in his possession for the purpose of publication or 
distribution, 

       (i) any advertisement of the prize competition, or 

       (ii) any list (whether complete or not) of prize winners in the prize competition, or 

       (iii) any  such  matter  descriptive  of,  or otherwise  relating  to,  the  prize  competition as  is 
calculated to act as an inducement to persons to participate in that prize competition or any 
other prize competition ; or 

  (d) brings, or invites any person to send, into the territories to which this Act extends, for the 
purpose  of  sale  or  distribution,  any  ticket,  coupon  or  other  document  for  use  in,  or  any 
advertisement of, the prize competition ; or 

  (e) sends, or attempts to send, out of the territories to which this Act extends any money or 
valuable  thing  received  in  respect  of  the  sale  or  distribution  of  any  ticket,  coupon  or  other 
document for use in the prize competition ; or 

  (f) uses any premises, or causes or knowingly permits any premises to be used, for purposes 
connected with the promotion or conduct of the prize competition ; or 

  (g) causes  or  procures or attempts  to  procure  any  person  to  do  any  of  the  above-mentioned 
acts, 

he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine 
which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both. 

12. **Offences by Corporations.**―(1)  If  any  person  guilty  of  an  offence  under  this,  Act  is  a 
company,  every  person  who  at  the  time  the  offence  was  committed  was  in  charge  of,  and  was 
responsible to, the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and 
shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: 

Provided  that  nothing  contained  in  this  sub-section  shall  render  any  such  person  liable  to  any 
punishment provided in this Act if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge 
or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has 
been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to gross neglect on the part of, 
any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or 
other  officer  shall  also  be  deemed  to  be  guilty  of  that  offence  and  shall  be  liable  to  be  proceeded 
against and punished accordingly. 

*Explanation.*―For the purposes of this section,― 

  (a) “company” means a body corporate and includes a firm or other association of 
individuals ; and 

  (b) “director” in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm. 

13. **Power of licensing authority to call for and inspect accounts and documents.**―The 
licensing authority may― 

  (a) require any person promoting or conducting a prize competition to produce before it the 
accounts  and  other  documents  kept  by  such  person  or  to  furnish  to  it  such  other  information 
relating to the prize competition as it may require; 

  (b) inspect at all reasonable times the accounts and other documents kept by such person. 

14. **Power of entry and search.**―(1) It shall be lawful for any police-officer not below the rank 
of  Sub-inspector  authorised  by  the  State  Government  in  this  behalf  by  general  or  special  order  in 
writing,― 

  (a) to  enter  if  necessary  by  force,  whether  by  day  or  night,  with  such  assistants  as  he 
considers  necessary,  any  premises  which  he  has  reason  to  suspect,  are  being  used  for  purposes 
connected  with  the  promotion  or  conduct  of  any  prize  competition  in  contravention  of  the 
provisions of this Act; 

  (b) to search the premises and the persons whom he may find herein; 

  (c) to take into custody and produce before a Magistrate all such persons as are concerned or 
against whom a reasonable complaint has been made or credible information has been received or 
a reasonable suspicion exists of their having been concerned with the user of such premises for 
purposes  connected  with,  or  with  the  promotion  or  conduct  of,  any  prize  competition  in 
contravention of the provisions of this Act; and 

  (d) to seize all things found therein which are intended to be used or reasonably suspected to 
have been used in connection with such prize competition. 

(2) All searches under this section shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Code of 
Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898). 

15. **Forfeiture newspapers and publications containing prize competitions.**―Where any 
newspaper  or  other  publication  contains  any  prize  competition  promoted  or  conducted  in 
contravention  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act  or  except  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  licence 
under this Act or any advertisement in relation thereto, the State Government may, by notification in 
the  Official  Gazette,  declare  every  copy  of  the  newspaper  and  every  copy  of  the  publication 
containing the prize competition or the advertisement, to be forfeited to Government. 

16. **Appeals.**―Any person aggrieved by the decision of the licensing authority refusing to grant a 
licence or cancelling or suspending a licence may, within such time as may be prescribed, prefer an 
appeal  to  the  State  Government  and  the  decision  of  the  State  Government  on  such  appeal  shall  be 
final. 

17. **Licensing authority and other officers to be public servants.**―The licensing authority and 
any other officer acting under this Act shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of 
section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). 

18. **Jurisdiction to try offences.**―No  Court  inferior  to  that  of  a  Presidency  Magistrate  or  a 
Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence under this Act. 

19. **Protection of action taken under this act.**―No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding 
shall lie against the licensing authority or any other officer of the Government for anything which is in 
good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules made thereunder. 

20. **Power to make rules.**―(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official 
Gazette, and subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for carrying out the purposes 
of this Act. 

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may 
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:― 

  (a) the form and manner of application for a licence and the fees, if any, for such licence; 

  (b) the period for which, the conditions subject to which and the form in which, a licence may 
be granted; 

  (c) the form in which and the intervals at which statements of accounts shall be submitted to 
the licensing authority; 

  (d) the time within which an appeal against a decision of the licensing authority may be 
preferred to the State Government; 

  (e) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed.