function of marketing –

Packaging and Labelling: Packaging aims at avoiding breakage, damage, destruction, etc., of
the goods during transit and storage. Packaging facilitates handling, lifting, conveying of the
goods. Many a time, customers demand goods in different quantities. It necessitates special
packaging. Packing material includes bottles, canister, plastic bags, tin or wooden boxes, jute
bags etc. Label is a slip which is found on the product itself or on the package providing all the
information regarding the product and its producer. This can either be in the form of a cover or a
seal. For example, the name of the medicine on its bottle along with the manufacturer’s name,
the formula used for making the medicine, date of manufacturing, expiry date, batch no., price
etc., are printed on the slip thereby giving all the information regarding the medicine to the
consumer. The slip carrying all these is details called Label and the process of preparing it as
Labelling.

Branding:
Every producer/seller wants that his product should have special identity in the market. In order
to realize his wish he has to give a name to his product which has to be distinct from other
competitors. Giving of distinct name to one’s product is called branding. Thus, the objective of
branding is to show that the products of a given company are different from that of the
competitors, so that it has its own identity.

For instance, if a company wants to popularise its commodity – X under the name of “777”
(triple seven) then its brand will be called “777”. It is possible that another company is selling a
similar commodity under AAA (Triple ‘A’) brand name.

Pricing of Products:
It is the most important function of a marketing manager to fix price of a product. The price of a
product is affected by its cost, rate of profit, price of competing product, policy of the
government, etc. The price of a product should be fixed in a manner that it should not appear to
be too high and at the same time it should earn enough profit for the organisation.
Physical Distribution: Under this function of marketing the decision about carrying things from

the place of production to the place of consumption is taken into account. To accomplish this

task, decision about four factors are taken. They are: (i) Transportation, (ii) Inventory, (iii)

Warehousing and (iv) Order Processing. Physical distribution, by taking things, at the right place

and at the right time creates time and place utility.

Concept of marketing mix

Definition: The marketing mix refers to the set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to
promote its brand or product in the market. The 4Ps make up a typical marketing mix - Price,
Product, Promotion and Place. However, nowadays, the marketing mix increasingly includes
several other Ps like Packaging, Positioning, People and even Politics as vital mix elements.

4ps of marketing mix

Price: refers to the value that is put for a product. It depends on costs of production, segment
targeted, ability of the market to pay, supply - demand and a host of other direct and indirect
factors. There can be several types of pricing strategies, each tied in with an overall business
plan. Pricing can also be used a demarcation, to differentiate and enhance the image of a product.

Product: refers to the item actually being sold. The product must deliver a minimum level of
performance; otherwise even the best work on the other elements of the marketing mix won't do
any good.

Place: refers to the point of sale. In every industry, catching the eye of the consumer and making
it easy for her to buy it is the main aim of a good distribution or 'place' strategy. Retailers pay a
premium for the right location. In fact, the mantra of a successful retail business is 'location,
location, location'.

Promotion :this refers to all the activities undertaken to make the product or service known to
the user and trade. This can include advertising, word of mouth, press reports, incentives,
commissions and awards to the trade. It can also include consumer schemes, direct marketing,
contests and prizes.
Market segmentation -Market Segmentation is a process of dividing the market of potential
customers into different groups and segments on the basis of certain characteristics. The member
of these groups share similar characteristics and usually have one or more than one aspect
common among them.

There are many reasons as to why market segmentation is done. One of the major reasons
marketers segment market is because they can create custom marketing mix for each segment
and cater them accordingly.

The concept of market segmentation was coined by Wendell R. Smith who in his article “Product
Differentiation and Market Segmentation as Alternative Marketing Strategies” observed “many
examples of segmentation” in 1956. Present-day market segmentation exists basically to solve
one major problem of marketers

product differentiation:

Product differentiation (or just differentiation) is a marketing process of differentiating an

offering (product or service) from others in the market, to make it more appealing to the target
audience.It involves defining the offering’s unique position in the market by explaining the
unique benefit it provides to the target group. This may also be referred to pinpointing a unique
selling proposition of the product to make it stand out from the crowd.

Product modification:

Product Modification refers to the improvement of the existing products by making necessary
changes in the characteristics, nature, size, packing and colour, etc., of the products so that
the changes in demand of consumers may be dealt effectively. The purpose of the product
modification is to maintain existing demand, attract new users and to face the competitors
effectively. It helps in increasing the sales of the enterprise which results in increase in the
profits of the enterprise. The term “Product Modification” has been defined by the following
eminent authors. Philip Kotler: “A product modification is any deliberate alteration for the
physical attributes of a product or its packing”.Stanton: “Even a slightly changed product
either in colour, design or in quality is a completely new product”.
digital marketing on sales promotion

Digital marketing is the use of the internet, mobile devices, social media, search engines, and
other channels to reach consumers. Some marketing experts consider digital marketing to be
an entirely new endeavor that requires a new way of approaching customers and new ways of
understanding how customers behave compared to traditional marketing.

Digital marketing is defined by the use of numerous digital tactics and channels to connect
with customers where they spend much of their time: online. From the website itself to a
business's online branding assets -- digital advertising, email marketing, online brochures,
and beyond -- there's a spectrum of tactics that fall under the umbrella of "digital marketing."

The marketing of products or services using digital channels to reach consumers. The key
objective is to promote brands through various forms of digital media.

Digital marketing extends beyond internet marketing to include channels that do not require
the use of the internet. It includes mobile phones (both SMS and MMS), social media
marketing, display advertising, search engine marketing, and any other form of digital media.

Most experts believe that 'digital' is not just yet another channel for marketing. It requires a
new approach to marketing and a new understanding of customer behaviour. For example, it
requires companies to analyse and quantify the value of downloads of apps on mobile
devices, tweets on Twitter, likes on Facebook and so on.

Example

One successful digital media campaign was by Pizza Hut, which created an app that allowed
customers to create their own pizza by dragging their chosen toppings onto a graphical pizza
base. The iPhone would then determine which of the chain's thousands of locations the
customer happened to be nearest. The company advertised the new app online, in print, and
on television - even winning a placement in Apple's own iPhone commercial.
Channels of digital marketing

• Website Marketing: A website is the centerpiece of all digital marketing activities.

Alone, it is a very powerful channel, but it’s also the medium needed to execute a variety
of online marketing campaigns. A website should represent a brand, product and services
in a clear and memorable way. It should be fast, mobile friendly, and easy to use.

• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: PPC advertising enables you to reach internet users
on a number of digital platforms through paid ads. You can setup PPC campaigns on
Google, Bing, Linkendin, Twitter, Pinterest, or Facebook and show your ads to people
searching for terms related to your products or services. PPC campaigns can segment
users based on their demographic characteristics (age, gender etc) or even their particular
interests or location. The most popular PPC platforms are Google Ads and Facebook.

• Content Marketing: The goal of a content marketing is to reach potential customers

through the use of content. Content is usually published on a website and then promoted
through social media, email marketing, SEO, or even PPC campaigns. The tools of
content marketing include: blogs, ebooks, online courses, infographics, podcasts, and
webinars.

• Email Marketing: Email marketing is still one of the most effective digital marketing
channels. Many people confuse email marketing with spam email messages we all
receive per day, but that’s not what email marketing is all about. Email marketing is the
medium to get in touch with your potential customers or the people interested in your
brand. Many digital marketers use all other digital marketing channels to add leads to
their email lists and then, through email marketing, they create customer acquisition
funnels to turn those leads into customers.
• Social Media Marketing: The primary goal of a social media marketing campaign is
brand awareness and establishing social trust but as you go deeper into social media
marketing, you can use it to get leads or even as a direct sales channel.

• Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing is one of the oldest forms of marketing, and
the internet has brought new life to this old stand-by. With affiliate marketing, you
promote other people’s products, and you get a commission every time you make a sale
or introduce a lead. Many well-known companies like Amazon have affiliate programs
that pay out millions of dollars per month to websites that sell their products.

• Video Marketing: YouTube has become the second most popular search engine and a
lot of users are turning to YouTube before they make a buying decision, to learn
something or just to relax. There are several video marketing platforms, including
Facebook Videos, Instagram, Vimeo to use to run a video marketing campaign.
Companies find the most success with video by integrating it with SEO, content
marketing, and social media marketing campaigns.

• SMS Messaging: Political parties and candidates use SMS messages to send positive
information about their candidates and negative messages about their opponents.
Concept of plc:
First referenced in the 1920s, the product life cycle applies biological knowledge to products. In
nature, a seed is planted, begins to sprout, becomes an adult then eventually withers away and
dies. The product life cycle focuses on introduction (seed), growth (sprout), maturity (tree) and
decline (death) phases. Each phase has its own marketing mix strategy and implications
regarding product, price, distribution and promotion.

The product life cycle is an important concept in marketing. It describes the stages a product
goes through from when it was first thought of until it finally is removed from the market.
Not all products reach this final stage. Some continue to grow and others rise and fall.

Introduction stage-You can expect sales to be low while you perform introductory
marketing to create awareness. Your primary goal during this stage is not to make a profit.
Instead, you want to let customers know what your product does, and why it is special.
Typically, you will introduce one product at a time, keeping the price either high for skim
pricing--the most common--or low for penetration pricing. Initial distribution is selective, but
broadens gradually based on your distribution plan. Early efforts focus on promotion and
recognition. Until customers know about the product, they will not buy it.

Growth rate-The growth stage is all about increasing sales and gaining consumer loyalty.
Competitors usually appear during the end of the growth phase. Increased advertising builds
brand preferences. Continuing to roll out new product features, improvements or upgrades
keeps your customers wanting more. If demand for your product remains high, you can
respond by keeping the price at a high level or reducing the price to broaden your market
share. Distribution should be intensive during this phase to get the product out to your entire
consumer base.

Maturity rate-If your product survives the first two stages, it will spend the most time in this
phase. During the maturity stage, you will seek to maintain market share and extend your
product's life cycle. Tweaking your product to make it unique helps it stand out from
competitors. Keeping an eye on the competition and pricing your product accordingly
conserves market share, while avoiding price wars. Widen distribution and offer incentives to
 sellers to keep your product on the shelf. Finally, promoting brand loyalty and offering
consumer incentives spurs customers to switch to your brand.

Decline rate-During the decline stage, demand for your product decreases along with both price
and profit margin. Now, you have three choices: maintain the product and hope competitors do
not, harvest the product and continue making profit as long as possible, or discontinue the
product. Reducing the number of products, and refreshing the packaging can make them look
new again. Lowering prices helps liquidate inventory, but if your product continues to serve a
niche market, maintaining prices keeps profits coming in. Phasing out less successful distribution
channels and focusing promotions on brand image for future products is a good strategy.

Demand forecasting: Demand forecasting is a combination of two words; the first one is
Demand and another forecasting. Demand means outside requirements of a product or service. In
general, forecasting means making an estimation in the present for a future occurring event. Here we
are going to discuss demand forecasting and its usefulness.

It is a technique for estimation of probable demand for a product or services in the future. It is based
on the analysis of past demand for that product or service in the present market condition. Demand
forecasting should be done on a scientific basis and facts and events related to forecasting should be
considered.

For example, suppose we sold 200, 250, 300 units of product X in the month of January, February,
and March respectively. Now we can say that there will be a demand for 250 units approx. of product
X in the month of April, if the market condition remains the same.

Following is the significance of Demand Forecasting:

• Fulfilling objectives of the business

• Preparing the budget

• Taking management decision

• Evaluating performance etc.

ease of doing business index:
Ease of doing business is an index published by the World Bank. It is an aggregate figure that
includes different parameters which define the ease of doing business in a country.
The ease of doing business index is an index created by Simeon Djankov at the World Bank
Group. The academic research for the report was done jointly with professors Oliver Hart and
Andrei Shleifer.Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate better, usually simpler,
regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights. Empirical research funded
by the World Bank to justify their work show that the economic growth impact of improving
these regulations is strong

A nation's ranking on the index is based on the average of 10 sub indices:

• Starting a business – Procedures, time, cost and minimum capital to open a new business
• Dealing with construction permits – Procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse
• Getting electricity – procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent
electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse
• Registering property – Procedures, time and cost to register commercial real estate
• Getting credit – Strength of legal rights index, depth of credit information index
• Protecting investors – Indices on the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and
ease of shareholder suits
• Paying taxes – Number of taxes paid, hours per year spent preparing tax returns and total tax
payable as share of gross profit
• Trading across borders – Number of documents, cost and time necessary to export and
import
• Enforcing contracts – Procedures, time and cost to enforce a debt contract
• Resolving insolvency – The time, cost and recovery rate (%) under bankruptcy proceeding
The Doing Business project also offers information on following datasets:

• Distance to frontier – Shows the distance of each economy to the "frontier," which
represents the highest performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies
included since each indicator was included in Doing Business
• Entrepreneurship – Measures entrepreneurial activity. The data is collected directly from
130 company registrars on the number of newly registered firms over the past seven years
• Good practices – Provide insights into how governments have improved the regulatory
environment in the past in the areas measured by Doing Business
• Transparency in business regulation – Data on the accessibility of regulatory information
measures how easy it is to access fee schedules for 4 regulatory processes in the largest
business city of an economy
Current rank of india is 77th out of 190

Cost of business startup procedure:

There's more to a business than furnishings and office space. Especially in the early stages, startup costs
require careful planning and meticulous accounting. Many new businesses neglect this process, relying
instead on a flood of customers to keep the operation afloat, usually with abysmal results. In this article,
we'll look at how to estimate your startup costs and plan ahead to position yourself for success.

Startup costs are the expenses incurred during the process of creating a new business. All
businesses are different, so they require different types of startup costs. Online businesses have
different needs than brick-and-mortars; coffee shops have different requirements than
bookstores do. However, there are a few expenses that are common to all business types:

• Advertising and promotion

• Borrowing costs
• Employee expenses
• Equipment and supplies
• Insurance, license and permit fees

New business density:

Data are provided on new business entry density, defined as the number of newly registered
corporations per 1,000 working-age people (those ages 15–64). As in the World Bank's annual
Doing Business report, the units of measurement are private, formal sector companies with
limited liability.
Procedure to register a startup in india

Step 1: Log on Startup India Portal https://startupindia.gov.in/registration.php.

Step 2: Enter your Legal Entity.

Step 3 : Enter your Incorporation / Registration No.

Step 4 : Enter your Incorporation / Registration Date.

Step 5: Enter the PAN Number (optional).

Step 6: Enter your address, Pin Code & State.

Step 7: Enter details of the Authorized Representative.

Step 8: Enter the Details of Directors and Partners.

Step 9: Upload the essential documents and Self – Certification in the prescribed manner.

Step 10: File the Incorporation / Registration certificate of the company.

concept of ecommerce:

Electronic commerce is an emerging model of new selling and merchandising tools in which
buyers are able to participate in all phases of a purchase decision, while stepping through those
processes electronically rather than in a physical store or by phone (with a physical catalogue).
The processes in electronic commerce include enabling a customer to access product
information, select items to purchase, purchase items securely, and have the purchase settled
financially. It is an emerging concept that describes the process of buying and selling or
exchanging of products, services; and information via computer networks including the Internet.

E-commerce is basically, doing business-as-usual, but across the Internet. You advertise your
products or services on your Web site, as you would in any other media like newspapers, TV or
brochures. Advertising on your Web site can be done in two ways.

Various opportunities created with ecommerce:

Large no of customers-trough e commerce they can captured more customers then offline
mode its accessibility is very high they can captured customers of many country simentenously.

Sell internationally-Next on the list of ecommerce benefits is that a new brand can sell to
customers around the world easily. You have the ability to discover your audience whether
they’re in the U.K., South America, or neighboring countries. If you choose to dropship from
AliExpress, many products offer affordable ePacket shipping or free shipping. This allows you
to price and ship your products competitively to a worldwide audience.

Personalized customer experience- Website personalization, one of the online business

advantages, can enhance the online shopping experience. Or segment email lists based on
purchases made, location or even how much money a customer spent. You can also retarget a
customer who visited your store showing them an ad for a product they added to their cart and
forgot about. If your online business has a login feature, you can have a welcome message
appear such as ‘Welcome back (name).’ Product bundles can help the customer buy more for a
better price increasing average order value.

Affordable employees- One of the benefits of ecommerce is that hiring employees is

affordable. You can choose to outsource work to virtual assistants in countries where the cost
of living is much lower. You’ll need fewer employees in an ecommerce business than a retail
location. A huge advantage of ecommerce is you don’t need to hire employees at launch. You
can start and run an ecommerce business all by yourself.

Types of ecommerce:

B2B (Business-to-Business): businesses whose clients are also businesses or organizations.

For example, we could think about a construction materials company selling its products to
arquitects and interior designers.

B2C (Business-to-Consumer): businesses that sell their products or services directly to the
consumer. This is the usual type and there are thousands of examples of clothes, shoes or
electronics stores.

C2B (Consumer-to-Business): sites in which consumers offer products or services and

businesses bid on them. We are talking about the traditional websites for freelancers such as
Freelancer, Twago, Nubelo or Adtriboo.

C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer): businesses that facilitate the selling of products amongst

consumers. The clearest example is eBay or any other second hand website.
Concept of salesmen ship-

“The personal selling” and “salesmanship” are often used interchangeably, but there is an

important difference. Personal selling is the broader concept. Salesmanship may or may not be

an important part of personal selling and it is never ‘all of it. Along with other key marketing

elements, such as pricing, advertising, product development and research, marketing channels

and physical distribution, the personal selling is a means through which marketing programmes

are implemented.

The broad purpose of marketing is to bring a firm’s products into contact with markets and to

effect profitable exchanges of products for money. The purpose of personal selling is to bring the

right products into contact with the right customers, and make ownership transfer.

According to W.G Carter, “Salesmanship is in attempt to induce people to buy goods.”

According to the National Association of Marketing Teachers of America, “It is the ability to

persuade people to buy goods or services at a profit to the seller and benefit to the buyer.”

Thus, salesmanship is the process of persuading a person to buy goods or services. It does not

mean that salesmanship is applied only to personal selling; it can also be applied to advertising-
printed salesmanship. Salesmanship in its broader meaning, includes all types of persuasion

means, by a seller, viz., advertising, personal selling and other methods.

Duties of a Salesman:
1. The principal duty is to make sales of products or services.

2. He has to do the assigned duty (travelling).

3. He has to make collection of bills relating to sale.

4. He has to make report-Sales made, Calls made, Services rendered, customers lost, competition
and any other matters, relating to firm.

5. All complainants must be satisfied peacefully.

Management of sales force:

Management of salesforce is soul of company establishing a world recognize brand does not only
require marketing and advertise efforts, but it also requires the sales representatives or in simple
words sale force along with all other promotional activities. Firms are now investing
considerable funds, time and expertise to rain the sales force. In order to compete in the market
and getting brand recognition; a quality product needs a quality sale force. The Sale Force is the
FACE of the Brand or the Product. A very important aspect of marketing that yields business is
the efficient and effective use of sales force management and companies are always looking for
better ways to complete this task.

Elements of management of sales force

1. Lead Generation: The Sales Representatives generate the sales lead and then track the
potential user by gathering the data and customer related info like phone numbers, tastes,
and buying patterns.

2. Sales Forecasting: Predicting the company future sales based upon the previous sales for
a particular period of time; is sales forecasting process. The Sales Forecasting is done for
the next tax year or the fiscal year (or for a period of a time in the near future). This
enables the company to take important business decisions regarding production,
distribution, advertising budgets.

3. Order Management: The sales Force Manages and streamlines the product orders
efficiently. A well-executed Order Management System or OMS results in Sales Boost,
Improved Customer retention and Better Consumer Relations. Order Management
System is quite a hefty term for a simple concept; delivering Goods and products without
or minimum delay is order management.

4. Product Knowledge: The basic element for closing a deal or making a successful sale is
having the complete knowledge of the product. To win the customer trust is of outmost
important for the Sales representative. In order to convince the buyer to spend the money
on the product the Sale team must have the complete know how of the Product and its
benefits.
 Marketing audit

The Marketing Audit refers to the comprehensive, systematic, analysis, evaluation and the
interpretation of the business marketing environment, both internal and external, its goals,
objectives, strategies, principles to ascertain the areas of problem and opportunities and to
recommend a plan of action to enhance the firm’s marketing performance.

The marketing audit is generally conducted by a third person, not a member of an organization.

The firm conducting the Marketing Audit should keep the following points in mind:

▪ The Audit should be Comprehensive, i.e. it should cover all the areas of marketing where the
problem persists and do not take a single marketing problem under the consideration.
▪ The Audit should be Systematic, i.e. an orderly analysis and evaluation of firm’s micro &
macro environment, marketing principles, objectives, strategies and other operations that
directly or indirectly influences the firm’s marketing performance.
▪ The audit should be Independent; the marketing audit can be conducted in six ways: self-
audit, audit from across, audit from above, company auditing office, company task-force
audit, and outsider audit.The best audit is the outsider audit; wherein the auditor is the
external party to an organization who works

Component of marketing audit

1. Macro-Environment Audit: It includes all the factors outside the firm that influences the
marketing performance. These factors are Demographic, Economic, Environmental, Political,
and Cultural.
2. Task Environment Audit: The factors closely associated with the firm such as Markets,
Customers, Competitors, Distributors and Retailers, Facilitators and Marketing Firms, Public
etc.that affects the efficiency of the marketing programs.
3. Marketing Strategy Audit: Checking the feasibility of Business Mission, Marketing Objectives
and Goals and Marketing Strategies that have a direct impact on the firm’s marketing
performance.
4. Marketing Organization Audit: Evaluating the performance of staff at different levels of
hierarchy.
5. Marketing Systems Audit: Maintaining and updating several marketing systems such as
Marketing Information System, Marketing Planning System, Marketing Control System and
New-Product Development System.
6. Marketing Productivity Audit: Evaluating the performance of the Marketing activities in terms
of Profitability and Cost-Effectiveness.
Marketing control is an important task of marketing department. It is indispensable for effective
working of marketing department, achieving marketing objectives in time, and continuous
development. Controlling mechanism (or system) can prevent mistakes to occur and also help in
rectifying mistakes, if any. It ensures that everything is going on as per plan and the organisation
is achieving its objectives. Due to marketing control, entire department remains active and alive.

Marketing control can be defined as: Marketing control is a process of comparing actual
performance of marketing department with standards to find our degree of deviation, and, if
necessary, corrective actions are taken.

Importance of marketing control

1. To achieve objectives.

2. To make the plan successful.

3. To prevent mistakes to occur.

4. To formulate and modify marketing strategies.

5. To rectify mistakes.

6. To adjust with external environment.

Ideas about exports and import:

Exports are the goods and services produced in one country and purchased by residents of

another country. It doesn't matter what the good or service is. It doesn't matter how it is sent. It

can be shipped, sent by email, or carried in personal luggage on a plane. If it is produced

domestically and sold to someone in a foreign country, it is an export

Exports are one component of international trade. The other component is imports. They are the

goods and services bought by a country's residents that are produced in a foreign country.

An import is a good brought into a jurisdiction, especially across a national border, from an

external source. The party bringing in the good is called an importer. An import in the receiving

country is an export from the sending country.

Required export documents during exporting

• Commercial Invoice. A commercial invoice is a bill for the goods from the seller to the
buyer
• Export Packing List
• Pro Forma Invoice
• Airway Bill
• Generic Certificate of Origin
• Dangerous Goods Certificate
• Insurance Certificate
• Shipper's Letter of Instruction.

Commercial Invoice
A commercial invoice is a bill for the goods from the seller to the buyer. These invoices are often
used by governments to determine the true value of goods when assessing customs duties.
Governments that use the commercial invoice to control imports will often specify its form,
content, number of copies, language to be used, and other characteristics.
Export Packing List
Considerably more detailed and informative than a standard domestic packing list, an export
packing list lists seller, buyer, shipper, invoice number, date of shipment, mode of transport,
carrier, and itemizes quantity, description, the type of package, such as a box, crate, drum, or
carton, the quantity of packages, total net and gross weight (in kilograms), package marks, and
dimensions, if appropriate. Both commercial stationers and freight forwarders carry packing list
forms. A packing list may serve as conforming document. It is not a substitute for a commercial
invoice. In addition, U.S. and foreign customs officials may use the export packing list to check
the cargo.

Pro Forma Invoice

A pro forma invoice is an invoice prepared by the exporter before shipping the goods, informing
the buyer of the goods to be sent, their value, and other key specifications. It also can be used as
an offering of sale or price quotation.

Airway Bill

Air freight shipments require airway bills. Airway bills are shipper-specific (i.e., USPS, Fed-Ex,
UPS, DHL, etc.).

Bill of Lading

A bill of lading is a contract between the owner of the goods and the carrier (as with domestic
shipments). For vessels, there are two types: a straight bill of lading, which is non-negotiable,
and a negotiable or shipper's order bill of lading. The latter can be bought, sold, or traded while
the goods are in transit. The customer usually needs an original as proof of ownership to take
possession of the goods. See also: straight bill of lading and liner bill of lading.

Export Licenses
An export license is a government document that authorizes the export of specific goods in
specific quantities to a particular destination. This document may be required for most or all
exports to some countries or for other countries only under special circumstances. Examples of
export license certificates include those issued by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of
Industry and Security (dual use articles), the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade
Controls (defense articles), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (nuclear materials), and the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration (controlled substances and precursor chemicals).
Documents required for import customs clearance in India

• Bill of Entry:
• Commercial Invoice.
• Bill of Lading / Airway bill :
• Import License.
• Insurance certificate.
• Purchase order/Letter of Credit.
• Technical write up, literature etc. for specific goods if any.
• Industrial License if any.

Bill of Entry:

Bill of entry is one of the major import document for import customs clearance. As
explained previously, Bill of Entry is the legal document to be filed by CHA or Importer
duly signed. Bill of Entry is one of the indicators of ‘total outward remittance of country’
regulated by Reserve Bank and Customs department. Bill of entry must be filed within
thirty days of arrival of goods at a customs location.

Commercial invoice

Invoice is the prime document in any business transactions. Invoice is one of the
documents required for import customs clearance for value appraisal by concerned
customs official. Assessable value is calculated on the basis of terms of delivery of goods
mentioned in commercial invoice produced by importer at customs location.

Bill of lending/airways bill-

Bill of lading under sea shipment or Airway bill under air shipment is carrier’s document
required to be submitted with customs for import customs clearance purpose. Bill of
lading or Airway bill issued by carrier provides the details of cargo with terms of
delivery. I have discussed in detail about Bill of Lading and Airway bill separately in this

Import license

As I have mentioned above, import license may be required as one of the documents for
import customs clearance procedures and formalities under specific products. This
license may be mandatory for importing specific goods as per guide lines provided by
government. Import of such specific products may have been being regulated by
government time to time.
Cause of concentration of economic power of india:

Industrial Policy and the Expansion of the Scope of the private sector-

The industrial policy resolutions introduced by the country have also expanded the scope
of the participation of the private sector enterprises in various fields of industrial activity.
The industrial policy resolutions of 1956, in its list of industries under Schedule A
(exclusively reserved for the public sector), allowed the existing private sector enterprises
to continue and expand.

Inter -company investment -

Inter-company investment is considered another important factor for the growth of large
industrial houses and growing concentration of economic power. Through inter-company
investment, big industrial houses occupy the directorship of a good number of companies
and monopolized the decision-making of these companies.

Government’s Licensing Policy:

The licensing policy of the Government has also facilitated the growth of large industrial
houses and concentration of economic power. While giving industrial licence, the
Government never tried to control the growth of monopoly or concentration of economic
power. Rather, the licensing authorities had the tendency to sanction the licenses of new
enterprises to experienced person having proven business ability, instead of new
entrepreneurs.

Import Duties and Market Protection:

Indian industries are being protected by the Government from foreign competition
through the imposition of heavy import duties and also by banning imports of some
commodities. This sort of protection has raised the strength of large business houses in
the domestic market.

The Situation has reached to such an extent that these large houses even pressurized the
small enterprises, created artificial crisis of their products for increasing profits, leading
to growing assets and concentration of economic power in their hands by speculating the
situation.

Control over Banking Companies:

In the pre-nationalisation period, the banking system was mostly under the control of
large industrial houses. The major portion of the bank deposits collected from general
depositor were mostly used for financing the industries of large industrial houses.
Thus the commercial banks played an important role in developing monopolies and
industrial empires of large industrial houses. After nationalisation even such tendencies
are being persisted as the output of the bankers did not changed much.

Tax Policy:

The Government has also introduced fiscal incentives in the form of tax concessions or
tax exemptions so as to provide incentives to some industrial enterprises for its
development. Till 1955, the Government granted initial development allowance for such
purpose. In 1955, the Government introduced development rebate and in 1976-77, they
introduced investment allowance for the private enterprises.

By method we can control the monopoly which are written below

1. Regulations through Taxation:

Imposition of tax:

The Govt. can regulate monopoly through taxation. Govt. can levy a tax per unit of
output (Specific Tax) or impose a lump sum tax irrespective to its output

1st Case: Imposition of a Specific Tax:

Specific taxes are commodity taxes like excise duty and sales tax. Excise duty are levied
on production while sale tax on sales.

Generally, specific tax is similar to a variable cost. The effect of specific tax is show n in
Figure 17; where

Imposition of Specific Tax

Point E = This is the equilibrium point before the tax is imposed. The firm produces OX
units and sells at price OP. Firm cams profit of AB per unit.

AC1= After government levies a specific tax on the firm, the AC increases as shown by
higher AC curve AC1.

MC1= The new MC curve after specific tax is levied

Point E1 = After tax the firm is in equilibrium at point “E1 where MR = MC1. The firm
sells OX units at price OP1. The profits earned are A’B’ per unit.

2. Marginal Cost Pricing or Price Regulation or Regulated Monopoly:

The term “public utilities” is applied to such essential services such as water supply,
power supply, passenger transport facilities, communication facilities and railway
facility. These services should be made available to the society at reasonable prices. Most
public utility firms are natural monopolies and are also called as regulated monopolies.

Government and public authorities run these monopolies directly or impose price
ceilings, which are not too low from monopoly price. This saves the consumers from
having to pay high monopoly prices. This limits monopoly power. The questions that
arise are What should be the fair price of natural monopolies? Should it be equal to MC
or AC? How can their prices be regulated?

Fig. 19 illustrates the three pricing principles: the MC pricing, the AC pricing and
the profit maximising pricing.
Profit-Maximising Price:

It is given by OP price which is determined by point E where MR = MC. The monopolist

wants to sell OX units at price OP. The monopolist earns profit. The objective of
government is to set a maximum price below the monopoly price OP.

Marginal Cost Pricing:

If the regulating authority decides to set the price of natural monopolies according to MC
pricing i.e., where P = MC then it occurs at point E1, the monopolist’s demand curve
becomes P1 E1d. The monopolist can sell any output up to X1 at the regulated price of
P1; output greater than X1 will be sold at declining prices as shown by E1d portion of the
demand curve.

The demand curve facing the monopolist has ‘a kink’ at point E; due to MC pricing rule.
The corresponding marginal revenue curve is given by P1E1MN. P1E1 is the segment
corresponding to P1 E1 portion of the demand curve.

Average Cost Pricing:

The regulating authority can set an even lower price equal to AC rule i.e., P = AC. This
occurs at point E2. The monopolist sells OX2 units of output at priceOP2. The
monopolist earns normal profits which are included in the cost structure. The economist’s
opinion differs regarding whether this return is a ‘fair’ return or not. Any wrong
judgment will lead to long term inefficient allocation of resources and losses. The
monopolist will never increase output beyond X2, in which case he would incur losses.

3.Peak Load Pricing:

This is a case of price discrimination peak and off-peak supplies at different prices. Some
examples are, electricity has different demand curves at different times during the day.
When demand is more, it is called peak period, when less the off-peak period. Hotels at
hill stations have peak period in summer and off-peak period in monsoon. Demand for
woolens is more in winter (peak period) and less in summer (off- peak period). The
traffic rush on roads is more after office hours.

Weekend rush to amusement parks is another example of peak period. Hence, whenever
the demand for a good is not the same in the two time periods and the cost to produce
also differs, it is beneficial for the monopolist to charge different prices in the two periods
The cost is higher in peak period because resources are pushed much harder to produce
more in peak period.
Figure 21, shows how the discriminating monopolist charges different price of electricity
in peak and off-peak period. The price in each period will be fixed where SMC cuts the
demand curve.

Above figure 21 is the evidence of the following results:

d and d1 = d is the demand curve facing the monopolist in the peak period and d1 is the
demand curve in the off-peak period

OP1 = This is the peak-load pricing. With this price, consumers will purchase OX units
in the peak hour.

OP = This is the off-peak period pricing. Consumers will purchase OX1 in the off-peak
period. Consumers will make efforts to be more economical in their consumption of
electricity in the peak period.