Celebs face up to 3-yr ban for misleading ads

New Delhi: Instead of jail term, celebrities endorsing misleading ads will have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh and serve a ban of up to three years once the new Consumer Protection Bill is cleared by Parliament.

The Consumer Protection Bill, 2018 was introduced by Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in the Lok Sabha and it seeks to replace the 31-year-old law.

One of the major objectives of the bill is to crack down on misleading advertisements.

If the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), proposed to be set up under the bill, is satisfied that an advertisement is false or misleading, it may issue directions to endorsers, advertiser, publisher as well traders and manufacturers to discontinue or modify such an ad.

The CCPA will have the powers to impose a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh on endorsers and manufacturers. For a subsequent violation, the penalty will be of up to Rs 50 lakh.