Earlier during this year, consumer rights were allowed to be
statutorily protected against false or misleading advertisements
basis the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The Act indicated that
making false or misleading advertisements would be considered as an
unfair trade practice. To this effect, the Act mandated the
establishment of a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to
oversee the issue of false or misleading advertisements.
As part of this, CCPA then notified detailed guidelines titled
Guidelines on Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and
Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022.
The Guidelines, in order to keep a check on misleading or false
advertising practices, allowed for levying penalties to the tune of
INR 10 lakhs on manufacturers, advertisers and endorsers. In cases
of subsequent violations, the penalty could go up to INR 50 lakhs.
The Guidelines also indicate that an endorser can be prohibited
from making advertisements for up to
