The Central Consumer Protection Authority issued the Guidelines for Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022.22 The Guidelines have been issued under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.23 The Act defines misleading advertisements as those that: (i) falsely describe products or services, (ii) are likely to mislead about the nature, quantity or quality of the products, (iii) constitute unfair trade practice, and (iv) deliberately conceal important information.
Key features of the 2022 Guidelines include:
▪ Valid advertisements: As per the guidelines, to be valid, an advertisement must: (i) contain truthful and honest representation, (ii) not mislead consumers by exaggerating the accuracy, scientific validity or performance of the product, (iii) not present the claims in the advertisement as universally accepted if there is a division of informed or scientific opinion, and (iv) not mislead consumers about the risk to their security if they fail to purchase a product.
▪ Prohibition on surrogate advertising: The guidelines prohibit surrogate advertising. These are advertisements for products whose advertising is restricted or prohibited by law. The advertisements are portrayed as being targeted at other products, to bypass such restrictions.
▪ Conditions for bait advertisements: These include advertisements which offer products for sale at low prices to attract consumers. For such advertisements, there must: (i) exist a reasonable prospect of selling the product at the advertised price, (ii) be an adequate supply of the product to meet the foreseeable demand generated by the advertisement, and (iii) not mislead consumers about the market conditions of the product.
▪ Conditions for free claim advertisements: An advertisement must not describe any good or service as being free if: (i) payable cost constitutes costs other than for responding to the advertisement or delivery, and (ii) the conditions regarding quality or quantity would change from the offer to the delivery stage to the detriment of the consumer.
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